[cbschmidt]

have this sg and can only get 5 in the tube, looks like there is no way to remove end of tube to remove some sort of plug or ? thanks , great site

[AcceptableUserName]

the tube unscrews counter-clockwise from the receiver in a 500, and not in the 590. Learn how the tube unscrews, do it carefully and use a little oil in the process. DON'T bend anything, please.

[Badger Arms]

With the barrel off the gun, tip the front of the gun down and shake. The plug will come out the hole at the end of the mag tube. Mag tube is screwed into the receiver, yes, but it is exceedingly difficult and quite unnecessary to remove.

[cbschmidt]

thanks, that was to easy.

[RandKL]

Not quite "unnecessary", Badger.

If you do the tip up and pull trick, you strip the two rubber O-rings off the dowel. Those two rubber O-rings stay in the mag tube and, over time, get oily and degrade into liquid rubber that gums up the spring and follower.

Yes, you *can* tip up and pull. But you, or someone else that buys the gun from you, will eventually *have* to unscrew the tube and clean the crap out. It's much easier to do that now while the O-rings are still in one piece.

The mag tube will also *have* to be unscrewed to clean it and oil it as a part of routine maintenance....and it needs it just like any other part on a gun...why not do that now when you can?

As to "exceedingly difficult"....you simply grasp the end half inch of the tube with some padded pliers or vice grips and turn it. It takes all of ten seconds.

richard

[Badger Arms]

Not quite "unnecessary", Badger.

Huh, worked for him. If that didn't work, he could have just taken the barrel off and loaded the magazine. 6th round pops the plug out the front and you pull it out. I've done this HUNDREDS of times, never had to take the mag tube off. Sorry.

[RandKL]

How do you go about cleaning and oiling the mag tube/spring/follower, then? You *do* service those, right?

richard

[cbschmidt]

o rings came out with the plug, didn't hang up at all, since it was such an easy job i did it two or three times and the o rings stayed put on the plug each time, no doubt with my 870 exp, unscrewed the cap and out popped the plug, no rings no springs to loose. love both of them.

[Sam1911]

If you do the tip up and pull trick, you strip the two rubber O-rings off the dowel.

Hmmmm. Years back, when I pulled the dowel out of mine, the o-rings came right along with it. Didn't even hang up a little.

No, I've never serviced the spring or follower. They work, I don't worry about it.

-Sam

[Badger Arms]

How do you go about cleaning and oiling the mag tube/spring/follower, then? You *do* service those, right?

You don't need to service them. If you did, Mossberg would have made it easier as they did on the 590. If you WANT to service them, you can back the magazine tube out. You might have padded jaws and the knowledge about how NOT to dick up the tube, but the average guy doesn't. Bad advice, Richard.

[RandKL]

You don't need to service them. If you did, Mossberg would have made it easier as they did on the 590.

The 590 uses the exact same spring and follower as the 500, 535, 835 and the Mav guns. The 590 is no diff on servicing than a 500 or a Remington 870.

ALL steel parts on all blued firearms have to be serviced. They aren't any different than the barrel or the outside of the mag tube. If the outside can rust, you service them....the inside of the tube is the same way.

You might have padded jaws and the knowledge about how NOT to dick up the tube, but the average guy doesn't.

That's why I posted the sentence about how to do it. I would have explained how if he had asked for help in replacing his follower etc, too. Mossberg guns operate and get serviced the same as Remington guns. Just because one step takes a few seconds more than a Remington is no reason to never do it.

Bad advice to tell a person their gun never needs servicing....but then talk about having found guns with followers and springs rusted inside the tube? Or bad advice to tell someone how to properly service said weapon?

richard

[RandKL]

No, I've never serviced the spring or follower. They work, I don't worry about it.

Smart way of thinking about it. Good advice, Sam.

richard

[Dirtpile]

Rubber strap wrenches will work if you don't have a padded vice/ pliers to use.
Also a little oil and heat (hair drier/heat gun) makes the first time a lot easier. There is a bit of threardlock on the threads.
BTW: the o-rings came out will the dowel on mine too. But I could see them coming off once in a while.

[Sam1911]

Smart way of thinking about it. Good advice, Sam.


Thanks. I've owned my 8-shot 500 for something like 15 years. The spring and follower have never rusted, cracked, broken, bound up, or failed in any way. They work just as well today, apparently, as they did the day I bought it. I'll be using it in a match in a couple of weeks, and I expect they'll work just fine that day, too.

There was a time when every part of every gun I owned had to come out and get inspected and serviced, dunked, scrubbed, lubed, etc. frequently. And every gun needed every forged, billet, tactical, heavy-duty, stealthy-squirrel upgrade part I could find. That was good in that I gained a lot of understanding of mechanical systems from all that tinkering, but there were a lot of frustrating moments, too.

Now that I use my guns a lot more often that I just fool with them, basic field stripping and the factory recommended service generally does the trick. And it saves time and avoids lost/broken small parts and wasted time.

Results have been good thus far, for the way I use my guns and the level at which I "Operate." :)

If one of them breaks down on me, I'll fix it. If it finally decides to fail me on that one in a million chance night when someone is breaking into my house, in some way that one last detail strip would have avoided, well, them are pretty long odds...

-Sam

[Yo Mama]

but there were a lot of frustrating moments, too.


Amen, and guilty here. It's experience born from necessity, what necessity I don't know, but I sure freaked out a few times thinking I broke them for good.