I have a Remington 870 Tactical that I have borrowed for a bit. The owner has never shot it or cleaned it since he got it. I wanted to go ahead and clean it up and give it a go at the range. I have very little experience with shotguns. I can follow the instruction manual but was wondering if anyone had any advice or tips they can offer.
Cleaning A Shotgun
- Thread starter Norstrog
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bodhisattvya
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- Aug 15, 2007
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Tampons work great for cleaning shotgun
The quickest, cheapest & easiest way I have found is to take an extra-absorbent (heavy flow) tampon borrowed from my wife, pop it out of the applicator, tease it out a little bit with your fingers, apply your favorite solvent & then place it in the breech & use the rod to push it through the barrel. Make sure to use the same sequence as you would use with patches & use a dry tampon after using the solvent & then you may want to use a lightly oiled one for your final pass. You can get a whole box of generic tampons for a couple of bucks, and they have a lot of surface area, 2-3 passes & my barrel is usually gleaming. Hope this helps. -Toby.
The quickest, cheapest & easiest way I have found is to take an extra-absorbent (heavy flow) tampon borrowed from my wife, pop it out of the applicator, tease it out a little bit with your fingers, apply your favorite solvent & then place it in the breech & use the rod to push it through the barrel. Make sure to use the same sequence as you would use with patches & use a dry tampon after using the solvent & then you may want to use a lightly oiled one for your final pass. You can get a whole box of generic tampons for a couple of bucks, and they have a lot of surface area, 2-3 passes & my barrel is usually gleaming. Hope this helps. -Toby.
RNB65
Member
The inside of the receiver needs to be cleaned and oiled regularly to make sure it cycles properly. Too much power residue in the action can bind things up and cause problems. Just wipe the inside of the receiver down with the solvent of your choice then lube it with the lube of your choice. Break-Free CLP does both and works well in an 870 receiver.
The barrel doesn't need a lot of cleaning. I do a lot of shotgun shooting and only clean barrels once or twice a year. The biggest issue with barrels is the buildup of plastic from the plastic wad going down the barrel and melting due to friction. Occasionally swab the bore with a good solvent such as Hoppes #9. Wait 30 minutes or so for it to melt the plastic. Then run a brass brush and cotton patches thru until it's clean.
The barrel doesn't need a lot of cleaning. I do a lot of shotgun shooting and only clean barrels once or twice a year. The biggest issue with barrels is the buildup of plastic from the plastic wad going down the barrel and melting due to friction. Occasionally swab the bore with a good solvent such as Hoppes #9. Wait 30 minutes or so for it to melt the plastic. Then run a brass brush and cotton patches thru until it's clean.
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Scorpiusdeus
member
I just did this this weekend. With the Remington they claim you must use Rem oil. Is this true or just more marketing?
FYI You can look at or download the instructions on Remington's Website. It under shooters library or something like that.
If I can do it, anyone can. From my experience let me just say... Remember to put the Magazine spring back in BEFORE you fully reassemble it. :banghead:
FYI You can look at or download the instructions on Remington's Website. It under shooters library or something like that.
If I can do it, anyone can. From my experience let me just say... Remember to put the Magazine spring back in BEFORE you fully reassemble it. :banghead:
Sunray
Member
"...borrowed from my wife..." She make you give it back? Just curious. snicker.
"...just more marketing..." Yep. Any gun oil will do.
"...just more marketing..." Yep. Any gun oil will do.
Brian Dale
Member
It's just marketing.Scorpiusdeus said:
RemOil works fine, as does your favorite sequence of Hoppe's No. 9, Ed's Red, Break-Free CLP, any good gun oil, synthetic motor oil, Dexron II, or whatever cleaning solvents and lubricants you prefer.
Rampant_Colt
Member
Just like Brian Dale suggested, any motor oil is up to the task.
I've been using 10w30 motor oil on all of my guns for 20+ years now - it's especially effective on shotguns because of the amounts used in cleaning a shotgun.
I soak the barrel with copious amounts of oil using a mop to loosen up the heavy stuff, then a few passes using a tornado, or copper brush.
Old tshirts and socks work great.
There are online tutorials on 870 disassembly, but all ya really need to do is remove the barrel, and scrub the receiver down with carb or brake cleaner, then follow up with a good coating of oil wherever the brake/carb cleaner came into contact with. Scrub the breechface and slide rails too - an old toothbrush works just fine
I've been using 10w30 motor oil on all of my guns for 20+ years now - it's especially effective on shotguns because of the amounts used in cleaning a shotgun.
I soak the barrel with copious amounts of oil using a mop to loosen up the heavy stuff, then a few passes using a tornado, or copper brush.
Old tshirts and socks work great.
There are online tutorials on 870 disassembly, but all ya really need to do is remove the barrel, and scrub the receiver down with carb or brake cleaner, then follow up with a good coating of oil wherever the brake/carb cleaner came into contact with. Scrub the breechface and slide rails too - an old toothbrush works just fine
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