Help with my first shotgun, please.

[emilianoksa]

It's a 12g Maverick 88, which came out of the box full of grease or cosmoline or whatever.

The barrel was not assembled, and cleaning it with an Otis kit has proved impossible. It's the shoulder of the chamber that refuses to come clean, despite repeated pull throughs.

My only other option here in Peru is to use a sectional aluminum rod. I wouldn't use one on a rifle, but, as the shotgun bore is without rifling, I wondered if it would be OK. I need to scrub the bore.

The receiver is also full of grease and I have some Outers Crud Cutter, but, as it's my first time using a degreaser, I'm afraid of some getting into the trigger housing and washing out the lube in other essential places. Is it better to apply it on a cloth? Or should I just wipe the lot with a clean dry cloth?

How much lubrication does the action of a pump require? A little grease on the slide rails and a very thin coat of oil on internal surfaces, or should I try to keep things mostly dry?

Any advice would be appreciated?

 

[supercopjason]

If you can get it use some simple green degreaser and spray over the whole gun. Use a tooth brush to scrub all the surfaces wite smple green. One you have cleaned with the degreaser i throw into a bowl of warm water to rinse off the grease. Once you have cleaned all the parts off with the simple green and water make sure you get the whole thing dried off very good (i use compresser air but my friend uses a blow dryer). This will get all of the packing grease off without a problem once you have dried you can spray the whole gun down with lubricant and wipe down to your desired protection. For the barrel you should look at ordering a Bore Snake and that is all you need.

 

[foghornl]

The Maverick 88 'trigger assembly' is mostly a synthetic {plastic} material, so very little lube is required. Drop the trigger assembly out of the shotgun, swoosh it around in some mineral spirits or kerosene, let dry throughly. maybe a very small drop of oil on the metal parts (springs) of the trigger assembly. If you can get one where your are, the proper-gauge 'wool mop' that goes on your cleaning rod wet with cleaning solvent/mineral spirits will clean out that barrel.