How do I get the mag spring out of a 1400?

[Milkmaster]

My brother bought a nice looking 20ga Winchester model 140 from a fellow redneck while sitting at the local diner. The worst enemy of this gun was overlube! Oil fogged the area when we ran a couple of rounds through it behind the restaurant. So...He gave it to me for cleaning. Being the loving younger brother I am, I agreed and plan to shoot it just a little before he gets it back For those of you who may be worried, the diner is out in the county and has a turkey shooting range used in the winter out back.

I went online and found a manual for a 1400 which seems to look the same. About two rags wiped the oil out of it for inspection. I disassembled the gun completely except for the mag tube spring assembly. Specifically, I easily removed the gas system from other end of the mag tube. Those of you who know the 1400 and other Winchester shotguns will remember and would recognize the plastic stop that releases the bolt after loading and also holds the stored shells into the magazine. I see these broken occasionally on used guns. Well this one isn't broken, and I don't want to break it. The manual doesn't address it and it isn't obvious to me how to get the mag spring out to clean the tube. IS their some sort of trick to it?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[kirbythegunsmith]

Details

I would not recommend that you attempt the removal of the magazine tube. That job requires a slide hammer-type device to install the tube once it is removed and repaired. This is only done by knowledgeable gunsmiths with the proper tools and not as a normal part of a typical clean and oil on these guns.

The feed throat for the 20 gauge is just about unobtainium at this point. I know, since I had a hard time locating one some time back. The feed throats seldom break, though, so don't tempt fate and R & R this part if not necessary.

If the mag. spring or follower can't be cleaned with a brush covered with a solvent patch being jammed through the opening (watch for snagging the carrier release button), then you need someone like me to disassemble and fix the problem.

That is one of the few shortcomings of this particular design that is otherwise a decent operating and low apparent felt recoil shotgun. Notice that the basic design in this and the pump gun versions have been going on since the 60's, and is a rotary bolt version rework of the Remington 878/58 from the previous era.

Remington 17 becomes the Ithaca 37
Ithaca Mag-10 becomes the Remington SP-10
Winchester SuperX-1 becomes the Browning Gold
Browning A-5 becomes the Remington 11, Savage 720-775A, Franchi AL-48, and a handful of various clones.

How many other designs got a make-over and re-branded for another life? The world may never know.

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