Mossberg 500 cleaning guide? (glad to be here)

[spudster]

I was wondering if you guys have any tips on cleaning the ol' lip buster.

Cruiser with number 4 buckshot = lipbuster.

I attempted to clean it last night and I ran out of oil... still had enough to get what I needed done.

What cleaning stuff do you guys recommend?

The manual mentions an evaporating spray... whats that?

What parts should be oil'd wetter than others? I completely broke it down when cleaning it. I did everything but take the mag tube off.

What parts are fragile? How does one get a metal trigger guard? What should I lube/clean/whatever in the trigger mech?


Thanks a bunch and Glad to be on the board.

 

[spudster]

Another thing that worries me is one side of the mag tube is getting scraped... is this normal for a shotgun?

Consider this my first pumpshot gun. I have buttloads of questions about them.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Ok. Wife owns the 20 gauge Mossberg 500 Bantam. I will try to answer some of your questions.

The outside of the magazine tube where the foregrip is being pumped shows wear through the paint down to bare metal. As long as I clean and oil the gun weekly and after every shoot, I expect and hope that no rust will form on that part of the gun. (Or any part)

I generally leave the gun assembled because it has been zero'ed at the last tear down by the gunsmith and is generally clean except after a shoot where there is a bit in the bore and around the inside of the reciever.

I use big thick real cotton pads by the bag. I found a good supply in Gander where they keep the reloader's stuff. I rely on those pads to remove lead from the bore and reciever.

I use a bore brite solvent from Remington as well as a product called rem oil.

I dont claim to know anything special about cleaning, except I want to keep working that brass brush and pads until I have a shiney clean bore and internals.

I do pay attention to the small notch inside the reciever near the top of the chamber. That notch needs to be clean, really clean.

The gun does have a choke on the front. A Improved Cylinder choke for slug duty. That is the first thing off the gun and cleaned, dried and a TOUCH or a drop of remoil on the threads outside of the choke. It's the last thing to go back onto the gun after the bore itself and the threads are also as clean as I can make it.

The rest of the gun gets a wipe down and I use snap caps to test the weapon for proper safety operation as per the manual.

Once in a while it goes to the gunsmith to be inspected and cleaned. We intend to take care of the guns because our life may depend on it.

Generally when I finish cleaning, I have a pile of lead polluted pads which need disposing of, hands to wash and everything to put away. But I never consider the bore of the gun clean until the pads come out dry, I mean dry and clean. That takes a while.

I have tried bore snakes but feel that they can take out massive amounts of lead in one pass then contaminates the washing machine. Nah.

Finally the oil. A very little goes a long way and that is a good thing.

Everytime a gun is cleaned it sits drying for a day minimum before I shoot it. It might get a VERY light pass with a swab hours before firing so that the barrel wont wear too hard.

I hope this helps.

Im always open to suggestions on how to improve cleaning. I am totally fanatical about clean weapons. Not necessarily beautiful ones.

 

[spudster]

Thanks a bunch good sir.

I really appreciate that.

 

[inSight-NEO]

I wont go into much detail, but mainly (after cleaning) just be sure that all solvent residue is wiped dry. Also, be sparing with the lube. In general, if you can leave a fingerprint on a surface, in my opinion, it has enough lube/oil on it. In regards to surfaces requiring lube, pay closest attention to all exterior surfaces and any "high-wear" interior surfaces.

In terms of the mag tube, spring, etc., I tend to keep these areas clean but lube free as I keep the gun loaded for HD reasons. If Im ever inclined to lube this area at all, I will usually use Hornady One Shot dry lube spray (on a patch) which I then proceed to run through the tube. After that, I follow up with one clean patch to mop up any excess.

In terms of solvents and/or oils, I tend to use the following (within various intervals): Hoppes #9 solvent, Brownells "Friction Defense" Wad solvent, Weapon Shield (for lube) and if necessary, Flitz metal polish (mainly for stubborn bore residue).

Whatever technique(s) you adopt, just remember....remove all solvent(s) the best you can and try not to over-lube, particularly when dealing with "hard to reach" items such as trigger assembly mechanisms.

I have tried bore snakes but feel that they can take out massive amounts of lead in one pass then contaminates the washing machine.

Frankly, when it comes to boresnakes, I just clean them in the sink and tend to use gloves "just in case." Afterwards, I simply clean the sink.

After all, items such as boresnakes aside, unless you wear gloves (such as nitrile) and possibly a mask when cleaning any fired weapon, you could be exposing yourself to lead. Its just one of those things.....

 

[spudster]

Sweet!

Thanks man.

what would be the highest areas of wear?

This is what I bought (Before I read the former post)

Brite Bore™ Solvent / Cleaner
Rem™ Oil

Could I be using Rem Oil as an oil?