Shotgun cleaning spray???

[psyprofessor]

Just bought a shotgun and I need your words of wisdom. I'm uneasy about fields stripping it for cleaning. (May not be able to put it a back together.) I do plan on taking classes on how to clean the thing. (I actually saw a you-tube instructional on how to dissemble the Mossy 500, but prefer a hands-on training.) But meanwhile,

Here was my plan:

1. I can take off the barrel and clean it with copper brush and Hoppes #9. Wipe clean with patches until clean. (I have semiauto pistols and know how to clean the inside of a barrel.)

2. The rest...I was not going to take apart, but use a cleaning spray that claims that no fieldstripping is necessary. Just spray the cleaner (called Gun Scrubber) and use a toothbrush to clean stubborn parts.

3. After spray cleaning, I would spray the whole thing with Remington Gun Oil. And wipe down.

4. I have only fired 5 rounds in the thing...and have done this procedure. I plan to do this after every target shooting session to prevent any crud build-up.

Will this be sufficient? I have a feeling that this may be not enough. (But some of my hunter friends don't clean their shotguns but once every season.)

So....am I under doing it, doing enough, or too much cleaning? And how good is that spray??

 

[Dave McCracken]

Gunscrubber is good stuff. However, most pumps including the Mossberg are user friendly when it comes to disassembly.

Exceptions, the Model 12 Winchester, the Ithaca 37, sundry Savages and Stevens, etc.

I tend to clean after each use. Some shotguns here have high round counts, lots of time in goose blinds, salt marches,etc. No rust.

 

[Virginian]

Get a BPS and tear it down completely and reassemble about 5 times. After that, the Mossy won't faze you.
Seriously, I'd just have at it. There can't be a gun store in the country not familiar with the Mossberg if you do run into a snag.

 

[Milkmaster]

Might I suggest something if you continue using the procedure you describe above...

Since you are spraying down the gun and soaking it pretty good to get the crud out, you will have a hard time getting all of that wetness dried out without disassembly and wipe down. Refrain from storing you gun in the butt stock down position. The excess fluids will soak into your nice wood buttstock and soften it or even ruin it. And it really doesn't take as much left in there as you might think. At least do this until you learn how to disassemble the gun.

The best practice in my opinion is to learn disassembly, clean it properly, wipe it down with a clean oiled rag and reassemble. Wipe it down again to get the finger prints off it and store it. Too much oil is as bad as not enough in my opinion, and the wood on your gun will not appreciate it!

Good luck and keep us posted on what you learn!

 

[mljdeckard]

What you are doing is fine. Take it apart once in a while, as much to look at it as to clean it. The beauty about shotguns like this, is they are designed to be reliable under very harsh circumstances. If you give it the exact care you are describing, it will last a LONG time. Remember, all guns eventually break, but the care you are describing will not cause it prematurely. Breakage and part failure is caused at least as much by overcleaning and 'tinkering' as by neglect.

I bought a Remington pump with the synthetic stocks specifically so I wouldn't need to worry about beating it up or taking care of the wood.

 

[Fred Fuller]

I usually worry about the inside of the receiver on a pumpgun only after it gets wet, or has had a trip through the tall weeds. Normal shooting is not going to do it any harm. IMHO spraying it full of gunk and oil is a lot more harmful than a few flakes of unburned powder and a little carbon taking up residence in the receiver. Lube the moving parts lightly and don't worry about cleaning it after every five rounds or every trip to the range.

Taking off the barrel and cleaning it as described is a good idea IMHO, and if you gotta clean something every time you shoot it, clean the chamber and bore and leave the receiver alone- unless you get caught in the rain, fall out of the duck boat, spend the afternoon following a bird dog through the tall weeds etc.

I don't use spraycan ANYTHING on a gun, except for an occasional chamber and bore cleaning with plastic-eating brake cleaner to get the plastic deposits out. And that happens once a year or so, since I don't shoot as much as I would like to. There are plastic dissolving solvents out there, but I bought the brake cleaner a while back and don't see any need to use anything else, cheapskate that I am.

JMHO, YMMV,

lpl