How to Clean a Shotgun

[NatCigg]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Z5Ho-4AP8

Having found a necessary desire to gain Venison, I went and got me a shotgun.  A Mossberg 500 20 Gauge with rifled bore and Hornaday SST Sabot Slugs.  I now must learn to clean my gun.  I thought I would share this video because It represents the kindness and love of a fellow American sportsman.  I know we Americans have a hard time conveying our respect for unquestionable gun rights to other worldly humans, so I though I would share this top You Tube video brought forth by search request.

Any thoughts on gun cleaning?

[EskimoJoe]

Clear your weapon first thing, every single time, without fail. No matter how much you know about your own weapons. It really can't be said enough, no matter how dead that beaten horse gets.

After that, brush and scrub to your heart's content. If you can find a bore snake for your caliber/guage and is long enough to pass through your barrel, I recommend one.

Oh, and don't forget to relax and enjoy the moment, whether your hunting animals or clays. Stay safe

[Vulcan]

Shottie for deer? What's wrong with a rifle?

[Brooke]

After reading a bunch about different methods, I chose to get a boresnake.

[1stpar3]

Some Northern and Mid West states dont allow Rifles. 

[OldNitro]

Good choice! An M500 20ga deerslayer will get the job done..

I have an M500 in 12ga.. Because of additions I have made to it, a full teardown for cleaning has become troublesome, and will ruin the zero of the sights.. So I use a boresnake for the barrel, and Birchwood/Casey Gunscrubber solvent/lubricant in aerosol cans, for inside the action.. Shotgun shells are pretty dirty, leave a lot of powder residue!

It works good.. But just know, this is the lazy mans way of cleaning your weapon, and is generally frowned upon.. A REAL cleaning, requires that you fieldstrip the barrel and action! You SHOULD learn the feildstrip procedure for your chosen weapon, it IS an element of firearms competence!

Good luck and happy hunting, 

[Drano]

Some Northern and Mid West states dont allow Rifles. 

Nor does my state, Delaware. Not only is it a very small state, almost all of it lies on a coastal plane. So there's next to no topography other than in the northern corner where I live. Filed under what goes up must come down there ain't a whole lot anything gonna stop a round with just the silliest amount of elevation. Safety thing. The funny thing is it's not like we aren't generally being trampled by white tail here! They're legion!

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[Gman]

Vulcan, in Canada and the Nothern US there are many zones designated shotgun/muzzleloader only.  Here in Canada some of the best deer taken yearly are in the shotgun zones, archery too.

[FX1]

I have learned threw out the years never to take apart a 870. Never owned a single Mossberg but hopefully they are easier to break down.

Other rules:

1. Only clean rifle barrels when accuracy starts to fall off. Most barrels shoot better with a nice lead copper base.

2. Buy a good cleaning kit. 7.62 sweet and a high end rod.

3. Brake cleaner works really well but don't let it touch wood or high grade finishes.

4. Silcone wrag make a weapon shine. It also give it just the correct protection on wood and metal. 


I am a big time hunter/shooter and have found that in real world conditions every firearm jams/breaks or something goes wrong. Some firearms like to be dirty and others can't have a speck of dust in the action.

Buy the best possible firearm and keep care of it and it will last generations.

[Mister Fork]

Vulcan, in Canada and the Nothern US there are many zones designated shotgun/muzzleloader only.  Here in Canada some of the best deer taken yearly are in the shotgun zones, archery too.

Was wabbit hunting decades ago with a highschool friend - he had slugs in his 12 for s&g while I had some standard small game buckshot in mine - I was suppose to be lead shot.

His beagle flushes out a pair but we're in dense forest - no real great line of sights - he forgets that he has slugs as one of them runs into his line of sight around 30 feet out (not real far). Instead of waiting 2 seconds for it to enter mine, he raises and shoots.

He misses (of course) and then his slug slams into the base of a small pine and takes out the base of the small 20' tree which then topples over towards us and scares off the second hare which I was lining up (so not to hit the dog).  So, we went home empty handed and hungry that night back to his cabin. 

And I was looking towards making wabbit stew. Not all lost, he ended up with a nice christmas tree for his mom. 

[FX1]

Side note about shotguns. Back int the day I purchased a hk benelli super 90. We hunted dove in Mexico and I wanted to do a a test. I would only clean the outside to keep it from rusting and never touched the action and barrel. After 3 years and 2361 rounds it finale started to jam. More than likely it was because I had a couple shells that were covered in mud and the feeding tube wouldn't shoot a shell in the chamber.

Still have that shotgun and I couldn't even come close to guessing the total round count 23 years later.

[DaveBB]

I got a bunch of sand in my Remington 870 once. I had to break everything down and remove the bolt and all the goofy springs and other small parts.  I finally got it back together. 

[1stpar3]

Was wabbit hunting decades ago with a highschool friend - he had slugs in his 12 for s&g while I had some standard small game buckshot in mine - I was suppose to be lead shot.

His beagle flushes out a pair but we're in dense forest - no real great line of sights - he forgets that he has slugs as one of them runs into his line of sight around 30 feet out (not real far). Instead of waiting 2 seconds for it to enter mine, he raises and shoots.

He misses (of course) and then his slug slams into the base of a small pine and takes out the base of the small 20' tree which then topples over towards us and scares off the second hare which I was lining up (so not to hit the dog).  So, we went home empty handed and hungry that night back to his cabin. 

And I was looking towards making wabbit stew. Not all lost, he ended up with a nice christmas tree for his mom. 

WHOLE LOT of memories, same sort of instances! Hunting Ruffed Grouse in WV. Seems that those particular "Thunder Chickens" will NOT fly...if you have room to swing your shotgun Killed many a sapling trying! Even did it once Turkey Hunting with a Mossberg 835(3 1/2 in) 12 ga. That choke tube was TIGHT, well the Turk was CLOSE lol Missed too the right and took a big chunk out of a 4 inch around Poplar....which fell back towards me The dang hens he was with stood around laughing for about 10 min

[Vulcan]

Some Northern and Mid West states dont allow Rifles. 

What a strange country.

[NatCigg]

The dang hens he was with stood around laughing for about 10 min

 

yes, I live ten miles south of the rifle restriction line.  But on the bright side I have a rifled bore.  Also, The plastic tip 225 grain "Bullet" is designed to grip the rifling.  So I got that going for me. Going against me is a rumor that the polymer that "grips" the rifled barrel, builds up and must be cleaned for accuracy reasons.