A couple noob questions about new Citori CX.

[ShaneN.]

I just picked up my Browning Citori CX today and know nothing about over unders. First off, when I put the gun together and let go of the steel tab that would open the gun, it doesn't return back to centre - it stays to the right slightly. Also, when I put the foregrip back on it doesn't snap into place, rather I have to close the latch manually. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong as fitment doesn't seem to be there.

Second, this shotgun has extended choke tubes. How hard should they be screwed in?

Also,(for now at least ) is dry firing it bad? I figure when you take the gun down and open it up it's resetting the trigger/firing pins and if you store the gun in two pieces then springs are always going to be pressed? I bought snap caps for it but I have to store it in two pieces to fit in my safe and unless you dry fire it, it seems like it's left with some sort of springs in a compressed state.

And lastly, the manual said to clean the gun, give it a light lube but use a heavier lube/grease for the hinge pin. What would be appropriate to use there? I'm a little nervous about cleaning it in general with the wood. The manual says the inital cleaning can be done with just a light oil to get rid of the stuff from shipping. It then goes on to caution using any solvents which I'm sure is going to be needed in the bore. What about a CLP like g96?


I'm sure I'll come up with other questions but feel free to offer some advice along these lines ( I'm going to take some courses to learn to actually shoot it ).

 

[FLHTCUI]

G-96 for the light lube and cleaning.
Any gun grease for the hinge.
As for the choke tubes, snug them up finger tight, then a little extra.
No need to wrench them in so as to need and impact gun to remove them.
Rob

 

[ShaneN.]

G-96 for the light lube and cleaning.
Any gun grease for the hinge.
As for the choke tubes, snug them up finger tight, then a little extra.
No need to wrench them in so as to need and impact gun to remove them.
Rob

What about g-96 getting on the wood though?

 

[rembolt]

It is normal for the lever to be right of center .this is to allow for wear as the gun is used . It is also comon to have to seat the fore end latch with your thumb after putting the gun together . Dry firing on empty chambers should not be done . If your storing the gun in 2 peices and want the hammers to be down dry fire the gun on snap caps or empty shells .remove the fore end befor opening the gun as the fore end is what resets the hammers . G96 on a patch or rag applied to the stocks will not hurt it . I use white lithium grease on the hinge areas of my O/U guns . If properly cared for your gun will last you a life time

 

[hoytcanon]

Release latch should be to the right, if it was centered you would have a problem. The forend latch on most Citori's must be pressed closed, at least every one that I have owned required it... no big deal. As said above, when taking down for storage, depress triggers, remove forend, remove barrels, and store. Extended chokes, when new should be lightly oiled and the female threads in the barrels should be cleaned and oiled. .. using an oil soaked rag and your finger, or a tight bore mop, spin the rag tightly into the threads to remove stiff grease and grit... this should be done again, occasionally when cleaning. I just use Rem Oil when cleaning the gun and as recommended above a light grease such as white lithium can be used on the hinge pin and bearing surfaces. Rem Oil will not damage the wood in any way, my final cleaning stage is to spray down the entire exterior including wood and wipe it down with a clean rag after which, I don't touch the metal with my bare hands as it is put away, might be overkill but my guns are all pristine.

I have never seen or held the CX, but it looks to be a nice all around design... a good, solid purchase... enjoy.

 

[ShaneN.]

It is normal for the lever to be right of center .this is to allow for wear as the gun is used . It is also comon to have to seat the fore end latch with your thumb after putting the gun together . Dry firing on empty chambers should not be done . If your storing the gun in 2 peices and want the hammers to be down dry fire the gun on snap caps or empty shells .remove the fore end befor opening the gun as the fore end is what resets the hammers . G96 on a patch or rag applied to the stocks will not hurt it . I use white lithium grease on the hinge areas of my O/U guns . If properly cared for your gun will last you a life time

Release latch should be to the right, if it was centered you would have a problem. The forend latch on most Citori's must be pressed closed, at least every one that I have owned required it... no big deal. As said above, when taking down for storage, depress triggers, remove forend, remove barrels, and store. Extended chokes, when new should be lightly oiled and the female threads in the barrels should be cleaned and oiled. .. using an oil soaked rag and your finger, or a tight bore mop, spin the rag tightly into the threads to remove stiff grease and grit... this should be done again, occasionally when cleaning. I just use Rem Oil when cleaning the gun and as recommended above a light grease such as white lithium can be used on the hinge pin and bearing surfaces. Rem Oil will not damage the wood in any way, my final cleaning stage is to spray down the entire exterior including wood and wipe it down with a clean rag after which, I don't touch the metal with my bare hands as it is put away, might be overkill but my guns are all pristine.

I have never seen or held the CX, but it looks to be a nice all around design... a good, solid purchase... enjoy.

Thanks for the replies, all good stuff to know . I bought snap caps with the new purchase just in case and earlier today I just bought some white lithium grease as well. All of the exterior model on my shotgun is blued (i believe) so i shouldn't have to worry much about touching with my hands, should I? I gave the whole thing a light coat of rem oil and wiped it off before storing anyways. Will the gloss finish never get dull or eat away with rem oil? Also do you have to worry about fire pins stocking with rem oil around that area?

And another thing I was curious about, I see shooters resting their open guns on their toe. Aside from the safety aspect, is it bad to rest the edge of your gun on your toe for the end of the gun? Do over under chokes even have a crown to worry about?

I've got it all cleaned up and greased, ready to go. I can't wait to fire it. I'm going to start with taking a course that a fellow not far from me offers at a range. Something tells me it will be satisfying to have something to actually shoot at rather than paper targets. My closest range of any kind is a clay shooting range too.

edit: I guess crown isn't the word i'm looking for since clearly there isn't a recessed end to the barrel but along the same line, is there any ill effect to accuracy by resting the barrels on something as long as it isn't abrasive like concrete or cement.

 

[hoytcanon]

Not touching the metal with skin oils would be considered "over-the-top" by most... I am not one of those... my final step is to spray down the entire exterior, wipe with a clean rag and then insert into a clean, DRY case while holding only the grip area with the rag... if stored for long periods skin oils can cause corossion... I have seen it on the blued metal surfaces of used gun purchases... you do not have to worry about Rem Oil damaging the Browning High Gloss finish, I have been using it for 40 years with no ill effect. As for gumming up the firing pin ports, the best thing to do is to wipe away powder residue with a DRY rag prior to oiling that area... it is the combination of oil and powder residue that generally causes "build-up."

 

[ShaneN.]

Not touching the metal with skin oils would be considered "over-the-top" by most... I am not one of those... my final step is to spray down the entire exterior, wipe with a clean rag and then insert into a clean, DRY case while holding only the grip area with the rag... if stored for long periods skin oils can cause corossion... I have seen it on the blued metal surfaces of used gun purchases... you do not have to worry about Rem Oil damaging the Browning High Gloss finish, I have been using it for 40 years with no ill effect. As for gumming up the firing pin ports, the best thing to do is to wipe away powder residue with a DRY rag prior to oiling that area... it is the combination of oil and powder residue that generally causes "build-up."

Along the same line of thinking... the gun won't fit in my gun safe without being broken down into two pieces (too long). If I were to get a pelican or similar hard case and cut out the sections to fit the shotgun broken down inside, would storing it in the case be a trap/breeding ground for moisture? I feel like a typical soft gun case would be a bad idea for storage but I'm wondering about a hard case type.

 

[stubblejumper]

I store all of my O/U and SxS shotguns in fitted cases, and no, rust isn't an issue if you wipe the exterior surfaces with a rag containing G-96 Gun Treatment. Browning makes a variety of fitted cases to fit their O/U shotguns, and they aren't nearly as big and bulky as a Pelican case.

 

[beretta boy]

Like stubblejumper says, no problem with a wipe down then back into the hard case.
On hot, humid days an unprotected gun can generate rusty fingerprints overnight however. That wipedown is good insurance.
I also like to back the chokes out a 1/2 turn after use on a hot day and when putting the gun away. Choke tube threads should be lightly lubricated.
I keep a saturated (with G-96 spray) cloth in a zip-loc bag right in the gun case to do a wipe down every time the gun gets put back in the case.
If you've been caught-out in the rain, the gun will need a more thorough cleaning & wipe down ... and leave it out to dry thoroughly before storage.
The Browning cases are quite nice. I prefer a case with a felt (as opposed to synthetic fur) lining. The canvas covered cases are usually more economical
than the leather covered models and stand up just as well. Make sure when ordering that the case will actually take the barrel length you have.

 

[stubblejumper]

I use anti seize for the choke threads, and I snug them up with the choke wrench. I rarely change chokes in my guns, but I usually take them out and recoat them with anti seize at the end of each season.

 

[BigUglyMan]

Not touching the metal with skin oils would be considered "over-the-top" by most... I am not one of those...

I'm with you on this. I value my firearms too much to treat them is a haphazard fashion. When they come out of the safe for any reason they always get wiped down afterwards and put back in the safe with my holding them in the rag used to wipe them down. It takes almost no extra time and protects your valuable investment. My question is, why wouldn't you do it?

 

[Chilly807]

I never store guns in a case for more than a couple hours, soft or hard. But, that's just me. If you're looking for a decent hard case for a take down gun, look at the Gun Guard case for take down shotguns on Amazon.ca. I think I paid $100 for mine, they're a good solid case that will fit 30" barreled shotgun.
I usually keep a couple rags sprayed with G96 in the case, they get wrapped around the metal parts when the gun goes in the case, they also keep metal from contacting wood if anything moves, which with the egg crate foam in the case, it doesn't.

Like the guys said, use snap caps to fire both barrels, then remove the forearm before opening the gun to prevent it from recocking the hammers.

My guns get wiped down with MPro-7 oil before they go in the safe, then I only touch the wood from that point on.
Any non-stainless metal surface will corrode if touched with bare hands and not oiled afterwards, if left long enough. Blued surfaces are among the worst, aside from bare metal.
After saying that, none of my guns have any rusty fingerprints on them, and they get used and handled a lot.

Some oils seem to form better films (say that 10 times quickly, lol) than others. I didn't like Breakfree CLP, but the MPro-7 gun oil has impressed me. So has the G96 Gun Treatment spray. We each have our favorite oils, it seems.

Be careful around the wood with powder/bore cleaning solvents, such as Hoppes for example. All I use for shotgun bore cleaning is a patch dampened with WD40 wrapped around a bronze brush, then a clean patch with gun oil after it's clean.
Choke tubes and forcing cones can be a pig to get plastic wad residue out of. You may have to use solvent on them, just be careful where it goes. I find if I clean regularly they don't get too bad.
Regular is a term all to itself.. my shotguns get a thorough cleaning roughly once a month, say every 500 rounds. Each time they're used, they do get wiped down with an oily cloth, and they're dry from any water moisture before they go in the safe.
As said, choke tubes should be finger tight plus a little bit. Be sure the threads are clean and oiled! Stuck tubes are no fun at all, check them every time you clean the gun, or once a month. Invector plus tubes get a bit of crud in the threads, the only ones I've seen that actually stay clean are the Invector DS tubes in the 725 and A5 guns.

One final caution, finely figured walnut is brittle! If you drop a forearm or butt stock on a hard surface while cleaning it, odds are it's going to chip, crack, or split. I learned that the hard way.. a cheap piece of padded indoor outdoor carpet where you clean your guns might save you a lot of grief, if it gets spilled on you can replace it easily and cheaply. A $500 walnut forearm, not so much.

 

[Cintax]

There is nothing unsafe with resting the muzzle of a break action shotgun on the toe of your boot provided that the action is open and the shotgun unloaded. This is very common practice among skeet shooters and you can even buy a device that attaches to the shoelace which is designed to protect the shoe and the muzzle.

You have received a lot of good advice already. If you take good care of this gun, it should last a lifetime.

 

[hoytcanon]

One final caution, finely figured walnut is brittle! If you drop a forearm or butt stock on a hard surface while cleaning it, odds are it's going to chip, crack, or split. I learned that the hard way.. a cheap piece of padded indoor outdoor carpet where you clean your guns might save you a lot of grief, if it gets spilled on you can replace it easily and cheaply. A $500 walnut forearm, not so much.

A piece of good advice here....

 

[ShaneN.]

edit

 

[ShaneN.]

Lots of good advice, thanks guys

Browning makes a variety of fitted cases to fit their O/U shotguns, and they aren't nearly as big and bulky as a Pelican case.

Which one would work for my gun and where could I even find one? I'm I stuck just hoping my local store has them or is there somewhere online I can get them to Canada?

There is nothing unsafe with resting the muzzle of a break action shotgun on the toe of your boot provided that the action is open and the shotgun unloaded. This is very common practice among skeet shooters and you can even buy a device that attaches to the shoelace which is designed to protect the shoe and the muzzle.
.

I wasn't questioning the safety as much as damaging the end of the shotgun whether it bee the chokes or barrels. I guess resting them on a shoe isn't going to damage them when they don't have a crown like a rifle or something though?

 

[canvasback]

I wasn't questioning the safety as much as damaging the end of the shotgun whether it bee the chokes or barrels. I guess resting them on a shoe isn't going to damage them when they don't have a crown like a rifle or something though?

The whole point of resting the muzzle on the toe of your shoe is that you know exactly where it is, what it is on, you know it's on leather and that is a safe place. Anywhere else may be suspect. It is specifically to protect the muzzle.

 

[hoytcanon]

I wasn't questioning the safety as much as damaging the end of the shotgun whether it bee the chokes or barrels. I guess resting them on a shoe isn't going to damage them when they don't have a crown like a rifle or something though?

Wear Crocs... you'll look like a dufous, but your barrels will be comfy...

 

[FLHTCUI]

''Quote Originally Posted by stubblejumper View Post
Browning makes a variety of fitted cases to fit their O/U shotguns, and they aren't nearly as big and bulky as a Pelican case.''

Which one would work for my gun and where could I even find one? I'm I stuck just hoping my local store has them or is there somewhere online I can get them to Canada?

Where in BC are you Shane?
Italians sporting goods or Reliable should have something in stock or readily available within a reasonable time period should you order one.
Myself, I would scour the EE and failing to find one there put a WTB advert in there for one.
New is going to be expensive and a used one can be had from $100.00 to the price of new.
Post an WTB at your local shotgun sporting club.
Lots of guys change their minds and by one with a multi barrel set or go the other way.
Rob