New (to me) Browning Maxus - First Impressions & Question

[HogansAlley]

So I pulled the trigger so to speak and bought my first shotgun - a Browning Maxus 12 Ga. w/3.5" Chamber & 28" Barrel w/Synthetic Stock.

Took it out last weekend to my local club and shot some sporting clays and then some trap toward the end of the day. So far, I love it!

I especially like the Speed Load feature as it allows you to insert a shell in to the bottom magazine and the system automatically cycles the shell to the chamber without even having to push the button to close the chamber.

I also found the shotgun to be very soft shooting; a real pleasure. As I was shooting trap - I had a chance to use a Benelli Vinci and was pleasantly surprised to find that my Maxus felt on par with the Vinci which is significantly more expensive than my Maxus. At the time, the weather was bad and even shooting in the pissing rain, the Maxus did it's job. Not a single jam or problem.

I do have a few quick questions though.

1. How often do you guys clean your shotguns? The manual says I should do it after every outing. In practice what do you guys do?

2. My second question might need some pictures to explain, but as I was wiping down my gun, I noticed that there was some surface oxidization (aka rust) on the barrel where the barrel meets the "aiming rail" - basically it looked like it was where the rail met the barrel (at the weld point(s)). I'm not sure if this was from my outing in the rain or from the previous owner....

I have yet to give the gun a thorough cleaning as I need to be taught how to do it properly. I bought my cleaning kit, but didn't want to do anything major since I don't know how to do it properly and I'm pretty sure using the wrong product will do more harm than good... Do you guys think this surface rust will be a problem? The rust areas are pretty minor and frankly I'm not sure if using the cleaning solutions will remove it or not, but thought I would ask you guys!

Thanks in advance!

 

[browninggold]

Just bought the exact Maxus a few weeks ago. Love mine so far too, as my first 2 shots fired out of it brought down 2 geese! I've always cleaned my guns on a regular basis, and usually after every outing. I just like a clean gun. As for rust, mine had the same thing, about an inch long section of it right at the barrel/rib joint near the muzzle. And mine was ordered in and right out of the box. No big deal though, it came off very easily and I oiled it good there along the joint and let it soak a while before wiping it off. Been fine ever since.

 

[HogansAlley]

Two geese? NICE! Thanks, that's a relief knowing that the surface rust will come off easily. Like I said though, I'll have to sit down with a bud to show me how to clean it properly. I don't want to F anything up by using the wrong product on the gun. It sure is a sweet shotgun though, swings beautifully and it fits me perfectly! Love it.