Rookie 870 Express cleaning question

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furiousgeorge

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Hey all, I'm a new gun owner, and the only one of my friends/family with a shotgun. I had it out the other week and put 50 shells of #8 birdshot thru it, but I don't know the first thing about cleaning it and was wondering if anyone has any links to a good youtube guide or just a quick little run down of what I should be doing and how often I should be doing it I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
 
Shotguns are pretty easy to clean and take down, field or detailed. If you don't have an owner's manual, I'd recommend a search on Youtube. There's usually several good videos of disassembly & cleaning/maintenance, as well as various websites.

Make sure its unloaded.

There are many different opinions here on how often you should clean it and what you should use. I find that cleaning supplies are like oil for your car or motorcycle - everyone has an opinion on why what they use is the best, so you will likely have to develop your own opinion in that regard on what works for you, and what you like.

For me, I clean my guns after every time I use them. Could be because I'm ex-military, and that was drilled into my head, or the fact that I'm also OCD, I don't know. I like my weapons always to be ready, and like-new at all times.

I use nitro solvent to clean, and a brush, followed by gun oil after with the usual rags you get with any cleaning kit - Hoppe's is what I use, but I'm sure there's a ton out there.

Good luck, and be safe.

Cannon
 
I strip my 870 down fully once a year, and thats not even from shell use, thats to get crap out of it accumulated while hunting. I wouldnt even worry about it with 50 rounds. Maybe worry around the 500 shell mark. Bring it home, let it air dry if its wet, then wipe it with an oily rag for next time. It'll be fine.

That said, they are very easy to take apart. Unscrew the mag cap, remove the barrel. Theres a tab on each side of the receiver to remove the bolt and forearm. Trigger group comes out with a punch.
 
No need to clean your gun too often, just if it starts sticking on you when you pump it, or when your groups start to open up, ive put about 1000-1500 rounds before i clean mine, and that was just to clean the crud out that i got in it, oiling the metal parts isnt a bad thing anytime though, lots of oil in the warmer months and not so much in the winter cause oil tends to thicken up in cold.
 
Sounds like you were out in nice weather, shooting clay pigeons. In this case, your pump isn't going to get very dirty at all. Run a mop, or rags, or paper towel, in a wad with some solvent on it, down the bore a couple of times. It'll be clean enough. It IS important to ensure that the choke tube threads are clean and oiled.

Take the receiver apart before you put it away for the winter. Give it a light lube. You'll notice where bluing starts to get worn off in places inside the receiver as the points you'll need to lubricate.

Really, pumps stay clean a long, long time (unless you're hunting hard with them). The only thing the barrel needs is a quick swab. Done.
 
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