Cleaning

tyro · August 2, 2000, 06:15 PM

How often is it necessary to clean the barrel of a shotgun through which several boxes of shells are fired several times a week?

BrianF-Jax · August 2, 2000, 09:23 PM

I've been wondering myself, I was lazy a couple times and shot one day and didn't clean, shot the next day then did it.

It does seem to take a bit more to clean if you let it sit overnight...

Dave McC · August 2, 2000, 09:55 PM

Short of actual neglect, the big problem with not cleaning is the accumulation of grunge in the action, not the bbl. Luckily, that takes a while to happen. Unless you live in a hot humid area, cleaning the bbl once weekly on a shotgun being used every coupla days is OK. Semi tropical areas, I'd want to do it after every session.

PJR · August 3, 2000, 08:31 PM

I like to clean mine after every shooting session. I've read that the plastic wadding residue can capture moisture against the steel leading to corrision but I've never seen it happen. About the longest I've left a gun is a week.

Dave McC is right about the actions being gummed up. Several years back there was a shooter at our trap club whose Remington 1100 seized up. He wasn't sure of the problem and asked a couple of us for help. One of my buddies began removing the forend nut and taking the forend and barrel off which was quite a shock to the gun's owner. Seems he'd never taken the gun apart. When asked if how he clearned the gun he said he just took a rag and wiped down the barrel and receiver. Stifling our laughter, we brought out a can of G96 and some rags. The gun ended up as good after going through the whole can and shooter received a lesson in gun cleaning. This guy was a semi-regular who'd started trap shooting 6 months before and had bought the gun used. We figure he'd put at least 2 thousand rounds through the gun before it stopped.

Badger Arms · August 3, 2000, 08:49 PM

I concur that although there is nothing wrong with the practice, I'd still at least do a cursory cleanup after each session or shift, whatever the case might be. I was in the same situation on-duty with 870 shotguns. We simply ran a brush and patch through the barrel and wiped down the outside. Once a day (three shifts) we'd pull the barrel and bolt out and do a good cleaning. Only takes about five minutes with practice. This was after probably 20-60 shots a day depending on business.

August 2, 2000, 06:15 PM	#1
tyro Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2000 Posts: 404	How often is it necessary to clean the barrel of a shotgun through which several boxes of shells are fired several times a week?

August 2, 2000, 09:23 PM	#2
BrianF-Jax Member Join Date: June 17, 2000 Location: Jacksonville, FL, USA Posts: 53	I've been wondering myself, I was lazy a couple times and shot one day and didn't clean, shot the next day then did it. It does seem to take a bit more to clean if you let it sit overnight...

August 2, 2000, 09:55 PM	#3
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Short of actual neglect, the big problem with not cleaning is the accumulation of grunge in the action, not the bbl. Luckily, that takes a while to happen. Unless you live in a hot humid area, cleaning the bbl once weekly on a shotgun being used every coupla days is OK. Semi tropical areas, I'd want to do it after every session.

August 3, 2000, 08:31 PM	#4
PJR Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2000 Posts: 1,127	I like to clean mine after every shooting session. I've read that the plastic wadding residue can capture moisture against the steel leading to corrision but I've never seen it happen. About the longest I've left a gun is a week. Dave McC is right about the actions being gummed up. Several years back there was a shooter at our trap club whose Remington 1100 seized up. He wasn't sure of the problem and asked a couple of us for help. One of my buddies began removing the forend nut and taking the forend and barrel off which was quite a shock to the gun's owner. Seems he'd never taken the gun apart. When asked if how he clearned the gun he said he just took a rag and wiped down the barrel and receiver. Stifling our laughter, we brought out a can of G96 and some rags. The gun ended up as good after going through the whole can and shooter received a lesson in gun cleaning. This guy was a semi-regular who'd started trap shooting 6 months before and had bought the gun used. We figure he'd put at least 2 thousand rounds through the gun before it stopped.

August 3, 2000, 08:49 PM	#5
Badger Arms Senior Member Join Date: July 2, 2000 Location: Harnett County, NC Posts: 1,700	I concur that although there is nothing wrong with the practice, I'd still at least do a cursory cleanup after each session or shift, whatever the case might be. I was in the same situation on-duty with 870 shotguns. We simply ran a brush and patch through the barrel and wiped down the outside. Once a day (three shifts) we'd pull the barrel and bolt out and do a good cleaning. Only takes about five minutes with practice. This was after probably 20-60 shots a day depending on business.