1st gun purchase; should I be concerned about exploding barrels or other malfunctions

[Youthagainst]

Hi, after looking through your forums I noticed that it doesn't seem that uncommon for people to have exploding barrels, which is always followed with the comment, "your lucky to be alive."

I would really like to avoid exploding barrels or anything else that could injure me, so aside from reading the manual twice carefully is there any good advice on gun care?

Also, how often do I have to clean the whole gun? I know that I need to snake the barrel, but when do I have to take apart and clean the part that fires the shells (reciever i think?) Is this hard to do? I have been watching videos on youtube, and it looks kinda hard. I don't want to put it back together wrong and kill myself.

Thanks.

[New_Pollution1086]

exploding barrels only happen if there is some sort of obstruction in the barrel,
ie: a 20ga in a 12ga, mud, water, general gunk.

as for cleaning the mossberg 500 its not that hard, the manual explains it pretty well, i love youtube for gun cleaning, good videos if you look around.

a might have forgotten something but im sure it will be covered here.

T

[LHB1]

With modern firearms, you have to do something really stupid to cause gun barrels to "explode", like plugging a shotgun barrel with mud and firing a shell in the gun. In my nearly 70 years, I have never even seen a case of rifle, pistol, or shotgun with blown barrels.

[zippy13]

youthagainst:
I would really like to avoid exploding barrels or anything else that could injure me, so aside from reading the manual twice carefully is there any good advice on gun care?

You're a zillion times more likely to be hurt by a stupid act than the gun exploding. Take a course in safe gun handling, like the NRA's hunter safety program. You'll learn about the care and feeding of your new gun and how to avoid the common mistakes that can result in tragedy. You'll enjoy your new gun much more with the confidence that you know what you're doing.

[BigJimP]

There are classes around and some good DVD's on disassembling shotguns - and many of them are very good. As you make friends in the shooting community / you'll meet guys with the same gun you have / as you meet someone and value their input ask them to help you out with stripping the weapon.

Is disassembling a shotgun difficult - no / and once you've done it a few times its a piece of cake. Personally, I completely strip my shotguns every time I shoot them / but its only a 15 - 30 min process to clean and reassemble most shotguns - depending on the gun.

Read the manual / understand how the basics of the gun works / firing it safely should not be a problem. Personally, for many years I've put at least 10,000 shells a year thru my shotguns / and close to that many thru my handguns / and virtually 100% were my own reloads. I've had darn few shells that did fire properly / and I've never had a gun malfunction that came close to damaging a weapon / let alone blowing one apart.

But if any of this stuff makes you nervous - talk to people, read a little, ask questions, go to some classes - once you're comfortable, then make your decison on which weapons to buy, etc.

[Death from Afar]

A well maintained modern gun, with modern factory ammo , with no obstructions in the barrel will never explode. Ever.

Most ( if not all) shotguns can only be put together in one way, and will not fore if incorrectly assembled. I cant think of any exceptions to this rule. IN fact, the only weapon I can think of that is dangerous if incorrectly assembled is the canadian world war one .303- cant recall its name. It does pay to practice stripping and assembly in the comfort of your own home, until you can do it without referring to the manual or utube!

[skeeter1]

"A well maintained modern gun, with modern factory ammo , with no obstructions in the barrel will never explode. Ever."

No. I've fired thousands of rounds through my S/S SKB doubles with their thin barrels, and have never had a problem. Something like a Mossberg 500 is built like a tank in comparison. You'll have no trouble.