Shotgun...wasnt cleaned.

[St.CroixFishing]

Hey all, I have had a remington 870 20ga. shotgun for around 5 years.

I have only shot 2 slugs through it before, but have let others borrow it once or twice to go shooting with at the range..

Now, I have never cleaned this things bore out or any internals for that matter. The most cleaning I have done with it is wiping off the outside with remoil wipes to prevent rust..

Is my gun going to be ok? Are the carbon deposites going to be perminently bonded to the inside of my barrel since it has been sitting there for a while?

Thanks alot! Im just starting to get into hunting so now I know to keep my gun clean!

[ejpaul1]

its hard to kill an 870. If it still works, it'll be fine. As a rule, clean it after firing it every time. The your assured a lifetime of reliable use. EJ

[m.t.hands]

ditto. you could play with that thing in a mud-puddle and it would still function properly

just make sure the barrel is not obstructed[:-]

but a good cleaning wouldn't hurt and it is a very simple gun to work on, barrel, trigger assembly, nothin to them a time proven design

Well bore could be pitted, but shouldn't affect overall shooting.

[LOUISIANA WHITETAILS]

Y ea that is a nice gun, but it should be cleaned regularly. I wipe mine down everytime I take it out and fully clean it bore and all once a week if it is shot. You can go over a long period of time without having to clean pump shotguns because the action is manual. If you had a semi-auto shotgun you would experience a lot of jamming and stuff like that if it is not cleaned aover a long period of time.

[haugenna]

SCF...

Not to steal your thunder, but a buddy of mine had Benelli Nova that he hadn't taken the trigger out and cleaned for we figured 8 years. He didn't know how to. I had one so I helped him do his. We could have sanded a small driveway with all the crap that came out of that thing. He did wipe the action and cleaned the barrel, but besides that he didn't know what to do to clean it thoroughly.

Just my two cents.

[TUK101]

It should be fine. No better time than now to finally clean her up though huh?

[St.CroixFishing]

oh yes, i know.

I have neglected it too much, although it has probably had less than 20 rounds through it im guessing.

I got it as a gift a long while ago and was never a hunter...I am starting to get interested in hunting now so I am trying to make sure it is tip top shape!

Thanks for all your responses!

[St.CroixFishing]

What does bore pitting mean? Is that just running the cleaning stuff through the barrel?

ORIGINAL: bigcountry

Well bore could be pitted, but shouldn't affect overall shooting.

[HogHuntingChik]

As is the rule with all firearms, clean it after every time you shoot, and it will last a lifetime.