Mechanical Problems
With the magazine cap removed, the barrel and forend can be separated from the receiver. The bolt comes out on the action bars when the forend is removed. Ideally the bolt should move freely within the bolt carrier, falling forward when pointed downward and falling back into the carrier when inverted. It took pressure to move the bolt by hand.
My friend told me the former owner had informed him the shotgun was kept “well lubricated.” Talk about an understatement …
Oil and dirt had congealed near to the point of solidifying. I took apart the bolt assembly and after some consistent tugging was able to remove the bolt. The only way to totally clean the bolt and carrier was to douse it with brake cleaner. I needed to perform this two times. Next was washing the parts in a mixture of hot water and Dawn dish soap. I used compressed air to remove all traces of moisture.
I did the same thing with the trigger group. When put back together, the pump-action slid back and forth easily. Interestingly, there was no evidence of lubrication on the action bars.
Next came the problem of shells sticking in the magazine. I thought removing the magazine spring retainer, followed by the magazine spring and follower would be a simple matter. No such luck.
The magazine spring retainer is an internal C-clip. I tried to use my circ clip pliers but the retainer would not budge. After a night of soaking in Kroil it came free and I was able to complete the magazine disassembly. The follower, spring retainer and spring were both caked with the same congealed oil as the bolt. Just a reminder — never, ever lube the inside of any mag.
I used a 10-gauge bore brush wrapped in a patch soaked with Hoppes 9. When I pulled it out, it was unbelievable how dirty and grime-filled the magazine tube was. It was left to soak in Hoppes 9 overnight. Once cleaned, it would finally feed shells.
What should have taken 20 to 30 minutes — not counting the overnight soakings — had turned into a three-day job with a lot of elbow grease.
