Over Thanksgiving I got bored while visiting my parents. I went to the closet and decided to clean all of my Dad's guns. He taught me to shoot when I was a kid, but he doesn't really care about guns. He is a farmer and guns are just another tool for him.
I checked out my Dad's 870 Wingmaster, he has had it since he was a teenager in the fifties. The blueing is pretty much gone. It has seen umpteen thousand rounds through it. It has been abused beyond all comprehension. It has ridden for weeks on end in a pickup, on the back of a 4 wheeler, and before that on a dirtbike. He still takes it out a few times a week to shoot squirrls and annoying birds. It still works great.
I knew that he didn't really clean his guns like I clean mine, after hunting season he would run a brush down the barrel, and spray it down with WD40. (yes I know WD40!)
It took herculean effort to get the nut off to remove the barrel. I removed the bolt. The whole thing was coated, and I mean coated in black ooze. A thick dirty nasty coating of dirt and WD40 gunk.
I asked my Dad when was the last time he cleaned the bolt on his gun. He said that he never had! I was looking at 40 years worth of accumulated crap! And it still worked fine!
I scrubbed on that thing forever. Finally it looked good again, the action was considerably smoother. But I was just astounded that the dang thing would work with all that crud in there. It has seen all sorts of rain, sleet, snow, and other assorted muck, and it still worked.
I just thought I would share this with those who worry about the toughness of the 870.
I checked out my Dad's 870 Wingmaster, he has had it since he was a teenager in the fifties. The blueing is pretty much gone. It has seen umpteen thousand rounds through it. It has been abused beyond all comprehension. It has ridden for weeks on end in a pickup, on the back of a 4 wheeler, and before that on a dirtbike. He still takes it out a few times a week to shoot squirrls and annoying birds. It still works great.
I knew that he didn't really clean his guns like I clean mine, after hunting season he would run a brush down the barrel, and spray it down with WD40. (yes I know WD40!)
It took herculean effort to get the nut off to remove the barrel. I removed the bolt. The whole thing was coated, and I mean coated in black ooze. A thick dirty nasty coating of dirt and WD40 gunk.
I asked my Dad when was the last time he cleaned the bolt on his gun. He said that he never had! I was looking at 40 years worth of accumulated crap! And it still worked fine!
I scrubbed on that thing forever. Finally it looked good again, the action was considerably smoother. But I was just astounded that the dang thing would work with all that crud in there. It has seen all sorts of rain, sleet, snow, and other assorted muck, and it still worked.
I just thought I would share this with those who worry about the toughness of the 870.