TUK101

Bore pitting is when the fouling starts to turn to rust and makes small pits in the barrel. Clean her up good, and you will more than likely want to use a bore brush to get the tuff stuff out. Use sone Hopps solvent in it to get a good deep clean.

Briman

I used the same wingmaster to shoot trap 2-3 nights a week for about 8 years without cleaning it once. No hiccups, no problems, no malfunctions, and the barrel didn't pit. All in all, probably close to 100,000 rounds through it without a single cleaning.

bigcountry

Goodness Briman, we got a name for that. Obsessive behavior. They got doctors for that. 3 nights a week for 8 years.

If you seriously have 100K rounds thru it, thats extremely impressive. But I buy and sell guns all the time, I see all kinds of shotguns, new and old with pitted bores. Including wingmasters. Wondered how that happened. Also, how does someone know its not pitted without ever having a brush down the barrel? You got to clean it, to know it is not pitted.

nksmfamjp

Pitting is when something corrosive eats a small spot or a buch of small spots in metal. It takes a long time for significant damage. For example, I was looking at some trashed 870's in the gun store which may have sat there for 20 years. None of them showed obvious pitting. The only bad damage I saw were thing their owners had done! Things like destrroyed stocks, poorly installed and removed scope mounts, etc. Neglect was the best thing some of these beautys had seen! . . .but I'm looking for a base project gun.

You may have some roughness caused by pitting, but it shouldn't affect a shotgun much. Now, if you look down the bore after your best scrub down, and it looks like the surface of the moon. . . .well, then you need a new barrel probably to pattern at all.

Roskoe

No time like the present to get on a gun maintenance regime. The big deposit in shotgun barrels is plastic wad material. Need a good tight brass brush, patches/jag,and a good solvent like Hoppe's. After a thorough cleaning, I like to put a few patches down the barrel wet with Sheath (Brichwood Casey product) before storage. The inside of the magazine tube is another area that is often overlooked. You might consult with a gunsmith or some other knowledgeable person on disassembly procedures. There is also a very good DVD available in Midway (1-800-243-3220) on the Remington 870 maintenance and cleaning procedures (Product #225-913).

TUK101

I would say that the reason that your gun did not pit is because you did shoot if so often. Pitting generally occurs from sitting without being cleaned an oiled. Being in a cold damp environment is where this will usually occur. If you have your gun cabinet or gun stored in a warm room you may never experience pitting even if left dirty and unoiled. And the conditions which the gun is used in will also effect wrether or not pitting may occur. If the gun never sees a cold rainy day you could more than likely leave it dirty and unoiled and it may never pit. Lots of variables are involved.

Briman

The worst thing you can do to a shotgun is to take it hunting, and not clean it afterward. Sitting outside while its raining, snowing or having a wet dog hopping around near your gun wil get it wet, and the fouling will hold the moisture against the metal. The type of shooting I've mostly done is shooting a 100-200 rounds at a time, the barrel gets hot, any moisture is driven out. Wipe the gun down with a silicone cloth when I get home is pretty much all the maintenance it ever needed.

Yeah, I'd still be doing it along with another night of sporting clays now, but havinga wife and kids put a huge wet blanket on doing fun, expensive stuff more than a few nights a month. [&o]

BDC

My grandpa always said the proper way to clean a shotgun is to load another shell lol.

I don't anticipate any heirlooms.

Pickerel

While on break I borrowed my friend's old Wingmaster which he rarely (if ever) cleans. It's been through some rough stuff, as the missing chunk of fore end and weathered stock from being dropped on ice several years ago will indicate. Now he as a Beretta semi-auto he uses, so I use his Wingmaster when I go with him. I don't know how old this gun is (the serial number is in the 800,000 range), but it's up there. I haven't had any problems with it.