HD Gun Maintenance?

[Guest RonB]

First off...re intro myself a little. Name is Ron...I havent posted in nearly a year...when I signed on I was living in Alabama...I have since moved from hell (it was for me anyway) and back to Portland TN...so...great to be back.

I plan on going shooting later today at my father-in-laws house. OK...for the HD gun maintenance question.

I have a Mossberg Model 590A. 20" 8+1. It is loaded all the time...I don't shoot it...I might today...but it hasn't been shot in well over a year. I moved a couple of months ago and unloaded it when I put it in my car. I noticed the shells appeard to have stress marks on them. I keep 00 buck loaded in it for HD purposes (better suggestion on that I am all ears).

It looks like the pellets are being compressed in a fasion to where they want to burst out of the side of the shell...I am assuming from the pressure of the spring...which leads me to my next question...with the spring being compressed for such a long period of time...could it lose some of it's tension?

I will try to post more than an average of twice a year.

Thanks,

Ron

[molonlabetn]

I had a 590 which I kept loaded all the time. Never really needed to clean it much, other than bore-snake the dust-bunnies out of it, and wipe it down with a silicone cloth and a light mist of WD40. I did replace the mag-tube spring a couple times though, and I always left the hammer down on an empty chamber before I loaded the mag-tube, to keep the hammer spring from taking a set.

[Guest Todd@CIS]

Just like pistol mag springs, replace as needed...they don't last forever.

I usually replace with Wolff springs.

[Oh Shoot]

...

It looks like the pellets are being compressed in a fasion to where they want to burst out of the side of the shell...I am assuming from the pressure of the spring...

I don't believe I've ever heard of that with modern plastic shells. Are those old coated paper type shells?

Either way, do the shells chamber and eject okay? Run through the whole bunch by chambering/ejecting (without firing of course). If they do, I'd reckon they are okay. Unless they ARE old paper shells, in which case I'd chuck 'em and use plastic ones.

...which leads me to my next question...with the spring being compressed for such a long period of time...could it lose some of it's tension?...

Conventional wisdom by experts I read over and over on pistol magazine springs is that only compression and decompression cycles is what weakens them, NOT simply sitting unused compressed. I would assume this applies to shotgun tube springs also.

I'm sure others will chime in on that part, but I think the "shape" of those shells is unusual.

- OS

[Guest Todd@CIS]

Conventional wisdom by experts I read over and over on pistol magazine springs is that only compression and decompression cycles is what weakens them, NOT simply sitting unused compressed. I would assume this applies to shotgun tube springs also.

- OS

+1

[Guest RonB]

They are modern plastic shells and the weapon functions as it should with these shells. Thanks guys.

[enfield]

Properly-designed springs made from good steel should last virtually forever. Don't worry about the springs in your guns (or mags) failing unless you've messed with them. Resist the temptation to mess with them.

[tnvols]

Conventional wisdom by experts I read over and over on pistol magazine springs is that only compression and decompression cycles is what weakens them, NOT simply sitting unused compressed. I would assume this applies to shotgun tube springs also.

So keeping high cap mags loaded really won't weaken them unless your shooting/reloading them alot?

[enfield]

So keeping high cap mags loaded really won't weaken them unless your shooting/reloading them alot?

IF the mags are properly designed, and IF the spring material is good, there should be no worries. If they're made by a major manufacturer with a good quality history they should be OK.

Good quality springs won't weaken if you cycle them a lot, unless "a lot" is in the neighborhood of 10 million times.

[tnvols]

awesome, good to know