Cleaning Gas Ports

[upnorthwis]

Is there a standard procedure for cleaning gas ports in a semi-auto shotgun? I have a 20 gage Browning Silver Field that needs them cleared out. Is there a drill size that would work?

[BNE]

No Drill!!!! I use bamboo skewers. Cheap and strong enough to get the crud out. Not strong enough to scratch the finish.

[Winger Ed.]

If you use a drill bit to clean a Browning shotgun around here, you'll have an angry mob in your yard
holding torches and pitch forks like what happened to the Frankenstein monster
when he went out to town and got into mischief.

I try not to get violent with them.
I use the common arts & crafts fuzzy pipe cleaners dipped in Hoppe's #9.

[upnorthwis]

Ah yes, the fuzzy pipe cleaners. Same ones I use for the AR family. Thank you.

[243winxb]

Gas contains plastic. Plastic is removed by soaking in Hoppes Bench Rest solvent. Cleans out plactic in chokes too.

[45workhorse]

You can also burn the end of the pipe cleaner and get two very small wires once you unravel them. You can run one end over a straight edge and get a very small straight wire and leave the other end like a corkscrew!
Just my two cents worth, don't want no torches and pitchforks[smilie=6:

[waksupi]

Once you get it clean, keep it lubed up with Ed's Red. Works with Garands, anyway.

[Gtek]

Strip the end of Q-Tip and make little pointed icicles and spin them into holes. Spray and saturate with the red tube hooked to a carb cleaner can and let soak, then grab with hemostats and spin. Repeat as needed. As far as the Ed's red, anything gas or gas piston, shotgun barrel in and out and most rifle bores gets wiped, round count?, does not matter, yes can make a goo but it wipes pretty clean with the new Ed's Red wipe. Just be careful around wood or fancy finishes.

[upnorthwis]

Well, I've got the gas ports cleaned out. Looked in there with bore scope. Also shined light in barrel and it shows thru holes in gas block. Problem is the gun is still acting like a single shot. At best it will stovepipe. So, I called the Browning service dept and he said to check if spring in piston is broken. It isn't. What also concerns me is the erosion of metal from the magazine tube near where front end of piston fits. It's like hot gas is escaping somewhere and eroding the metal. Is it leaking the gas that's supposed to be cycling the action? To be continued.

[Winger Ed.]

If everything looks good, and doesn't bind while moving the bolt back & forth by hand--
maybe the ammo isn't strong enough to build enough pressure for it to cycle & eject.

[upnorthwis]

If everything looks good, and doesn't bind while moving the bolt back & forth by hand--
maybe the ammo isn't strong enough to build enough pressure for it to cycle & eject.

When I first bought the gun I wanted to see how low of a load would still function. Got down to 12 gr. of WSF and it worked like a charm. Finally settled on 16 gr for the skeet load. Have now gone up to 17.5 and it won't even extract.

[lightload]

Did you check the action spring in the stock?

[243winxb]

After cleaning, were part replaced correctly?

https://www.browning.com/support/owners-manuals.html

[upnorthwis]

After cleaning, were part replaced correctly?

https://www.browning.com/support/owners-manuals.html

Yes, it is put together correctly but thanks for the assembly print to confirm it. There is severe (what I'll call) gas cutting on part 47. Its location would be under the piston. If this is what is leaking gas, it might have to be replaced. Looks like a stainless-steel part, so it's not rust. Hope the pic comes out right.
320151

[upnorthwis]

I sent Browning that pic of the magazine tube. To their credit they're sending a prepaid shipping label to send shotgun to repair facility. Gun is on its way.

[upnorthwis]

Got the shotgun back and it works again. They replaced the magazine tube. Problem is I like to shoot a round of skeet a week with it and if it's going to wear out like this, am I going to expect Browning to fix it every two years? Even worse is I had the GF buy the same gun. If hers fails, I'm in even bigger trouble.