Polishing............How often?

[jk6140]

I polished my 870 barrel last year.  I had excellent results.  Do I need to polish it again this year and each year after or should I deep clean it each year?  How often do you guys polish/deep clean?

Thanks

[76chevy]

how do you polish it?

Do you have to have a gunsmith perform this for you or is it something one can do at home??

[Dtrkyman]

I polish my chrome lined barrel in my Benelli twice a year, after waterfowl season and after turkey, if I use it for turkey, only shoot a couple rounds from it for turkey if any but I like to polish it before it sits for 6 months!

I use a cordless drill and chrome polish on it!!

[TJK68]

The barrel just needs to be polished once, at least that is what i do, but clean your barrel often for best results.
Do a search and there are a couple threads on here about polishing the barrel.

[Skeeterbait]

Give a barrel a really good polishing when you first get it, or one time on a gun you already have, using J-B and Kroil on Skotch Bright pads using a drill. Spend an hour on it changing Skotch Bright pads with fresh J-B every 10 minutes, 6 pads.  Bore snake the barrel several times every day that you fire the gun on the same day, don't let it sit up.  Bore snake the barrel several times every day that the bore might have gotten moisture in it.  Don't forget on Mossberg overbored barrels to use a 10ga bore snake.  At the end of each season, use Clark's deep cleaning method to remove any hardened powder, wad plastic, moly, and lead in the barrel using a really good solvent that specifies it removes lead and plastic.  Some times it helps in Clark's method to chuck the rod in a drill with a brass brush to help skrub the barrel. Again, in Mossberg overbored barrels use a 10ga brush.  From there let the barrel dictate if and when you ever need J-B again.  If after deep cleaning every season you see streaks in the barrel or it doesn't have the gloss it had after you first polished it, or if your patterns fall off, then get the J-B back after it.  But it certainly shouldn't need it every year.

Please note that the polishing method described on this site is not recommended in Benelli or other chrome lined barrels.  It is not needed and might prematurely wear and thin the chrome.  Clark's deep cleaning method is safe for chromed lined barrels and is all you need.

[outdoors]

I DO A DEEP CLEAN ONLY , AT THE END OF THE SEASON , , AND NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES ........

[RAY]

I'm sure this polishing or deep cleaning can't hurt to do to a shotgun...but I have never done any of this other than Hoppes No. 9, a bristle brush and a swab of oil and I kill every critter that I hunt with no issues. I can possibly see shooting slugs through a rifled bore would require a better cleaning to get the lead/plastic out of the grooves for better patterning. But a smooth bore? Maybe someone could enlighten me on the benefits of that idea.

[Skeeterbait]

Maybe someone could enlighten me on the benefits of that idea.

Personal experience, Using J-B to clean and polish (smooth) the bore of a Mossberg 500, Two Mossberg 835's and a Mossberg 935 resulted in around 30 more shot inside a 10 inch circle at 40 yards.  It also improved the pattern consistency shot to shot and makes cleaning the bore MUCH easier as less plastic and powder sticks to it.  Not all guns will benefit as much.  Is it necessary, absolutely not as you attest. If you want to maximize the performance of your gun and give yourself a bit more room for distance estimation error then it is a inexpensive tool compared to purchasing multiple chokes and brands of shells, lengthening forcing cones, etc.

[d.winsor]

I have 26 shotguns acquired over the years for different purposes, 4 for turkey hunting.  I have never had a problem with a gun not patterning with the right shell and choke combination.  I have never polished or deep cleaned a barrel.  I have used my guns primarily for hunting.  I cleaned my guns at the end of every day of hunting.  Never had a problem with plastic.  For my muzzleloaders I bought some birchwood casey bore scrubber for getting plastic out if needed (don't get it on your camo, it is worse than deet).  Not condemning the polishing process just never saw a need for it.

[Longshanks]

Polish barrels once. Deep clean at the end of the season. Clean with Tico tool in between shots and after hunting trips. Deep clean my chrome lined barrels only. Not worth the risk of damaging them by polishing.

[Old Gobbler]

Chrome barrels won't need a polish , nor will they likely be able to benefit from the procedure , some say the procure could possibly damage the chrome lining

Polish out the forcing cone and bore to take out the tooling marks and smooth it out and your good to go - take special note not to ring out the gas ports inside the bore of your shotgun , this will likely have the reverse results

- cleaning the bore with a solvent to get the fowling out will be beneficial

[d.winsor]

take special note not to ring out the gas ports inside the bore of your shotgun , this will likely have the reverse results

How does one know if you are or are not ringing out the gas ports inside the bore of your shotgun while polishing the barrel, I would think it would take specialized tools to ensure that this does not happen.  I don't know anything about polishing a barrel, just my thoughts.