Shotguns: A Simple Way to Clean Your Over and Under
First: A Little History
It's unknown who made the first hammerless shotgun. However, it is believed that the first hammerless shotguns were introduced in Europe in the 19th century. When John Browning began producing the Browning Superpose, versions of the Over and Under shotgun began replacing the Side by Side in America during the 1930's.
The Over and Under shotgun is a double barrel shotgun where the barrels stack on top of each other vertically:hence: over/ under -as opposed to the barrels being side by side. Double barrels are made so that the choke design allows shot groups to converge at a certain range. The settings can be changed so that one barrel can either be closer or further away than the second barrel at the point of convergence. This basically means that one barrel can shoot closer, while the other can shoot further away.
Why Use and Over and Under?
People prefer to use the Over and Under because of the reduced recoil they offer. They are made to weigh more than other shotguns. The more weight a shotgun has the less recoil. Which is why Over and Under shotguns are used for clay target sports, and skeet shooting.
As Zach talks about in episode #15 of #AskNorth40, cleaning your Over and Under is a simple process. He states that you will probably have an action like a pump or an auto that shoots carbon filling back into the shotgun, getting it dirty.
Step by Step
So to begin, safety first. Open up the shotgun and make sure it's empty. Then you will want to place the shotgun into a braced position for ease of cleaning.
Once you have your shotgun braced into position; take a rod dipped into gun bore cleaner, insert it into the barrel, and make a couple of passes:all the way into the barrel and all the way out of the barrel. You'll want to clean the deposits that were left in the barrel.
After you've made a couple of passes through the barrel, you'll want to put oil on the friction points, such as the extractor, and work the oil in.
Finally, with a silicone rag, clean off your finger prints, grease, and oil. You are then ready to put your shotgun back into your safe for storage. Your over and under is ready for a lifetime of use.