Gummed up chamber

[buckhunter21]

So I've been having a problem with a gummed up chamber in one of my 12 gauge shotguns.  This one is a semi-auto, and when the weather gets cold, sometimes it gums up so bad it does not eject a new shell and/or doesn't completely put a new shell in the chamber. 
 
It got wet last year so when I got in I cleaned it, and may have put some extra in the chamber area to protect it from rust.  Ever since then, I've had this problem.
 
Any ideas of what I can do to fix this, and for future reference, what I can use so this doesn't happen again?
 
Thanks!

[shaman]

First off, make sure your gas ports and pistons are clean.  If they're fouled up with drek you'll not have enough gas pressure to eject shells.  I've used brake cleaner and a toothbrush.

If it really is a sticky chamber, it might need some polishing.  I have been known to put a large patch made from something with a lot of pile, like an athletic sock, and mount it on a shotgun cleaning jag and then chucking it in the drill.  For polishing compound, I like Flitz.  You just load that patch up with Flitz and spin it in the chamber and it'll take out minor imperfections that may be holding onto the plastic shell.  Flitz is not very aggressive, but it does the job.

This is just the old cheap bastid talking-- too cheap to go to the gunsmith.

[buckhunter21]

Is there a way I can get inside the actual chamber to clean it out, or spray something in there that'll do the trick? 
 

[rem700]

brake, crap cleaner and wd 40 use the red straw to flush the chamber out. and the gas ports. 

[shaman]

What shotgun are we talking about?  You should be able to get the barrel off fairly easily and get to the chamber. 

I'm shying away from WD40 these days.  I got too many reports of gumming.  If you do use it, clean it off really good.  Kerosene and acetone are my picks any more-- brake cleaner if it's really bad.

[rem700]

i've use wd40 four years, but i clean it out after.  

[shaman]

ORIGINAL: rem700

i've use wd40 four years, but i clean it out after.  

Yeah, me too.  I think the big problem is when you spray it in something like the trigger group and then leave it. However, I got to thinking twice about WD40 after a few threads on other forums.  It's the kind of product that keeps gunsmiths in business.   As a guy who does the occasional piece of 'smithing work for myself and others, I can tell you one of the things you frequently see is overuse of stuff that leads to build-up and lacquering-- nothing a little brake cleaner won't fix, but it can lead to the hammer not falling or a semi's action not working.  I can't count the number of times I've helped out a guy with a firearm that won't fire and found a yellow goo gumming up the works. I've also heard that WD40 is not nice to bluing-- nothing major, but over time it'll make a black finish go grey.

My ace #1 suggestion:  Google "Ed's Red" .  It's Kerosene, Automatic Transmission Fluid, Acetone, and Mineral Spirits in equal parts.  If you take the Kero and ATF and mix it 50/50 you have gun oil. If you put in the other ingredients you've got powder solvent that will also dissolve plastic buildup from sabots, shotgun wads, etc.  Fr. Frog has the best page for Ed's Red formulations. My guns have had nothing but for about 7 years.  It has an amazing deep-clean property.  I do a once-over on the barrels at the end of season and then come back 2 weeks later. The Ed's Red has been working and all sorts of gunk comes out.  Then I lubricate and put them away for the Winter.  When I pull them out of storage, I run a dry boresnake down the barrel and get all the crud that's been getting loosening up in the intervening months.   I mix and use Ed's Red by the quart.  I also will take a little Ed's on a patch and (as and example) add a little acetone to go after a nasty smear of plastic I see in a shot gun barrel. Hoppes #9 would have me scrubbing for a half hour. If you have a favorite rust preventative, you can mix that into the oil formulation. Ed won't care.

I was wondering: why ATF?  It turns out ATF came about as a synthetic replacement for sperm oil. They started making automatic transmissions just about the time all the sperm whales were disappearing.  You gotta admit.  You gotta admit ATF is amazing stuff-- you couldn't have an automatic transmission without it.  It just so happens that sperm oil was the lubricant of choice for guns before whaling stopped-- it all makes sense.

[buckhunter21]

ORIGINAL: rem700

brake, crap cleaner and wd 40 use the red straw to flush the chamber out. and the gas ports. 

 
take the barrel off and spray brake cleaner in it?  ...how do you flush it out then?

[buckhunter21]

ORIGINAL: shaman

What shotgun are we talking about?  You should be able to get the barrel off fairly easily and get to the chamber. 

I'm shying away from WD40 these days.  I got too many reports of gumming.  If you do use it, clean it off really good.  Kerosene and acetone are my picks any more-- brake cleaner if it's really bad.

 
It's a Smith and Wesson semi-auto...1100 I think.  Yes, I can get the barrel off no problem.  What happ, is I sprayed that amsoil (kind of like wd40) in there and then thought it would 'dry' but apparently not.  I started having problems shortly after the next time I was out when it was cold.

[buckhunter21]

ORIGINAL: shaman

ORIGINAL: rem700

i've use wd40 four years, but i clean it out after.  

Yeah, me too.  I think the big problem is when you spray it in something like the trigger group and then leave it. However, I got to thinking twice about WD40 after a few threads on other forums.  It's the kind of product that keeps gunsmiths in business.   As a guy who does the occasional piece of 'smithing work for myself and others, I can tell you one of the things you frequently see is overuse of stuff that leads to build-up and lacquering-- nothing a little brake cleaner won't fix, but it can lead to the hammer not falling or a semi's action not working.  I can't count the number of times I've helped out a guy with a firearm that won't fire and found a yellow goo gumming up the works. I've also heard that WD40 is not nice to bluing-- nothing major, but over time it'll make a black finish go grey.

My ace #1 suggestion:  Google "Ed's Red" .  It's Kerosene, Automatic Transmission Fluid, Acetone, and Mineral Spirits in equal parts.  If you take the Kero and ATF and mix it 50/50 you have gun oil. If you put in the other ingredients you've got powder solvent that will also dissolve plastic buildup from sabots, shotgun wads, etc.  Fr. Frog has the best page for Ed's Red formulations. My guns have had nothing but for about 7 years.  It has an amazing deep-clean property.  I do a once-over on the barrels at the end of season and then come back 2 weeks later. The Ed's Red has been working and all sorts of gunk comes out.  Then I lubricate and put them away for the Winter.  When I pull them out of storage, I run a dry boresnake down the barrel and get all the crud that's been getting loosening up in the intervening months.   I mix and use Ed's Red by the quart.  I also will take a little Ed's on a patch and (as and example) add a little acetone to go after a nasty smear of plastic I see in a shot gun barrel. Hoppes #9 would have me scrubbing for a half hour. If you have a favorite rust preventative, you can mix that into the oil formulation. Ed won't care.

I was wondering: why ATF?  It turns out ATF came about as a synthetic replacement for sperm oil. They started making automatic transmissions just about the time all the sperm whales were disappearing.  You gotta admit.  You gotta admit ATF is amazing stuff-- you couldn't have an automatic transmission without it.  It just so happens that sperm oil was the lubricant of choice for guns before whaling stopped-- it all makes sense.

 
So you're saying I should take the barrel off, and spray this in the chamber?  ...Leave it sit or clean it out?
 
Appreciate all this advice...This problem is a little annoying.