My wife's 390 and later 391 was cleaned after the state shoot and again after the hunting season. The first was for after season maintenance while the second was to deal with any debris and dampness picked up while hunting. My wife did 3000+ registered targets plus a like amount for league, practice, and hunting. When the gun would begin to slow down and not kick empties as far as it used to, a shot of some CLP into the receiver and a drop or two into the bolt handle hole would get things moving properly.
To clean, use the same lube and slather it on. Shoot a couple of rounds of trap back to back and then the residue will wipe right off.The 390 piston will wipe up with a towel while the rest gets blown out with carb or break cleaner.MAKE SURE THERE IS NO AMMONIA IN THE SPRAY! Ammonia will cause spalling in aluminum. Then a few drops of CLP on moving parts finishes off the job.
I do the same for the 391 except I spray the daylights out of the gas assembly with carb cleaner after shooting it wet with CLP. With either gun I replace the recoil spring after about 5000 rounds and may be separate from cleaning.
In contrast, the 1100 and 11-87s I owned were neat freaks. The 1100s were less so than the 11-97s but they did not like to be dirty. They also individuals in that one would like to run dry, another wet, another with spray on Teflon, etc. This was not unique to Reminton, I had the same problem with Mossberg, S&W, Ithaca, and probably qnother one or two. Needing to be clean is what eventually drove me to trying Berettas as doing so with magnum lead and many steel loads was not possible. Chaff, dirt, and other field debris did not help either. I don't regret that in the least.
Last edited by woodmaster81; 10/27/19.
