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Problem with capacity Mossberg 500

llumby

.22LR
Hello!

I recently purchased an old Mossberg 500 Mariner shotgun (year 1992) with 6 shots of ability (5 + 1).
When I wanted to try it, I noticed that only 4 cartridges came in the magazine. I have tested with different brands, in case it was a problem of size since in Spain the 2 3/4 "cartridges are called 12/70, and the same there is difference, but also could not introduce more than 4 cartridges Hornady 12 Ga 00 Buckshot Superformance® (8 Pellets 2 3/4 "), American ammunition.
I think it may be a problem inside the tube even though I could not open it, I guess no one ever removed it and still has the factory loctite red. So before I started experimenting with a heat gun and a wrench to remove the Loctite, I would like to know if anyone else has had the same problem and what the possible solution is.
In case, if it were necessary to change the spring of the charger, I would order it, since it would have to come from the USA and it will take some time.

Thanks in advance and greetings!
 
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When you empty the tube and shake the gun can you hear anything rattling?
I would get out the hair dryer and remove the tube.
 
Old mossy:
With the empty tube, when I shake the gun, it does not sound anything inside. I tried to introduce the cleaning rod from the front and in principle found no obstacle.

DarkPassenger308:
Unfortunately MidwayUSA does not ship outside the USA, although it sells it in Brownells Spain for about 10 $. I think it will not be a bad idea to change it anyway ...

Thanks
 
See any dents or dings in the tube?

Take off the tube inspect spring and follower.
 
Outwardly, I saw no dent in the follower. I think I'm finally going to have to look for a powerful hair dryer, because with the one I have not been able to remove the Loctite, and see how it is inside ...
 
Yes, I had already thought about paint heat guns. I hope it's not too hot for Mariner's gun treatment. I'll try to get one.
Thanks!!
 
Outwardly, I saw no dent in the follower. I think I'm finally going to have to look for a powerful hair dryer, because with the one I have not been able to remove the Loctite, and see how it is inside ...

Looks crazy and sounds crazy, but my kitchen stove worked like a champ for me. Just be sure to strip the forend (regardless of whether it's wood or plastic) and the trigger group before doing this. Wait until you see the puff of smoke and can smell the loctite boiling off. Then you can simply turn the magtube by hand (while wearing oven mitts, of course).

It's hard to see in my photo, but I held the receiver up off the surface about a half inch. I didn't want the aluminum to be in direct contact with the heating element. Aluminum is a great conductor of heat, and it transferred very quickly into the steel magtube and loctite. It didn't discolor the parkerized finish on my receiver and didn't impact the qualities of the aluminum metal itself. Annealing doesn't begin to occur until 400 Celsius for at least 10 minutes.

My stove top operates at 190 Celsius max (when set to High heat), and it only took about 30 seconds to break the loctite free.

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An original idea, no doubt!!!

It wasn't my original idea. I ain't that clever....

I can't find the original post, but someone else on this forum came up with it a long time ago. In fact, searching google for a way to take off my stuck magtube is what first lead me to discovering the MossbergOwners forum. There are lots of knowledgeable folks here, and tons of great posts about all kinds of topics.

On the topic of your magtube: You can safely skip the loctite when you reassemble. The Mossberg 500 barrel threads into the muzzle end of the mag tube. When assembled for shooting, the barrel essentially makes it impossible for the mag tube to loosen from the receiver. Just give it "1 gunt" worth of torque via hand tightening when you re-assemble and check it whenever you take off the barrel for cleaning. You'll find it hasn't loosened.

It's a personal choice, of course, and you can use Blue loctite if you wish. No need whatsoever to use Red loctite.

Assembling without loctite enables me to clean the inside of the magtube and check the components every time I clean the gun after shooting. Just because I can, not because it really needs it.
 
Well, it seems to me that the system does not work for me.

I spent more than 10 minutes on the kitchen stove, I was afraid that the synthetic stock would melt.
Initially yes it has come out a little smoke, but very little, has even dropped a drop of liquid, I guess it would be Loctite, or maybe cleaning oil, but nothing more.
Then I tried to loosen the tube with the kitchen glove but it slips, I waited for it to cool a little to try with the hand, but neither. I think I'll have to find a strap wrench, though I'm afraid it might break or stick to the hot metal.

What a bad luck!
 
Well, it seems to me that the system does not work for me.

That's a bummer, man. I'm sorry to hear it didn't work for you. It'll probably take heat + torque to get it off, then. Heating does two things:
1) liquefy the loctite
2) cause the aluminum to expand as it heats (the receiver's hole that the tube threads into becomes larger in diameter, thus loosening its hold on the mag tube).

Since aluminum heats and expands faster than the steel mag tube, you should work fast. Use a high burst of heat for a short amount of time. And twist the mag tube free immediately while the loctite and receiver are still hot. Leaving the heat on for 10 minutes is too long. That much time will allow the heat to soak into the steel of the mag tube. Which will make the mag tube expand, defeating the purpose.

That's why I like the stove top method. It dumps out a ton of heat very quickly, unlike the typical heat gun or hair dryer. My heat gun will go up to 590C. But despite it producing a high temperature, it doesn't actually produce a lot of heat. Just like the difference between a candle and a campfire log. They're both close to the same temperature, but only one can keep you warm.

The stove burner will only get to 190C. Heck, even a candle flame burns at 830C. But you can't use a candle to boil a pot of water. For that same reason, you can't use a heat gun to boil a pot of water, either.

When I broke mine free, I needed an oven mitt to hold the receiver, but the mag tube was still cool enough to hold with bare hands (about half way up the tube).

It's probably safe to assume that most of your loctite got vaporized and boiled off. Probably not much left in there that's holding. So get yourself a strap wrench and try again with heat + wrench. If done quickly, the mag tube should be cool enough that it won't melt/break a strap wrench. Heat one side of the receiver quickly, then flip it over and heat the other side. Then try unscrewing the tube.

You should also be able to take the plastic forend off before trying again. Remove the barrel. Look down into the front of the plastic forend. There's a small metal ring that threads onto plastic forend to hold it in place. Its only job is to keep the forend from flying off the front of the gun when you rack the action. Remove that ring and the plastic forend will come off the tube when you rack it.

Also remove the trigger housing before heating the receiver, since it's made of plastic. Trigger pin easily pushes out from either direction.
 
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Well, the truth is that there is no problem with the heat for the rest of the pieces since I have dismantled them all except the buttstock.
I'll wait and see if some friend lends me a strap wrench to try again.

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Well, the truth is that there is no problem with the heat for the rest of the pieces since I have dismantled them all except the buttstock.
I'll wait and see if some friend lends me a strap wrench to try again.

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Good luck. Try to focus the heat on only the part where the tube screws into the receiver. You don't want to heat up the tube itself. Try to orient it the same way I had it in my picture.

That's a great looking marine coat M500. You'll have it back in proper working order pretty quickly. Just be really careful about denting that tube with tools, since it has a unique finish. If the walls get crushed in, it'll never work right again and will need to be replaced.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hurrah!

At last, thanks to a friend who understands a little more than I of arms, we managed to remove the tube loader.
All he needed was a vise and removed it with his hands and without damaging anything of the weapon.
And surprise we met inside. There was a piece of aluminum tube inside that made it stop and did not allow more than 4 cartridges to enter. The follower and the spring were in perfect condition.
I suppose someone put that cap on him long ago, I do not know if the local laws previously forced him to use it.
Without it, I can already load 5 (+1) cartridges without problem.

Thank you very much to all for the tips!!!

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Glad it was a simple fix without replacing parts. The factory uses a wood rod to limit capacity for two (2) rounds, the aluminum tube must have been added later.
 
First time I've seen anyone pull that one.

Glad it was that easy.
 
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