Screw in chokes

[CraigThompson]

Anyone here ever put screw in's in a Parker beater damascus barrel before ?

I wanna either find a set of damascus or fluid steel barrels hopefully that have been cut to put screw in's in !

I'd very much like a set of 20-24 inchers . Granted if they've been cut and they're not short enough I can reduce them some more .

[charlie cleveland]

watch ebay for those barrels...i too think i would like to have a set of screw in chokes in a double barrel... charlie

[ed good]

choke tubes in a classic sxs gun? blasphemy!

and a horrid idea...

better to fit a second set of barrels to your gun, so that you have two sets of barrels. one set with tight chokes and the other with open chokes.

[CraigThompson]

choke tubes in a classic sxs gun? blasphemy!

and a horrid idea...

better to fit a second set of barrels to your gun, so that you have two sets of barrels. one set with tight chokes and the other with open chokes.

If the barrels have been chopped I see no reason not to put in screw ins !

At that point as far as I'm concerned the gun is already F'd !

Incidently I do not think you read the entire post . I want a set of barrels that are in the 20-24 inch range the closer to 20 the better . Just how likely do you think it is that I'm gonna find a set of barrels like that in the first place . Ones that have already been chopped are the way to go here and after I get them to a length to suit me screw in's are ALSO the way to go .

As to the damascus with screw in's my gunsmith buddy says thats a no no that damascus doesn't do well threaded !

I have a pair of Parker 12's a VHE and a VH ,ones a #2 and the others a #3 frame , think I'll see if I can't find a set of barrels to fit one of them that have already been cut and send them to our choke guy somewhere in New England .

[todd allen]

I have Briley's in two SxSs. One, a M-21, which has been a huge plus for all of the hunting I have done with it. IMO, the versatility of that gun has been greatly enhanced with the ability to go from tight, to loose, and back again.
The second one is a circa 1900 H&H Royal Side Lock Ejector. This gun came to me with Cylinder & 8k chokes. I wanted the option to go tighter. (I'm a tight choke guy) In retrospect, I think it was a mistake to put Briley's in the Holland. After about 15 years of hunting with it, I have come to the conclusion that it already had the perfect chokes for it's purpose.
Lately, I am back to shooting Parkers on game birds. My guns all have original chokes, and I'm leaving them alone. The Parker barrel guys spent a lot of time and effort to make those guns perform the way they do, and I am enjoying the fruits of their labor.
With tight chokes, a hit is history, and a miss is a mystery.
Sorry about the ramble, and I know I'm a little off topic, but if the bbls are already chopped, put tubes in them. If they're original, leave them original. Just my opinion, of course.

[Dean Romig]

Chokes are often overrated. I have a 16 ga. lifter that had its barrels bobbed to 24" effectively eliminating all choke they ever had at 28". This little gun smashes clays out to 45 yds and beyond. Don't ask me why - it just does.

[Jerry Harlow]

Craig,

You may find that a set of cut barrels will not have enough thickness for even the thin wall tubes. If they were 30s cut down to 26 you are now back into where the barrels are nearly at their thinnest. Maybe even into the 20 thousandths.

If you find 28s cut to 26, 30s cut to 28, etc. you may get the thin walls in there. What you are probably looking for to get 24" barrels are 26s that have been cut 2". Probably rare.

But if they are .729 I.D. or thereabouts straight bore from end to end after having been cut and with thin wall thickness it will not work. They have to have enough metal to thread them. Long story short: you'll need to know the outside and inside diameter and thickness where they are to be cut and the tubes installed. Otherwise you'll be stuck with a set of cylinder barrels.

Just my opinion (from experience).

[Linn Matthews]

Sounds like you might want to find one of the "coach" guns that show up a couple of times each year!

[edgarspencer]

Chokes are often overrated. I have a 16 ga. lifter that had its barrels bobbed to 24" effectively eliminating all choke they ever had at 28". This little gun smashes clays out to 45 yds and beyond. Don't ask me why - it just does.

Gotta keep rubbing it in don't you. Lightened 0 frame 16s are so sweet, and parting with that gun ranks right up there on my very long 'stupid list'.

[David Macaleer]

Putting tubes in a vintage sxs makes me cringe but as Craig & Todd point out, if the barrels are already cut the damage is done. And as J.A. says, make sure you have enough wall thickness. When I see a gun available that has tubes added I generally run in other direction. My one Parker, two Elsies and few Foxes are all unmolested and will stay that way as long as I have them! Need different chokes? A built in excuse to buy another gun!!

[ed good]

figure only two chokes are really needed:

a. none

b. modified

modern plastic wads made other chokes counter productive, cept for turkey hunters.

[David Weber]

Maybe add a black plastic stock too?:whistle:

[todd allen]

You might think you don't need chokes, until you take up box birds.

[charlie cleveland]

started to ask what was a box bird but it just hit me as to what they are... charlie

[John Davis]

I put Briley thin chokes in a Trojan 20 gauge with cut barrels. That was probably 10 years go and the PGCA forum was much smaller then. Caught a lot of grief for my heresy. However, the gun has been a great shooter and I've taken everything from snipe to pheasant with her. Wouldn't recommend it for every gun but it can have its place. I also agree with Dean. Choke can be over rated. Or perhaps over thought. John

[Dean Romig]

I also agree with Dean. Choke can be over rated. Or perhaps over thought. John



John, I should have given you credit for that. We discussed that very topic at Addieville a few weeks ago and you're the one who made that "Choke, I think, is often overrated." statement to me. But my experiences with some guns has caused me to adopt that thought.

[Bill Murphy]

Even box birds require some thought about chokes. In my debilitated condition and advanced age, I find that my favorite box bird gun has turned into a rifle for someone of my ability. I can't hit the first shot with a rifle and I can't hit the first shot with my old PHE trap. I will either start shooting spreaders in my right barrel or change guns. I never seem to slide much past the thirty yard line. At one shoot, I had a bad first five birds with my PHE, so I shot the last ten with one of my Evans game guns bored IC and MOD, about .010 and .025. I ran nine out of the last ten with a bird gun shooting target loads.

[CraigThompson]

Putting tubes in a vintage sxs makes me cringe but as Craig & Todd point out, if the barrels are already cut the damage is done. And as J.A. says, make sure you have enough wall thickness. When I see a gun available that has tubes added I generally run in other direction. My one Parker, two Elsies and few Foxes are all unmolested and will stay that way as long as I have them! Need different chokes? A built in excuse to buy another gun!!

I kinda gave up on the screw in thing after my gunsmith buddy advised me that damascus barrels are not very receptive to boring and threading .

And that kinda jogged my memory that I happen to have an old LC Smith Field Grade with sleaved barrels done by none other then Westley Richards . They're 26" but handle very nicely . Just gonna have to see how they do with 0 Buck at 25 and 40 yards .

Also have the Sterlingworth IC/M I got early in the summer and an Ithaca Minier I picked up two days ago !