Opening Chokes

[William Davis]

This scanned photo shows what it takes to do good work inside a double barrel. First photograph I have seen of a proper rig. I doubt if half a dozen gunsmith in the US are equipped as well.



Caption says it's set up for honing but no doubt used for all inside work. Key is the barrels are supported in a sliding table. Speculating, they are indicated inside muzzle and breech for true. Looks like the reamer shaft is bushed and can be extended past the muzzles were it can be indicated again for true . You could ream from the breech end but if so I can't figure how you could check it for run out. Perhaps the reamer has a hole in the end large enough for a dial indicator probe that can be reached from the muzzle.

Big difference from slipping a tapered bushing inside and cut by hand using a tap wrench.

William

[Paul Harm]

I've had pretty good luck, but then I'm cleaning the bore and checking what I did after every other pass. I bought a 1894 Remington F grade " trap gun " for a good price because the right barrel was only IC choke. By jug choking it I took it to a Mod. But that takes quite a bit longer because the reamer is put to the proper place then adjusted tight against the barrel, reamed, adjusted back down so it can be removed and cleaned. Then clean the bore of cutting oil so the mic can be used without gumming it up with oil. Because the reamer is in the barrel when adjusted tight you can only get a thou or two. Takes awhile, but if there's enough wall thickness, choke can be put back in.

[William Davis]

Paul It can be done by hand if careful. I opened up a 870 barrel years ago and working with a "Armorer" not a gunsmith, cut and threaded another 870 for screw in chokes. Single barrels easier to work with and pump guns have right much metal in the barrel.

Price of a mistake on a 870 is 100 bucks though. Plenty of used barrels for sale.

William

[James L. Martin]

After 50 years of shotgunning I have come to the realize that opening chokes is almost never the answer ,you will not shoot better and you can ruin a good shotgun , also I will never install after market choke tubes in any shotgun. Take the time to pattern your gun with different shells like spreader loads, low cost target loads, high end target loads etc. It may really surprise you, the best factory spreader loads for me were polywad brand , which I use in a 20ga VH with full chokes [.025 ] for woodcock hunting. I hate to see those 100 year old factory chokes removed for no good reason. I now just pass on any gun that has altered chokes or Brileys .

[Allan McLane]

I just spent the afternoon patterning a 16ga Trojan with 26" bbls that has chokes that measure Modified and Full. Using a variety of loads, all with #8's, the Mod barrel throws between 48% and 88% and the Full side throws between 56% and 92%. Plenty of variation is available to those willing to study their gun's performance.

[Bill Murphy]

Regarding opening chokes for clay targets, my stock answer, directed at no one in particular, is "Learn to shoot.". If a gun shoots too tight for close game birds, my stock answer is "Use another gun.".

[Paul Harm]

William, I believe the chokes were the last thing done to a barrel, and with a double, after the tubes were soldered together and finished. Usually a reamer is used from the breech end with guides on the rod to keep it centered. If most of your shooting is under 30 yards such as grouse hunting or clay games then you'd want a skeet or I/C choke so you wouldn't be destroying the game bird or over handicapping yourself with clay birds. I don't hunt anymore, but love to shoot clays, and like it even more when I beat my friends. We shoot three times a week about four to eight boxes each day. Just about all the shots are under 30 yards and for this reason I've opened the chokes on most my guns. My SxS trap gun has Mod and IM, the rest anywhere from skeet to LM. Todd Bender, a famous skeet shooter uses skeet chokes and no one is telling him to use tight chokes and just " learn how to shoot ". If I were mainly a hunter, then I'd leave the chokes alone and use spreader wads when needed. But I'm a clay target shooter and have my guns choked for the game I'm shooting. I'm not telling anyone to open their chokes, but there are good reasons for doing it if one so desires.

[Parker-Hawes]

Hello All,It has been awhile. Very interesting thread for me as I am on the fence about a DH 12 on a #1 frame 28 bbl wall thickness at muzzle on one bbl is about .040 the other a bit less .032 or so the store selling can't accurately measure the inside bores and has a no return policy on old guns. the price is favorable but I am nervous about those chokes being opened to IC and IM (that is with a quick check brass gage) I did the best I could to measure the walls in 4 or 5 places. I am wanting the gun but have no good way to check the bore size past the chokes properly..Thanks & Best,Paul

[Richard Flanders]

A nice 28"? #1frame DH12 for a reasonable price would have to have some serious warts to prevent me from begging or buying whatever tool I needed to check the barrels and chokes out. Your brass choke gauge isn't adequate. You can get a relatively inexpensive Enco inside finger dial caliper that will reach I think 3.5" into a barrel and is good to +/-.001". It's what I use for most choke measurement and have found it to work on most Parkers. Are the barrels really 28" and if so, have they been cut? I have a v nice #1 frame 26" damascus GHE12 that only weighs 6#10oz and carries like a 16ga and is a great grouse/woodcock gun. The bbls have been cut and the chokes are open but it papers that way from the factory.

[Ed Blake]

The rule of thumb is opening chokes will give you about 2" in pattern diameter per choke designation. Misses are measured in feet. Learning to shoot well with full chokes builds confidence.