cooey model 84.. steel shot?
- Thread starter Wildfoot
- Start date
No it can't handle steel shot and yes, you could open the choke to accommodate the hard stuff. It would cost half as much as the gun is worth to do that. Or, you could purchase Kent tungsten - matrix shells and shoot the gun as it is. The Kents cost more than steel loads, but the only time you need them is when you are actually hunting waterfowl. The TM loads have superior performance compared to steel shot IMHO. The rest of the time you could just use lead shot (at the range, for upland birds, etc.).
Sharptail
Sharptail
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madtrapper143
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Steep Rock Lake NWO
Check and see if that Cooey is really FULL choke. They were swaged when choked instead of bored and reamed. My 84 marked FULL is actually a loose MODIFIED. I shoot steel in mine with no apparent damage and fairly good results. The old dime will do as well any when determining choke. If a dime passes it is safe with steel 2's and smaller.
cheers Darryl
cheers Darryl
so you are saying that if a dime can slide from the action down the barrel its ok? the other cooey i have easily could fit a nickel down the whole barrel. its marked full choke too....?
If you can fit a nickel and its marked full it is larger than 12 gauge!
With the present cost of Kent tungsten matrix, 10 rounds would be also be about half the worth of the gun!
Hi-Standard
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Newfoundland
The way the dime trick works is to insert a dime on its edge through the muzzel. If it won't fit it is full choke and not advisable to shoot steel. If it just barely fits it is a good chance the choke is a modified and would probably be ok with steel. If the dime fits with lots of room to spare, then you would be looking at IC or even cylinder bore. That would definetly be safe for steel. Please note that this is not exactly manufacturers recommended way of determining choke restriction, but it usually works pretty darn good for 12 gauge. Now if you can roll a nickle down that puppy the choke would be blunderbuss
I couldn't resist!you can forget the dime idea. choke depends on rate of constriction ,bore to muzzle size, not just on the size of the muzzle. i seen a lot 12ga. shotguns stamped full that were improved mod. a cooey 84 is an older gun and was never intended for steel. so as someone said either open the choke or buy bismuth or tungsten matrix. the cost of opening the choke maybe more than what the guns worth. by the same token it won't take too long to equal that with other shells. tungsten matrix is $16.75 per box plus tax. that's a box of ten!!!!!
The cost of opening the choke would be $25-$70 depending on the smith you used but anyone who is competent with a set of calipers and a dremel tool (with grinding stone attached) can do it, just don't ask me how much to open it.
Having said all that, #6s and 4s will be safe in a full chole, but noone seems to use it these days and it may or may not pattern well.
Having said all that, #6s and 4s will be safe in a full chole, but noone seems to use it these days and it may or may not pattern well.
little more to it than that billc68. the bore diameter has to be measured first with an inside micrometer. standard 12 ga. is .729" either way. industry standard allows for .005". if the bore diam. is .730 and the muzzel .700 you have a rate of constriction .030 or improved modified. carbide reamers work from the chamber out. brownells reamer works from the muzzle in on a large tap handle. a dremel tool will be kinda hard to keep the dimensions uniform!!! the last thousndth of an inch is taken out with a rotary honing stone. if you have a chrome barrel then the carbide reamer is a must. all cutting is done with cutting oil and the muzzle should be measured after every cut. the digital calipers are used to measure the expandable reamer to see how much is being cut with each pass. you need both measurements BORE and MUZZLE to acuratley find out the rate of constriction or choke. then you go from there.but calipers and a dremel tool alone will not do it,except to screw up your barrel. as far as patterning is concerned. each shotgun patterns individually,regardless of the shot size.a lot aren't, but when reaming out choke, the gun should be shot with each pass , 1/500 or even 1/1000 of an each to find the sweet spot.
If you're picky sure....
But I have seen many done by the local "smith" (notice the quotation marks) where he just opened them a bit with a dremel by simply grinding around inside of the muzzle. To be uniform he just used a circular motion... when asked what choke the end result was the answer was usually "somewhere between Mod and Cylinder.
Worked just fine for what the customer wanted..
fat tony
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I had a friend once who had a Winchester 1300 he wanted me to cut the barrel down for him, I got away with doing the deed with a Dremel with the crappy little cut off wheels. As to how long the barrel was, well, in the same way they advertise airguns as having a magical muzzle velocity of '495 feet per second', the barrel ended up being '18-1/2" long'. I don't get freehanding a choke for a (maybe soon to be 'former' friend). - with a Dremel! Oh well, I guess if it worked for the guy. Regards FT. 
I don't get freehanding a choke for a (maybe soon to be 'former' friend). - with a Dremel! Oh well, I guess if it worked for the guy. Regards FT. You were not being pichy, you were simply stating what has to be done to get the job done right. Some who do not know what they need take it to those dremmel butchers who are not smart enough to know they are out of their league, and between the two they do not know what a ####ty job has been done.
remember how I put "smith" in quotations....
But when you are dealing with a $200 or less gun, if it work it works... right?
I saw your quotations and I saw your brakets refering to your quotation.
if it work it works... right?[/
If it worked, it would be a shear accident! Problem is those involved, customer and "butcher" (note quotation and no offence intended to meat cutters) very seldom test the gun before and after. "butcher" pockets money and is happy and "custmer" (note quotation) thinks that the job is done and well ignorance is bliss. Lobbing a couple inches off and making the bore a true cylinder is the only job the "butcher" should be allowed to do. I guess if the gun is valued at less than $200.00 that somehow makes the "butcher's" fee not a waste of time and money?
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fat tony
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
If a fellow had to shorten a shotgun or rifle barrel, what is your opinion on using a bevel protractor to get the angle right with some careful filework, then ending up crowning the barrel like Clyde Baker advised? In your opinion, would that work okay? Regards FT. Sorry didn't really mean to hijack just had to ask.
Never had a rifle lobbed. Don't know! Had a few shotties lobbed and most were just that. Garnet Runcie from Frank Lake Gun Smithing, did a really nice job on a few for me. I think that he used a lathe. I wish some of these good ones were still in business!
