Cause of stuck choke tubes and how to prevent

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BM55

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Last fall I was preparing to take apart my gun (CZ Redhead Deluxe) for cleaning, but the choke tubes were very difficult to remove. I eventually got them out but one of them seems to have bulged as it seems impossible to get back in the barrel (I of course didn't force it). The other one will go back in the barrel, with only a little bit of resistance.

The one I think may have bulged is a modified choke and I shot BBB steel shot through it. It seems strange that BBB would have ruined a modified choke, but could this have been the problem? If not, what would have caused this?

If I don't want this to happen again, do I need to spend $$ on higher quality chokes?
 
Wow guys! The op said his choke tube bulged and wants to know why. Anti seize and oil are good advice to be able to unthread the choke after shooting a while but not answers to his question IMO.

Unfourtunatly BM55, I don't know what to tell you. I've heard that shooting steel through a full or xfull choke is bad but I've shot steel through my mod rem-choke with no problems although it was never bigger than #4. It could be a quality issue. Hopefully someone on here will have some more usefull info for you.
 
rem74283 said:
Wow guys! The op said his choke tube bulged and wants to know why. Anti seize and oil are good advice to be able to unthread the choke after shooting a while but not answers to his question IMO.

Unfourtunatly BM55, I don't know what to tell you. I've heard that shooting steel through a full or xfull choke is bad but I've shot steel through my mod rem-choke with no problems although it was never bigger than #4. It could be a quality issue. Hopefully someone on here will have some more usefull info for you.
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The title of the thread is "Cause of stuck choke tubes and how to prevent ". We answered that question.
 
It could be you just need a higher quality choke tube. Aren't some rated for steel shot while other choke tubes are not? If so, it could be the reason why the bigger steel shot bulged it. Just my humble opinion. As far as sticking, that has been answered.
 
You may end up replacing the bulged choke tube, if you keep screwing it in and its a tight fit, you will most likely end up tearing the threads out of the barrell.
 
Lose the questionable tube, buy an aftermarket one that is not made of Turkish steel. You risk damaging the threads in the barrel if you continue to try to use the bad tube. Lube threads, report back to us.
 
Thanks all, I appreciate the responses. Like someone above me said, the issue is not so much the choke becoming stuck or seized at the threads, but rather it seems to have bulged in the middle so that once I got it out, it seems like it wouldn't go back in the barrel without a fair amount of force. I of course didn't want to do this out of fear of damaging the threads.

I contacted CZ for warranty purposes, and after I was finally able to get a response (the party who handles CZ Canadian warranty work is pretty non-responsive), they offered to look at the choke tube if I sent it in. I don't think I will bother with this out of fear it might happen again. I will just invest in some better choke tubes . It seems like Carlsons are reasonably priced and relatively easy to order in Canada.
 
If the choke tube is bulged, I'd bet the barrel surrounding it is bulged as well. This may be a bigger warranty issue than you think.
 
I will check closely again, but the barrels appear to be fine. The other CZ chokes I have thread nicely and fit snug. Also, as much as I try, I can't visibly see any bulge on the problem choke with the naked eye. Maybe I should get my hands on a precision digital caliper to confirm. I can also post pictures later tonight to show you guys what I mean.
 
BM55 said:
Last fall I was preparing to take apart my gun (CZ Redhead Deluxe) for cleaning, but the choke tubes were very difficult to remove. I eventually got them out but one of them seems to have bulged as it seems impossible to get back in the barrel (I of course didn't force it). The other one will go back in the barrel, with only a little bit of resistance.

The one I think may have bulged is a modified choke and I shot BBB steel shot through it. It seems strange that BBB would have ruined a modified choke, but could this have been the problem? If not, what would have caused this?

If I don't want this to happen again, do I need to spend $$ on higher quality chokes?
Click to expand...

You may have damaged the barrel itself with the steel shot. Steel shot should be fired through more open tubes... like improved cylinder. It takes very little constriction to give a good pattern. Tighter restrictions distort the pattern.

I suggest you send it to someone who is highly qualified in choke tube installation for their inspection and opinion.

All choke tubes benefit from the use of a high pressure anti seize grease like Never Seize. It adds strength to the thread 'joint', prevents corrosion and makes it easy to remove and install. Of course it will do nothing to prevent bulging.
 
I'll take this advice re: shot size into account in the future, as I didn't know any better at the time.

That said, almost everything I have read online is telling me that steel BBB should be safe through a modified choke. Even the packaging on the shells I have says that steel BBB should be fine through a modified choke. Given this, I am surprised that I had problems.
 
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