Getting a barrel threaded for removable chokes

J

Jgal

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Hi all,

I bought a back up mossberg/lakefield 400G 12 gauge as all parts are interchangeable with my 500, it came with a 30 inch full choke barrel.

I was hoping to get it threaded so it will take the chokes I have for my other barrels, and hopefully shoot steel for waterfowl.

I've read this is possible. I'm about to call around to a couple gunsmiths. Is there anything I should know about? will steel be ok? what should I expect to pay?

Thanks,

oh and if you can recommend a gunsmith in Southwestern Ontario I'm in the KW area
 
You pretty much need to know what the type chokes that you wish to thread the barrel for, are called.

Maybe even take one of your spares to make sure that the guy has the correct tap, if he is using a tap, or so he has an example to work from, if he is doing it the hard way, on a lathe.

And how long you actually want the barrel to be at finish.

Can't help you with costs. I would expect that the cost of tooling would pretty much have to be borne out by the job, maybe that and a little profit. You could do worse than to dig around the Brownell's site and see what the cost is on a choke tap, as well as picking up the minimum thickness requirements they suggest, for the wall thickness desired for use of the tap.
 
Talk to Casey at Tactical Ordnance, although not in your area definitely the guys I would go with from my experience and the industry's. Just my .02
 
Mossbergs use Win-chokes IIRC which are relatively common, but it might be cheaper to get a new barrel than getting it reamed and tapped for the tubes. I just saw one on the EE for $125
 
hunter5425 said:
Mossbergs use Win-chokes IIRC which are relatively common, but it might be cheaper to get a new barrel than getting it reamed and tapped for the tubes. I just saw one on the EE for $125
Click to expand...

Was pretty much my first thoughts too, Mossberg barrels are pretty easy to get.
 
I have bad internet ATM so I can't find the Youtube link but Larry Potterfield (I hope I got the name right), a master gunsmith has a video about a hand-held choke reamer. Apparently you could order them from Brownell and DIY. There are different reamers for different chokes and I remember him saying that most shotguns which don't already have a removable choke system have thinner barrels so a thin wall choke is required. It didn't look that difficult considering he didn't use any power tools. I would imagine that a local gunsmith would just order the tool, bill you for the work and tool and keep it after.
 
Yes, you can thread a shotgun barrel for chokes with a hand held tool. You can also open a choke with a pipe reamer. If you want it to shoot to point of aim with nice round even patterns a lathe will do a much more consistent and precise job.
 
Ashcroft said:
Yes, you can thread a shotgun barrel for chokes with a hand held tool. You can also open a choke with a pipe reamer. If you want it to shoot to point of aim with nice round even patterns a lathe will do a much more consistent and precise job.
Click to expand...

I disagree.

Cutting a 40TPI thread, single point, on a lathe, on the inside of a 3/4 inch bore (more or less), some 2 inches up inside the bore, while is not rocket science, is not usually in the daily repertoire of most folks.

When the price of failure is both a financial and credibility loss, the option of using a set of reamers to shape the bore, and a tap to thread it, is a much surer solution, esp in a shop where the lathe is not large enough, or long enough to mount a shotgun barrel.
Making a properly fitted pilot for the tooling, is by comparison, a pretty quick and risk free task. Or the guy using the tooling can measure, and order what is required.

Oh yeah. We were not talking about hacks with pipe reamers. Try to stick with the track we're on here.

And, Point of Impact changes for shotguns have been done since about the first shotgun made. Brownell's sells (or, maybe, sold...) a tool for that too! Easy enough to make one, if a fella has the brain cells required for it's use.

Since a Mossberg is neither a fine English double, nor an Olympic Trap gun, like as not, as long as it is kept from the hands of those hacks referred to above, the odds are stacked pretty high in favor of all turning out well and profitable, with a happy customer at the end.
 
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