Removing fixed SxS chokes

hansol

hansol

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Hey all,

I was just wondering if anyone here can recommend a way to "open up" chokes on a SxS?

I have a spanish 3" 12 guage that has permanent modified/full chokes, and I would like to open up both barrels up to cylinder bore ie. no chokes at all. I am wanting to fire .735 round balls out of this, but with the current chokes that would be screaming for trouble.

Anyone have any recommendations, other than cutting the barrels shorter? (I would like to keep the 30" tubes for helping with velocity.)

Thanks guys -Cameron
 
Um, aren't most 12 gauges a 0.729" bore? IIRC my spanish double is stamped 18.4 mm (or 0.7244").

Oh, and most gunsmiths can do that job, fairly straightforward.
 
Yup that's correct, in theory a 12 gauge is .729, but barrel diameters vary from what I've read. I haven't had a chance to mike mine yet, as I was going to wait until I opened the chokes up, and then passed a lead slug down the bores to see what the actual diameters are.

From my reading and research though, a guy can use a naked .735 roundball with a blackpowder/pyrodex charge and it works just fine. It's a concept borrowed from the old British 12 bore paradox guns.
 
They do, but unfortunately for me I'm poor and can't afford a SxS with fixed rifled chokes, so I have to go the smooth-bore route.

It works adequately enough in the Brown Bess muskets, so figure it should work alright for me. I'm working with the assumption that accuracy past 30 yards will be absolutely horrid though.
 
Well I sound like a redneck saying it, but if it comes down to having to pay a smith to do the work, I'll probably resort to cutting the barrel down from 30" to 28".
 
Hmmm...... If I recall correctly, they used to list opening up a shotgun choke as costing $65 a barrel at Elwood Epps (I know, far away from you, but I'm just using it for a comparison).

Perhaps you might want to try opening up one barrel to try it out with the lead ball and keep the second barrel choked for wingshooting at longer ranges. You could always open up the second choke later if you like the performance of the cylinder choke with the round ball and want two barrels for shooting them.

Perhaps over the long term you could install choke tube threads and a rifled choke for one barrel, and either keep the other barrel untouched or install a choke tube later on.

Since I've read of at least one person getting IC patterns with birdshot in a shotgun with a rifled choke tube (they added some basic sights to make it good for both slugs and wingshooting), I'm really interested in trying the rifled tube in my Grizzly or Savage 24 with both slugs and shot. The old drilling and Paradox gun concepts applied to modern day hunting....

There's my two cents,

Frank
 
You can't just cut off the last couple of inches on a double barrel as you'll leave a horrid opening between the ribs and barrels. That'll seriously weaken the barrel joint.
 
After you make the cuts though, don't you just re-solder the join again? I'm no gunsmith, but I'm pretty sure I recall that being standard?
 
If you look at the factory muzzle end, you'll see how it is finished between the barrels and the ribs (top and bottom) with metal 'plugs'. There's a bit of talent in doing that job well. And that's silver solder IIRC, not the usual solder.
 
I'd think carefully before I cut the barrels down. I have a 30" Parker SxS that had severe damage to the last several inches of the barrels. I had a smith cut it down to 25.5" and properly fill in the solder. I thought it might make a nice slug gun. It looks fine, but the regulation of the barrels is messed up. With slugs the barrels are about 3 feet apart at 100 yards. Using a hone might also screw up the regulation. From what I've read removing the chokes properly is done from the chamber end to ensure the regulation stays the same. Some chokes are made with the restriction 3" or more from the muzzle and a straight section to the muzzle. You might want to have yours measured before you cut it down. If I was in your place I would call Dave Henry in Bentley, AB and talk to him about it.
 
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