16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 19 Apr 2014 Posts: 429 Location: Maine

Bought a Winchester Mod 24 in 16ga for a rainy day gun. It has Mod and Full chokes and would like to open the chokes up. Looking for someone who could do this. I have no interest in tubing this gun and need someone with some skill other than a quick drill job that results in a lousy pattern.
Thanks

Joined: 19 Apr 2014 Posts: 429 Location: Maine

Thanks, I'll give him a try.

Joined: 15 Jun 2010 Posts: 1358 Location: Twin Cities, MN

Rich Cole is in Maine. His shop is top notch. Cole's Gunsmithing.
Jeff

Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 827 Location: N. Shore, mn

If you are having the Chokes opened....... It might be worth considering opening the forcing cones also.

Joined: 19 Apr 2014 Posts: 429 Location: Maine

Forgot about Coles. Thanks all.

Member Joined: 09 Sep 2014 Posts: 105 Location: Virginia

Buy or load spreader shells, they work very well. Opening doubles more than half jobs go wrong. Thin at the muzzles out of round etc. Plus opened chokes cut Value.

Have had several pump chokes opened and chokes installed with good results. Won't let anybody mess with my doubles chokes.

Boats.

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

After some thought, but little experience, I agree with Boats.

Member Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Posts: 401 Location: Tennessee

I have had three done, and all three are perfect. They shoot to point of aim as they did before, they pattern well, and the chokes measure out to exactly what I specified. The key here is to find someone who knows what they are doing and is known for double gun experience, not Joe Local Cowboy Action Gun Butcher. I would not hesitate to have Mike Orlen open a choke on a double.
Just my 2 cents worth, YMMV.

Joined: 03 Sep 2014 Posts: 398 Location: Rochester, MN

It is not a Winchester Model 24 but it is a double barrel Parker:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6yrnJIyjtU

Member Joined: 09 Sep 2014 Posts: 105 Location: Virginia

Good example, chance of open job right using his method is less than 10 %. It's just not that simple.

Boats

Joined: 19 Apr 2014 Posts: 429 Location: Maine

Looking for a decent pattern. The "value" of this gun was dead a long time ago. Like I said this will be the rainy day special.

Joined: 03 Sep 2014 Posts: 398 Location: Rochester, MN

Member Joined: 09 Sep 2014 Posts: 105 Location: Virginia

Problem with the video method is he is indexing the reamer on the inside of the bore and reaming by hand. SxS guns were mostly bored and reamed first then filed outside to weight and shape. Inside may not be concentric in fact few are, if not and indexing midway up the barrel the muzzles come out thin one side thick the other. Little metal left to even things up they look out of round even if they shoot to point of aim

Top gunsmith will be much more precise setting up and keep things true.. Even so a good shop will reject open jobs if they don't think they will come out right.

Other hand at about 4 bucks a box more than regular you can buy spreaders, less if you load . Can buy a lot of spreader shells for the cost of a good choke job. Why not buy a box of RSTs and pattern first, might be surprised how well they pattern

It's your gun and choice though. Briley has done two of my pumps and a few SxS guns for friends all came out good. Getting ready to send him a 870 barrel now.

Boats

The problem with having the chokes reamed in an SxS double is the chance that the barrel regulation of a proven to be accurate gun may become altered and accuracy degraded. Some doubles are regulated by slightly bending barrels and then mating and assembling them in such a manner so they hit very close to the same spot down range. This is especially true for older domestic SxS double guns made prior to WWII and some imports made today. It is less true of very modern O/U doubles with fixed chokes made by some manufacturers (but not all) due to the proven manufacturing techniques used to accurately assemble barrel sets today.

It takes a true expert who knows and understands SxS doubles to do the work w/o damaging accuracy. Mike Orlen is one who does in my experience. He opened the chokes of my known to be very well regulated and accurate 1960's AyA Matador w/o noticeably changing the mutual point of impact of either pattern center.