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< 16ga. General Discussion ~ Bore gauge, about the most useful thing I've bought |
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Posted:
Sun Dec 31, 2017 7:26 am
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Joined: 02 Nov 2015
Posts: 147
Location: N. Georgia
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Can't say enough about my Skeet's 12/16 bore gauge. It's one of the originals sold by Brownell's, and Skeet's is now back in business. Also I've been pointed to another maker of good quality gauges (based on comments at Doublegunshop) and I've included the link to those gauges also.
If you don't have one and you buy vintage guns, a good gauge is well worth the money. You'll have a pretty good idea if those 'mirror bores' on old guns are due to honing or if the gun was well taken care of by diligent owners.
Both are around $125 according to info with the past year.
Skeet's - contact Ed Patton 706-949-1469.
Unloader gauges - https://www.theunloader.com/ |
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Posted:
Sun Dec 31, 2017 7:47 am
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Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 1395
Location: Tappahannock, Virginia
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I treated myself to one of the skeets constriction gauges two years ago for my birthday. They are very handy indeed.
Now I want a barrel wall thickness gauge... |
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Posted:
Mon Jan 01, 2018 7:02 pm
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Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 602
Location: western pa
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I concur on Gary Bulleys bore gauge, I use it often. I built a wall thickness gauge before I retired from the machine shop, it shows what you really want to know as far as barrel honing and pitting goes but mine isn't very portable. You'll use the bore gauge more often though. |
_________________ Always get get a drink upstream of the herd-Will Rogers |
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Posted:
Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:46 pm
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Member
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Posts: 393
Location: St. Charles, MO
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I bought my skeets bore gages probably 20 yrs. ago , one for 20,s and 28,s. I believe they were $80.00 dollars or so. I do loan them to certain people. Great things to have.
Griff |
_________________ Griff |
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Posted:
Tue Jan 02, 2018 9:18 am
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Member
Joined: 27 Jun 2012
Posts: 1115
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I've had the CSP bore gauge set for many years and can't imagine not having one. I added a 16 ga measuring head and setting ring (.660") to my set as that's the one used the most. It's kinda like the borescope for rifles, you don't realize how much you need one until you use it for a while. |
_________________ An elderly gentleman, his faithful dogs, and a 16 ga SXS. All is right with the world. |
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Posted:
Tue Jan 02, 2018 5:08 pm
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Joined: 09 Feb 2015
Posts: 828
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Ive got Gary Bullys gage a few years. I take it with me alot to shoots cause fellow shooters are wanting their bores cked. |
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Posted:
Tue Jan 02, 2018 5:47 pm
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Member
Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 363
Location: connecticut
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Bore gauge comes in handy for checking the true diameters of variable choke devices!
Art |
_________________ A thing of beauty is ajoy forever! |
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Posted:
Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:34 pm
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Member
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1550
Location: Minnesota and Florida
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Hey Fred Lauer -- Could you please post pictures of the wall thickness gauge you made? I often think of building my own and I'd like to see how you did it. I have one from Brownell's, but it is hard to use accurately. I've seen guys suspend it vertically and go through all sorts of contortions and modifications (such as adding a sort of leaf spring to hold the ball on the rod positively against the inside of the barrel) to try to ensure the measurements are free from bending and gravity issues, but the best I've seen is the one made by Galazan, which has a price I don't like -- but I guess one probably gets what he pays for. It seems to be a version of the type used in British gunmaking practice.
I have and use the Skeet's bore gauges from Brownell's -- one for 10 thru 16 gauge and one from 20 to .410 bore. I like these because they have what looks like a phenolic plastic tube on which I can mark an inch scale with a Sharpie, starting at the measurement balls. That way I can easily read the length and depth of bore and choke measurements. On each one of these gauges, the adhesive used to bond the measurement ball end and the dial gauge to the tube has failed, and I had to re-epoxy the ends back on. No real biggie I guess, as I have never had a re-epoxied end come off -- good old J-B Weld, heh, heh! I do however, check for firm attachment of the ends before every use. Also, due no doubt to temperature expansion of the phenolic tube, zero can drift around quite a bit -- gotta re-zero it all the time, but that's normal practice anyway. I also have a nice Stan Baker bore gauge set, and it holds zero much better. It has a metal tube -- steel I think-- and I like it because it is longer and I can read about 4 more inches of barrel -- useful on barrels 32 inches and longer, but not a great necessity. The Skeet's units are probably just as accurate and repeatable if used properly, and are more cost effective for the gun hobbyist.
Happy New Year to All, and best wishes on your winter gun-fiddling.
Tony Lowe |
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Posted:
Thu Jan 04, 2018 7:35 am
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Member
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 1946
Location: Central CT
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Being a machinist in a previous life, I bought a bore gauge awhile back. While I find it useful, it is kind of a one and done proposition. Once you know what you have, it doesn’t change, unless of course you start changing bores and chokes.
I am not sure it was the best money I ever spent.
I guess I lead a boring life......I have never bought a shotgun that had a bore/choke that was messed up. |
_________________ Mark |
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Posted:
Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:54 am
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Joined: 02 Nov 2015
Posts: 147
Location: N. Georgia
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Dogchaser37 wrote: |
Being a machinist in a previous life, I bought a bore gauge awhile back. While I find it useful, it is kind of a one and done proposition. Once you know what you have, it doesn’t change, unless of course you start changing bores and chokes.
I am not sure it was the best money I ever spent.
I guess I lead a boring life......I have never bought a shotgun that had a bore/choke that was messed up.
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I can't tell by looking what the bore diameter is, or what the amount of choke constriction is . The drop in choke gauges aren't really accurate, the only way I know to be sure on chokes is to use a bore gauge like Skeet's or some of the others mentioned. Then there's the issue of bores being honed and what the bores measure currently. I guess dealing with vintage guns I'm a little paranoid, the $93.33 I paid for my bore gauge gives me a lot of peace of mind. |
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Posted:
Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:18 am
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Member
Joined: 27 Jun 2012
Posts: 1115
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The Sunrise Productions video, "Mastering the Double Gun", has a section on buying a double gun that shows a barrel thickness gauge and how to use one as part of evaluating a used gun. It doesn't appear to be something that any competent DIY type couldn't build for himself. |
_________________ An elderly gentleman, his faithful dogs, and a 16 ga SXS. All is right with the world. |
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Posted:
Thu Jan 04, 2018 11:05 am
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Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 1395
Location: Tappahannock, Virginia
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Posted:
Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:00 pm
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Member
Joined: 27 Jun 2012
Posts: 1115
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That is very close to the one in the video, except the video one had a cone shaped sliding collar at the bottom to center the bore over the gauge. The reading probably could vary a bit if the bore was not centered. |
_________________ An elderly gentleman, his faithful dogs, and a 16 ga SXS. All is right with the world. |
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