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Joined: 25 Aug 2014 Posts: 286 Location: Finger Lakes

Had a buddy make a few duck plugs for my model 12’s. They work great and add about 3.5 oz. balancing the gun nicely.

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Nice
Thanks for sharing

Mike

Member Joined: 07 Jan 2013 Posts: 398 Location: Virginia

Much more elegant than a length of dowel rod!

Joined: 25 Aug 2014 Posts: 286 Location: Finger Lakes

It all started because I didnt have a plug for a model 12 heavy duck gun I bought. Being so long I didn’t have one. Plus I wanted to add a bit of weight since the heavy duck gun was weight with lead in the butt stock. Worked perfect.

So today he sent a pic of some more he made for me. Now I have one for a 16 ga I duck hunt with some. Plus a few spares so I have a reason to buy two guns. Lol.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2346 Location: West MI

Some nice looking lathe work.

A tip for those who don't have access to a lathe we found common stainless 3/8" bolts work quick and easy for plugs with more weight than the plastic ones. My & I used 7"long bolts (=2- 3.5" shells) in his Browning Gold 10, good to go.

The shell stops are metal and should be alright . you wouldn't believe the amt of rear force of recoil on the plugs - I've sent brass rods right thru the caps on other guns . (even 410's )

i have had brass rods punch their way out of a mag cap more than once wood is safer.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2346 Location: West MI

Wow, appreciate the input. The SS bolt was a simple convenient fix & we would not have realized they might cause damage like that until too late. I'll share with my bud and look into wood or a new plastic one from Browning.

Thanks!!

Joined: 10 Apr 2013 Posts: 120

I have made several plugs from tree branches. Never take a plug out .

You need to ADD weight up front to a Model 12 Duck Gun????!!!! For Balance????!!! Sheesh! Show us your biceps! Laughing

Joined: 25 Aug 2014 Posts: 286 Location: Finger Lakes

Woodie , you are correct about your concept with the weight - that starts to climb when you put those rocket launchers in the tube .

Joined: 28 Oct 2015 Posts: 166 Location: SWMO

My go to plug making material is plastic coat hangers. Cut to length, round the edges and they're good to go.

For my Beretta 391 when I can't locate the factory really small diamter aluminum plug, I use a wire coat hanger. Its just the right diameter to slide in the tube that the magazine cap threads on to. I've also seen stainless tig welding rod used on Berettas at check in time before a dove hunt on public conservation lands. You use what you've got available, and thats what my buddy had in his truck.

Shortened chopstick as a plug...makes me smile, for some reason.

To get fancy, one can slide the chopstick into a section of aluminum arrow shaft.

At a maximum specific gravity of about .62 (i.e. .62 g/cc), a 1/2 inch diameter birch dowel 6 inches long would weigh .422 ounce (185 grains, for you bullet guys). That makes a pretty nice plug, similar to what Winchester put in Model 12's (after 1935, if I remember correctly). That's what I use in early Model 12's (older than the plug requirement). Model 12 Duck guns have a lead weight in the buttstock to counterbalance the heavy, thick barrel of the 3-inch chambered gun. They balance quite nicely that way, as a Model 12 should. I had my 30-inch solid ribbed Duck gun back-bored to remove 3 ounces from the barrel and use either the original buttstock minus the lead weight (which is a lot more than 3 oz.), or a set of straight-gripped wood from a 2 3/4 inch Model 12 Trap gun. Both sets of wood have the old red Winchester pad, which, while good looking, gives practically no cushion against recoil. The gun balances nicely and is quite wieldy, and still is not a punishing gun with 1 7/8 ounce 3" lead loads, or high velocity steel loads. I'm not a big guy, either -- I was 5'8" and 125 pounds when I got it, lo those many years ago -- yeah, I'm heavier now . . . and shorter, too, probably. Laughing

Anyway, I can't imagine throwing another 3 ounces on a Model 12 Duck Gun for balance or any other reasons, but to each his own.