Need some answers

N

NesikaPPC

New member
So before I get the third degree, I know that the question I am about to pose is NOT related to benchrest shooting, but I need some other gunsmiths' opinions.

I was asked to day by a person who attends 'Turkey Shoots' if I either knew how or knew someone who could ream a 16 ga shotgun chamber to a 12 gauge chamber. The idea behind this is to use the 16 ga barrel as a huge choke. He said that he had seen it before years ago.

I've never seen this, never heard of it. I'm simply on a fact finding mission...can anyone shed any light on this?
 
Just searched Wiki for bore diameters.
12 ga.=0.729 in.
16 ga.=0.663 in.
The difference (0.066 in.) is transferred to all critical measurements, chamber, wad, forcing cone to name a few.
Considering the relatively thin construction of a bored-out 16 ga. shotgun, you would think that the results would be too flimsy to sustain the pressure.
Just my .02 $ cdn.

Phil aka tazzman
 
First, be very careful in what you are trying to do. That said, some of the old breakdown single barrels, Savage, Stevens, etc had all the barrels built on the same frame making the chamber walls very thick. For example I have a Savage 410 that is on a Savage 12 ga frame making the chamber walls about 5/16" thick (just from memory-I didn't measure). Would I recommend reaming that 410 barrel breech to 12 ga, not on my, or your life, but you see where I am going.

All that said, the technology of tight shooting turkey shoot guns in in the choke (tube). There is a gunsmith near Johnson City TN that specializes in that stuff (Bud Burkey-don't have his #). Even makes barrels 40" or so long with maybe 12" of choke. In this part of the country Fall turkey shoots is a BIG money game.
 
Thanks Jerry. I was simply doing some homework. This guy said that he had a gun done like this before where "all they did was ream the chamber of a 16 ga to accept a 12 ga shell. They left the rest of the barrel the same diameter of a 16." I was a little leary of this and wasn't sure it could be done. I know of a couple of guys in this area who sink major $$ into turkey shoot guns. I don't know who does their work for them.

If the gun is an older breach loader that was built on say a 12 ga frame but is bored to 16, could just the chamber be enlarged or would there need to be more work done further in the barrel?
 
I assume it could be done but I really see no real gain by doing so. There are some really good aftermarket chokes on the market to achieve anything you may want to do. 16ga shells are easily available. If you want a heavier pay load get the proper components and load them. Lee
 
I'm hesitant to step in here because I'm not a shotgun guy but...... I have installed a few choke tubes and modified forcing cones etc, and have some back-bored guns. I've at least built and used (own) a patterning board :) I'm intrigued with shotgun patterning and have a closetful of turkey chokes for our Round Robin shoots. I don't buy into the concept itself, doable or not.

At first glance it smacks of another olde timey storey that I KNOW to be true. Hang out with olde schoole duck/goose hunters long enough and you're shore to run acros't an old puntgunner somewheres who swears by shooting 3" mags in his 2 3/4"-bored Long Tom and tells stories of winning turkeys and knocking down gooses at 70yds. "Kicks like a Palouse mule but she'll nock ha'r off a coyote at a hunner't-n-ten yard....." Of course the REALITY of this setup is that the tremendous recoil is the result of tremendous over-pressure, enough to warp or bend the lump on certain break open guns.

Now if the conversion involves cutting in a 10" forcing cone???? Some way to keep from stripping the wad right at the throat??? And it's for steel-shot loads???


I dunno. I'm curious to hear more because weird stuff HAS been done. Sometimes successfully too.

al
 
NesikaPPC said:
So before I get the third degree, I know that the question I am about to pose is NOT related to benchrest shooting, but I need some other gunsmiths' opinions.

I was asked to day by a person who attends 'Turkey Shoots' if I either knew how or knew someone who could ream a 16 ga shotgun chamber to a 12 gauge chamber. The idea behind this is to use the 16 ga barrel as a huge choke. He said that he had seen it before years ago.

I've never seen this, never heard of it. I'm simply on a fact finding mission...can anyone shed any light on this?
Click to expand...

Nesika,

Joseph Lang of Joseph Lang and Son, London, a maker of "Best" quality shotguns, made what was called the 12/20, later called the "vena contracta" (narrowed passage) sometime in the late 1800's. It was chambered for the 12 gauge, with the barrels gradually tapering down to a 20 bore. The shotgun experts opine that this was done strictly for balance purposes, as the Brits were sticklers for balance and handling with their shotguns. There may have been a velocity increase with the concept due to a venturi effect and the resulting higher pressures, but it probably didn't amount to much. But the Brits were never big on high velocity or heavy shot charges...which adds credo to the balance theory.

The experts are also of the opinion that 12/20 probably resulted in long shot charges...which are the shot gunning equivalent to large groups. Further, when Lang came up with the 12/20, card/filler wads were the norm, and could swage down as the bore constricted. It is doubtful modern day wads would be able to do that...might get a less than pleasant result.

I think I would just get a turkey choke...

Justin
 
I ran into the same question last week in regard to rechambering a 16 gauge barrel for a Winchester 97. The barrel had some sort of damage so the mod wasn't going to hurt it if it went south. The owner owns a reamer for a long forcing cone.

The most obvious problem is whether a 12 gauge wad will extrude through the bore without leaving massive streaks of plastic build up.

The problems less obvious to the owner were the difference on bolt face diameter, but even more important, the extractor geometry. The extractor will likely be an issue even for converting a single shot gun.
 
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