Granddad’s Old Shotgun

If you’re like me you got an old shotgun on the mantel that your grandfather used.  You love the old gun because of the memories and what it represents, but when using it you can’t bring down a rabbit much less a dove on the wing.  You got two choices, either leave it on the mantel to collect dust or you could modify it just a little and make it a useful firearm that can be used to pass on the memories of tradition to the next generation.

Lets start with the choke.  The choke is at the end of the shotgun barrel and determines the size and density of the pattern that the shot will produce.  Different types of hunting require different shot sizes and choke patterns, depending on the size of the game and the general range of the target.

In the past, hunters had the option of either buying a different barrel for each choke constriction (Full, Modified, Improved Cylinder, etc.) or having an adjustable Polychoke type device attached to the end of their barrel. Most shotguns coming out of the factories today are equipped with screw-in shotgun choke tubes, which screw inside the end of the threaded barrel. This gives the hunter/trap/skeet shooter the ability to change the choke of the barrel by simply screwing out one choke and screwing in another. No more need to buy multiple barrels. All that is needed is an assortment of choke tubes, which can easily be changed in less than a minute when conditions require it.

So grandpa’s old shotgun doesn’t have a barrel that uses screw-in chokes now what?  Well you may be able to purchase a new barrel that is threaded for the screw-in chokes, but what if you are unable to find a screw-in choke barrel for the old shotgun Have it threaded to accept the new screw-in choke tubes.  You can do this for less than the price of new barrel; the going rate is about $50.00 – $75.00. Contact a reputable gunsmith and you’re all set, but wait if you are going to go to this much trouble there is something else you should know.

There is one other part of the shotgun barrel that drastically affects shot patterns it’s called the forcing cone.  The forcing cone is the constriction at the end of the chamber that forces the load down from chamber size to the size of your shotgun bore. If you hold the barrel up and look through it from the chamber end, the forcing cone will appear as an abrupt ring. Most barrels come from the factory with this abrupt ring, or forcing cone.

When the shotgun is fired, the shot load is immediately FORCED, under tremendous pressure, to squeeze through the abrupt forcing cone to the smaller size of the bore. This results in some of the lead shot becoming deformed, making them ballistically unsound and causing them to fly out of the pattern. Lengthening the forcing cone removes this abrupt constriction and allows the shot to make a more gradual transition from chamber to bore size, reducing shot deformity and allowing more of the shot to remain in the pattern. The combination of the screw-in choke tube and a longer forcing cone can turn an old shotgun into a much better performer with considerable improvement in pattern density and versatility.

You might just find that you have a very nice shotgun to pass on to you son or granddaughter.  What makes especially nice is being able to tell them you Dad used it.   Heritage, Tradition, God and Family, I don’t think there are finer gifts to pass on.

Robert Willis

Team AZOD