Cowboy Action Shotgun

[dtalley]

I know if I cut a double barrel shotgun from 28" to 20" it will not have a choke. Does that matter with the distances for Cowboy Action Shooting or should I reconsider cutting my barrel and purchase another shotgun??

Thanks in advance.

 

[20cows]

It depends

There are guns out there w/ 20" barrels, but some are of questionable durability. I had a Rossi that I wore out three times.

If you have a shotgun that otherwise fills your needs, and is of durable quality, then take it to a gunsmith and have the barrels cut. You can have choke tubes installed if you'd like to. I had this done to an old Savage 311.

 

[dtalley]

do you remember what it cost you to get this done? Just so I will have something to go by

 

[Jim Watson]

Lots of cowboys shoot cylinder bores. Lots of cowboys shoot normal length barrels with some choke. My CAS scattergun is a 27" Verney Carron with the chokes reduced to Skeet and Skeet.

Why don't you shoot your gun as it is for a while and see how it goes?

 

[Father Knows Best]

You don't need chokes for cowboy action shooting (CAS). Typical CAS shotgun targets are metal plate knockdowns at ranges of 7-15 yards. Even a cylinder bore won't spread out much in that short of a distance. On occasion, you'll see a clay pigeon or flip-the-bird, but even then the ranges are extremely close. I never have any trouble putting all the targets down with one shot from my 20" cylinder bore doubles, and I shoot very light loads (7/8 oz of #8 shot).

 

[Souris]

When I shoot CAS I use a 1897 winchester that I inherited. The last 6-8" of the barrel were removed by my grandfather after he got it. Seems as though no one ever told him that you had to lead birds to hit them. He thought that the choke was to tight and "fixed it"

Cylinder choke is a plus for me when shooting CAS I can actually miss with a Full choke when I get in a hurry

 

[SASS#23149]

Most often it don't matter...

but I'd opt to have chokes if possible.Every now and then somebody will put a flyer 'out there a bit' and it's amiss if ya miss it.5 seconds added to your time.
also,does your double open wide when opened,or does it 'hang up a bit' like the 311's do.If so,the shorter barrels will really fight ya on staying open.

 

[20cows]

do you remember what it cost you to get this done? Just so I will have something to go by

I think it was arround $150. A local gunsmith sent it to Hastings in Kansas, If I rember right, but this was about ten years ago. I use the gun to hunt dove, mostly, so the chokes are needed.