Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
A longtime contributor here PM'd me asking about an 870TB that was for sale with a Baker modified Barrel for a very nice price. Manfully, I refrained from inquiring the name of the gun shop and told him the truth about its worth. In person, if I had run across it I'd have bought it and braved the wrath of the Permanent Head of the Budget Committee(AKA Wonderful Wife). Baker barrels are that good.
And since if one asks, many may not know, here's the scoop.
Stan Baker died recently at over three score and ten. He had been a barrel maven for generations. Brister mentions him in Shotgunning, the Art and the Science, his masterwork from 1976. Baker's column in Shotgun Sports magazine was a great source of info and humor.
Baker was an innovator as well as one who followed the paths of Burt Becker and Dan Lefevre in developing chokes and barrel configurations. He was to barrels as Michaelangelo was to chapel ceilings. None better.
Baker barrels for 870s, and 1100s, among others fell into two groups. His Big Bore barrels were made from scratch. These had bores of up to .800", versus the standard .729", and were completely custom as to length, rib height, etc. They started at $1100.
For those of us with more modest means and needs, he took selected factory barrels, backbored them to .740-.750", recontoured the cone, added ports, and redid the choke tubes to make them work with the larger bore.They were also tested for POI, not done much today by barrel specialists.These reworks ran about $600.
A lot of things now done by Vang, Seminole, Angle Porting,etc, were pioneered by Baker.
If anyone out there has a Baker barrel, cherish it. However, if for some reason you do not like it, PM me and I'll swap you any 870 barrel in the house and pay shipping both ways.....
And since if one asks, many may not know, here's the scoop.
Stan Baker died recently at over three score and ten. He had been a barrel maven for generations. Brister mentions him in Shotgunning, the Art and the Science, his masterwork from 1976. Baker's column in Shotgun Sports magazine was a great source of info and humor.
Baker was an innovator as well as one who followed the paths of Burt Becker and Dan Lefevre in developing chokes and barrel configurations. He was to barrels as Michaelangelo was to chapel ceilings. None better.
Baker barrels for 870s, and 1100s, among others fell into two groups. His Big Bore barrels were made from scratch. These had bores of up to .800", versus the standard .729", and were completely custom as to length, rib height, etc. They started at $1100.
For those of us with more modest means and needs, he took selected factory barrels, backbored them to .740-.750", recontoured the cone, added ports, and redid the choke tubes to make them work with the larger bore.They were also tested for POI, not done much today by barrel specialists.These reworks ran about $600.
A lot of things now done by Vang, Seminole, Angle Porting,etc, were pioneered by Baker.
If anyone out there has a Baker barrel, cherish it. However, if for some reason you do not like it, PM me and I'll swap you any 870 barrel in the house and pay shipping both ways.....