Multi-choke barrels on older shotguns

[Nathanael_Greene]

I've seen a lot of those older shotguns with the weird-looking poly-choke or multi-choke gizmos.

I guess they must not have worked too well, since they haven't been made in a long time, but were they really so bad? Looks like there are some bargains on those old guns, and I admit to being a fan of older firearms (maybe because I'm getting older).

And could one of those shotguns be used for slugs, with the proper "setting"?

Thanks...

 

[rcmodel]

They work just fine.

But most people feel they mess up the looks of an otherwise good looking gun beyond redemption.

The other thing was, some of them, like the Cutts Compensator had side vents that made them miserable for other shooters beside you to be around.

Yes, you can shoot slugs through them.

rc

 

[243winxb]

Shot a Win 12 ga auto with a poly choke. Did ok at skeet and trap when i test fired it. Dont know about slugs, vs accuracy.

 

[kudu]

Got a polychoke on a 97 Winchester that does a fine job. Crank it open and shoot skeet with a wide open pattern, crank it down to full choke and bust some trap targets way out there. Does a real good job on a pattern board. I think they are quite ugly but do work well. The Cutts version are very loud, and I believe have actual tubes that install.

 

[kBob]

I believe you can still buy a brand new Poly Choke that comes on a screw in choke section for whatever brand of screw in choke you want.

(edit: Model I mention is called Poly-Choke II. That was a quick google away)

I used to really like the Mossberg C-lect Choke on a 500. Won a bunch of turkeys cutting Xs with one cranked all the way down one year. Actually would not mind having another. Twice a buddy has talked me out of one at shows long enough that when I got back to the table they were gone. Hmm, maybe I won't invite him to ride along on my next big show trip.......

While folks standing close to the line on either side of you might not have cared for the Cutts/ lyman screw in choke system I loved the sound they made to the shooter. Sort of a magic sword being un sheathed sound it seemed to me. I really like the sound of firing a Browning A5 semi or one of the copies with one. A regular music box it seemed to me.

-kBob

 

[kBob]

kudu,

Yep on the Cutts tubes. One can generally tell how tight a Cutts choke is by the length with the smallest amount of choke being shortest and the tightest longer and longer.

Nice thing is that you can use your standard crescent wrench to remove or install them if you have to and no one sees you.

-kBob

 

[Black Knight]

I have my Grandpa's old JC Higgins model 20 where the Cutts Compensator has been severely modified. Someone removed and cut the compression chamber then welded the piece that accepts the screw-in choke tube to the barrel. It may look odd but works very well. If anyone is interested Brownells used to have the parts for them and they are made by Lyman.

 

[rcmodel]

FYI: There are no more Cutts Compensator parts to be had from Lyman or Brownell's, as of at least 5 years ago.

Best you can do now is find tubes on eBay or Gunbroker occasionally.

rc

 

[Kp321]

Hint, if you have a shotgun with one of the older Poly-Chokes or Mossberg C-Lect choke, don't leave it cranked down to full all the time. Open it back up to cylinder before storage. Many of the older models I get in have taken a set at full and the "fingers" have to be sprung back open to achieve other constrictions.

 

[Sav .250]

Most are not "up" on poly chokes. There plus is it gives you multi choices available at the twist of your hand. Right now...........

I`ve had a deluxe poly choke on a model 37 Ithaca for years.. Suites me just fine.

 

[gwpercle]

There are/were two basic types the "Cutts " ventilated compensator that had different choke tubes that screwed into the end of the compensator , if you wanted to change the choke you had to remove one tube with a wrench and screw in the other.
The second was the "Poly-Choke" , to change the choke you just twisted it to open or close the choke. Poly-Choke also started offering a ventilated section for their adjustable chokes , it was on the on the end or the device and not as long as the Cutts ventilated section.
They did allow for different chokes and worked fairly well on single barrel guns of the day. It did put a lump on the end of the barrel but if the gun had a rib it didn't look too bad. The Cutts was longer and looks no worse than a silencer on the end of a rifle. I always thought the ventelated Cutts looked very business like. I know Lyman sold the Cutts for a time and Herter's even sold their version, made by Poly - Choke more than likely.
They did have to be properly installed . My uncle , who always had to have the latest shooting gear , got one from Herter's and installed it himself. While showing it off to us, on about the 12 th shot , it blew off the end of the barrel !
Gary

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

Thanks for all the input, everyone.

Today I picked up an old Mossberg 500 with a C-lect Choke. Nice furniture, shoulders very easily.

I'm looking forward to trying it out. It might go with me deer hunting in Illinois this fall, as a slug gun.

 

[Virginian]

The C-Lect choke from my Mossberg, and a couple of inches of barrel, are still out in the marsh where they landed after they left the rest of the gun.
There was also a version of the Cutts, or Lyman I forget it has been so long, with no ventilated section where there was a short section that screwed to the back and accepted the choke tubes.
Fortunately in my view, internal choke tubes rendered all these systems essentially obsolete and most are just a memory. Yes, they did work, but they were/are all very aesthetically displeasing.