Need help with sportsman 48 with weaver choke

[pimpasschevy]

How is everybody? My uncle just gave me a Remington Sportsman 48 hardly shot in great condition! Problem: It has this weird muzzel break choke called a weaver choke! I can get the choke part out, but the muzzel break wont come off. How can I get it off? Also can I still buy chokes to fit this? Thanks!

 

[Dave McCracken]

First off, welcome aboard. The 11-48 and its variants like this are fine shotguns.

Weaver made a couple different chokes, including one similar to the Polychoke that one twists to set the desired choke. Another was similar to the Cutts Compensator with interchangeable tubes giving diverse degress of choke.

Weaver has been out of the choke biz for decades. However, they may know who carries parts.

So may Numrich, AKA gunpartscorp.

 

[Tom Held]

Leave it on

I just lucked across a very clean Remington Model 31, 16 ga that has a Weaver Choke installed. It came with two chokes: full and 1/4 (improved cylinder). Works fine and after you shoot a couple of boxes through it you don't even notice it on the end of the barrel. I'm going to try and find a skeet and mod tube set for it. I guess you can get it off but I'm wondering if the original choke in the barrel would have been opened to cylinder to accommodate the after market Weaver tubes. I noticed on the side of the barrel that it was originally configured as I.C. but the "imp" was buffed off leaving just "cid" If that's the case then you would no choke in the barrel. Dave, what do you think?

Tom

 

[kirbythegunsmith]

weaver chokes

I do not remember ever seeing any adjustable versions of the weaver choke. The body with the vent holes is not meant to be removed, and should not be without a thread filler i.e. tube when fired, to minimize the threads being contaminated with fouling.
I have made replacement tubes for weaver chokes out of the same heat-treated steel that I use for my other custom chokes. Original chokes are aluminum, and more easily dinged or distorted by hard shot pellets.
Any "proper" installation of a choke or device should always have the original choking removed to a straight cylinder configuration. A very tiny amount of remainder constriction is not a big deal, but if some part of the original choke is still there, it will have first crack at the shot.
Once you start the choke constriction process, you do not want to stop for a significant distance and then try to add more choke effect. Double choking in this manner will not give a tighter pattern. It is close to the effect of jumping berms with a motorcycle and hitting the top of the next slope. The shot is then going to be more distorted and sent on collision course with the other pellets that don't hit the "berm", i.e. choke. It is the outer pellets of the shot column that contact the secondary choke.
Another way to look at them is the double billiard strike. Double-tap a cue ball and see if you get the effect you expect.

I have a few examples of barrels with chokes installed with a remainder of the original choke present. I may post some pictures or do an article with them included at some time in the future.

[email protected]

 

[Dave McCracken]

Tom, I bet the original barrel was cut at some point behind the choke.IOW, now a cylinder bore. That 31 is a sweetheart.

I've noted that Polychokes were oft installed on barrels shortened to 22-25" before adding the Polychoke. IMO, this was done to offset the noseheavy feel that resulted.A friend's A-5 had 26" of barrel behind his Poly Deluxe and defined Nose Heavy.