screw-in chokes for ML 12 ga?

[BullRunBear]

I have an old CVA 12 ga. side-by-side ML. It's cylinder bore. Does anyone know if a gunsmith could adapt it to take Browning or Remington screw-in chokes? And if it can be done, will it make loading more difficult?

I know I can improve matters by playing with the loading or using shot cups but the screw-in chokes would give a more predictable result.

Thanks for any help.

Jeff

Moderator: If this belongs in the gunsmithing section, feel free to move it. Since it involves BP, thought I would start here.

 

[the rifleer]

There are places you can get it done. Google "threading shotgun barrel" and look around, there are places that can do it. I would call before i sent it in though.

 

[MCgunner]

Briley?

 

[arcticap]

Carlson's installs choke tubes if the barrel wall thickness allows it. The minimum barrel dimensions and the installation cost including 3 Tru-choke tubes and a wrench are listed on their installation page.
BP guns really benefit from extended length choke tubes due to them being easier to remove for loading shot wads. They can be unscrewed by hand relatively quickly even after the threads have been fouled with powder residue.

http://choketube.com/instal.html

 

[BullRunBear]

Guys,

Thanks for the help. I've put the company under Favorites and will check with them.

I literally forgot I had this gun. My wife and I think it was a kit gun her parents found at a yard sale in Wisconsin, along with a couple of unopened CVA kits, and brought out during one of their visits many years ago. There's no one left to ask now. Although there's no rust or pitting, the stock needs to be refinished, the barrels need to be blued or browned, and one lock doesn't hold at half or full cock reliably. It may never have been fired. Since I already had a working ML shotgun, I put it in a closet (where it promptly got buried under other stuff) probably thinking I would get around to it at some point.

Fast forward about 25 years. A recent discussion on another forum about 12 ga. ML SxS shotguns jogged my memory. Then I checked out the cost of new ML side by sides. Well, retirement is not far away and I can do the refinishing and lock repair as a fun project. Even spending the money for choke tubes/installation, it will be worth it. (I don't want to modify my working, cylinder bore shotgun.) Who knows, I might even take up small game and bird hunting again.

Thanks again for the help.

Jeff

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Does it say it's cylinder bore, or was it some sort of military repro, for if it was meant for bird hunting I'd bet the right barrel is IC and the left is M?

You will experience slightly more difficult loading with tighter chokes, but it's not a problem when you get hooked on hunting with it.

DONT use plastic shot cups alone! They will melt due to the heat of the BP and they are a huge pain to get out of the barrel on a muzzleloader. You can use cups if you use a standard BP felt wad on top of the powder, but then what's the point. I use a paper wad, and a paper shot cartridge, and my 20 does just fine on the upland birdies!

LD

 

[RyanM]

For loading, I would say your best bet is to buy 2 screw-in cylinder chokes. Load the barrels with the cylinders in, unscrew them, then replace with your desired 2 chokes. That way you don't squish the wads any. And if you want to use plastic, most of those things are nearly impossible to get through a choke.