Unusual Aftermarket Trap Barrel

[arcticap]

I picked up an unused Mossberg 500 aftermarket trap
barrel at a gunshow because I planned on buying an
inexpensive used gun for my kids to use. I never did pick
up a Mossy and the barrel has been sitting around for a
while because quite frankly, I not sure about whether the
quality of the barrel makes purchasing a 500 worthwhile.
The barrel is made by a company named Simmons Gun
Specialties Inc., Olathe, Kansas and the finish is kind of
"funky". It seems that the entire barrel is painted inside and
out with a paint that kind of simulates parkerizing. It seems
like the exterior of the barrel wasn't very smoothly finished
before the paint was applied either. It has a very high rib
with a small brass mid-bead and an empty, hollow half circle
for a front bead to be glued into. With this setup, it actually
appears to have a black bead when sighting down the barrel
rib, so maybe the effect was intended.
Inside the barrel, the paint looks slightly rough and not as
smooth as it is on the exterior. Even though the paint is very
hard like epoxy, I imagine that it wouldn't take very long to
wear off. But why would they paint the inside at all?
The barrel is threaded for Mossy accu-choke tubes
and included a full choke that's also painted. When I removed
it, the barrel threads had a just a hint of rust which I
cleaned and oiled, but it made me wonder if the reason why
the barrel was painted was because the steel might not be
very corrosion resistant, especially without blue.
A Mossberg factory made trap barrel would have cost over $150
with a fixed choke, while this one only cost about 1/3 of that.
Does anyone know anything about this type of aftermarket
barrel, the company or how it might shoot? I personally really
prefer shooting with a high rib and being able to keep the bead
under the target.
I also think that it would be a fun barrel to use for
bird hunting or turkey shoots since it's 30 inches long
and has a nice wide rib. A hunter certainly wouldn't have
to worry very much about dinging it up or hurting it by
shooting steel through it either, and it might actually have
a better reach and sighting plane than a shorter field barrel.
But I still wonder about whether it will rust once the paint
is gone from the interior and about its shooting quality.

I'm still thinking about whether to buy an old 500 or to just
sell off this barrel. Any info. or comments about this barrel
and what I should do with it are appreciated.

 

[arcticap]

I just did a quick websearch of Simmons Gun Specialties Inc and came up with this:

Many of the recipes in this column were taken from a unique recipe book featuring wild game, 'Ol Ern's Cookbook. They were collected over many years by my Uncle Ernie Simmons. Ernie was the owner of Simmons Gun Specialties, Inc., home of the world famous ventilated rib he developed and produced for Winchester Shotguns. Many of these recipes were submitted by other sportsmen in the shooting industry including Roy E. Weatherby, Frank Pachmayr, Bob Allen, Jimmy Robinson, R.E. Hodgdon, Bob Brownell, Dan Bechtel, Bill Harper, and Ol' Ern, himself.

These are old tried and true traditional recipes and his book has embedded stories and pictures of Ol' Ern, his family and friends. This is a great cookbook and available from his daughter, Vickie Simmons-Beatty. For more information, call her at (816) 361-4777.

They're also available at the Pahrump Valley Times office at 2160 E. Calvada Boulevard.

http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2004/04/30/sports/sportsman.html

 

[kirbythegunsmith]

Some details

I can see that the barrel is a Mossberg barrel from Mossberg, with a Simmons rib. Since the barrel has the Accu-choke, I think that a shooter wanted a higher rib than was on traditional barrels, so got the high-rib version specially installed at Simmons. The outer finish was probably not done at the Simmons shop, unless the owner had sent in a really rusty barrel, or wanted a non-reflective finish.

I doubt that you have paint inside the bore, but look in the extractor grooves to see if you can flake any out from there. Even if someone had dunked the barrel in paint, the extractor grooves are best left fairly clear. The chamber and bore won't be helped by having paint inside them, either.

You probably have a bead with the plastic visible part knocked out, so it could use replacement.

Check my other posts for info. about choke alignment and chamber situations, especially if you intend to go to turkey shoots. A 3" chamber is more likely a liability for that type of shooting, and I convert special barrels for the shooting matches.

[email protected]

 

[arcticap]

kirbythegunsmith,
Thank you for helping me to realize that this is a factory Mossberg barrel with a Simmons rib. It does have a professional looking "paint" applied nearly throughout the entire barrel. There is not a drip or hint of a home paint job or a dunking. The exterior has been done uniformly thick, and the extractor groove, most of the interior of the choke tube and all the rest of the chamber and bore seem to have been coated more lightly. The entire area surrounding the choke tube and the exterior of the choke tube itself have been left uncoated.
The interior coating looks rougher when viewed from the muzzle end, but appears more smooth looking in from the chamber, so I'm hoping that what looks rough is only paint and not pitting. I can't imagine someone would invest money installing a vent rib on a barrel that was badly corroded, but one never knows.
Also, maybe the outside was bead blasted before it was "painted" to help it stick better. And I can't help but think that it's not ordinary paint because it seems to be hard and durable.
I slipped a 12 gauge shell into the chamber to see if the paint interferes with loading and it went in easily with plenty of room to spare. So, I'm hoping it just needs to be shot until the paint wears off, since removing it would probably be a real chore.

 

[Master Blaster]

The paint on the inside is probably some type of chrome plating.

JMHO

 

[Scoupe]

Chances are your "paint" is some sort of phosphating which is a chemical process. Not at all unusual to find it inside the barrel after a "home parkerizing" job. It will "shoot out" eventually.

Now, if you decide that you don't want to go the M500 route, let me know, I could use that barrel for a Trap toy on my own 500.

 

[jnormanh]

It's been "Parkerized", which is just a trade name for ordnary zinc phosphate. It's an immersion process, so the barrel is coated inside and out. Most factories hone it out of the bore on new barrels. As long as it chambers shells okay, go ahead and shoot it. it's pretty soft and will wear away in a few boxes of shells.

 

[ATAShooter]

That's a rib called " Olympic Style Rib" it was made to be used in conjunction with a adjustable comb. Folks have these added so it will change the point of impact. I've seen these added to shotguns from Mossberg to Model 12's. Ljutic target guns usually feature a rib like this.