Winchester 101 barrel ??

[Sniper66]

I found a very nice Winchester 101 20ga for sale at a local gun shop and I have a question for you guys. I looked it over as did the proprietor, but neither of us could find markings noting what fixed choke the barrels are. They are 28" barrels. It is a consigned gun and he says the owner runs an auction site and has no other info on the gun. Is there a location somewhere I'm not looking? Under the forearm perhaps? Is there another way to make that determination??
A related question: the gun is in fine condition with a couple of scratches on the stock, but otherwise looks very good. The ask is $999.00. Seems to be a good buy and I'll see if he'll knock a little off. But, I plan to buy it if I can determined the fixed choke size. I'm aware that 20ga Win 101 is not that easy to find. Your thoughts appreciated.

 

[DocRock]

Remove the forend, take barrels off receiver. Should be marked on both barrels on the left side.

Kodensa built 101s had odd stock geometry and don't fit a lot of people well.

 

[tmd16556]

The only one I’ve seen in detail is my mother’s and it’s a full full with a 30 or 32 in barrel and 3” chamber. I’d guess a shorter barrel is a more open choke.

 

[Bill M.]

First off it is a very nice lightweight gun and that is a good price.
I am a long way from my 101's for a while so I can not check. But...I have always managed to find the choke on them. I think it is written on the barrel near the top in front of the receiver along with the other writing. If it is a field model a 26" is likely to be IC/Mod and a 28" Mod/Full. You can make a good guess just by looking down the inside of a clean barrel. The tighter chokes are longer and do show up.

 

[rkittine]

Why not just measure the restriction? Also plenty of inexpensive choke gauges out there that will cover all 5 common shotguns 12-16-20-28 and 410

 

[Sniper66]

Another friend said that since it has 28" barrels that it is almost certainly modified and full. I went for another look, offered $850 and he countered with $900. It is now in my gun cabinet. I'm very happy!!!

 

[treedoc1]

I sent my 1976 made Miroku 101 12 gauge barrels up to Mike Orlen. They were too thin to install Briley or similar chokes so he took the factory Mod/Full to IC/IC. I now shoot my high school pheasant gun every weekend for skeet. What a pleasure. That 20 gauge would be a great option to do the same if you enjoy skeet.

 

[Sniper66]

God willing, it will be a dove and sporting clays gun. The range I shoot has trap, 5-Stand, and sporting clays. I only shoot sporting clays. I had only two good dove outings last season and hope/plan to have several more next season. That being the case, M/F is the best combo for me. I'll probably shoot more clays this year just to keep the rust off my shooting eye.

 

[Speedo66]

I heard it never happened because there were no pictures....

Sounds like a beauty, good luck with your new gun!

 

[Sniper66]

Sigh.....I took the forearm off and clearly stamped on the inside left side of the barrel was "skeet/skeet". Not what I wanted, but my bad for not knowing where to find those markings. And the sellers bad for not knowing either. I could try to return it, pay a restocking charge, or accept that I now have a nice skeet gun. But, my range has only trap, 5-Stand, and sporting clays.....no skeet. Of course it will still be OK for clays, just not ideal and the same for doves, OK just not ideal. LESSON LEARNED. Ignorance comes with a cost.

 

[DocRock]

Measure the barrel wall thickness and check Mike Orlen’s price sheet. He may well be able to tap for thin wall chokes.

 

[Bill M.]

Sell it.

 

[Sniper66]

I'll consider selling after a couple trips to the sporting clay range. It is a beautiful gun and seems to fit me quite well. The shooting test comes on Thursday.