Jug choked barrels

[vette_lover2004]

I think you may be correct...I tried a patched .690 roundball again in mine today. The first inch or so was tight, and as I slowly pushed it further, sure enough I felt a less snug spot in the barrel that felt like it went for two inches or so, then the ball got tighter again. I'll be damned, because I asked if my barrel was jug choked and was told no. I also tried to find info on this barrel and what I did find led me to believe it was cylinder bore, or at least a tight cylinder as my mic read .724 at the widest point At the muzzle. So, now I'm more confused than I was before. Simply because I was told jug choking hurt roundball accuracy, and am now reading differently here. I was told my barrel is a Rayl barrel, and then I've read it might be a Rice barrel. Its a 12 bore NE Fowling piece. Got anymore info to set me straight?

 

[jdkerstetter]

Hopefully Dane will chime in here and let us know who jug choked his barrels or if he ordered them from Chambers that way.

Everything I've heard from Barbie at Chambers is that the New England fowler barrels are not jug choked as they come in kit form. You can request it for an additional fee and she sends them out to:

Lowell Tennyson
209 E. Lotte St
Blue Grass, IA 52726
(563) 381-3711

So, unless you specified it when you ordered the kit, it shouldn't be jug choked. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Go to a modern shotgun gunsmith. He should have a bore mic. This is a tool that is useful for modern made ml smooth barrels as well as old original ones. A bore mic gets down in the bore and can give a true reading of its size compared to the muzzle and any jugged areas.

 

[jdkerstetter]

Good idea James.....and if there's no full service gunsmith close by, any machine shop should also have bore measuring gages also.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Yeah, probably more of those than real gunsmiths

 

[vette_lover2004]

No, I didn't specify my barrel be jug choked...and I swear when I loaded that patched roundball in, it was tight then, felt somewhat loose, then tightened up again...but when I held the barrel to the light, I couldn't discern a bending of light where I thought the jug choking should be...I can almost always tell on a modern shotgun where the forcing cone starts and ends, because of where the light hits in a smooth cylinder. You can even see the subtle internal chokes the same way...but I'm just not seeing it...so now I'm leaning towards it NOT being jug choked, unless its a very subtle cut. Never seen what jug choking looks like in real life, but I know what it looks like on paper. Guess I need to email Barbie and ask the question. She would know for sure, as I'm sure they keep some sort of record.

 

[theoldredneck]

An old friend that was very good on modern breech loaders rebuilt an old external hammer double for me years ago. The barrels were cut to 21", forcing cones removed and jug choked to improve cylinder patterns for bird hunting. He then polished the inside of both barrels. You could not see the jug choking but could feel it with a tight patch when cleaning. It does not have to be very deep to give a better pattern.

 

[roundball]

http://www.brownells.com/userdocs/learn/Inst-543.pdf

 

[sumoj275]

Can a brl be jug choked after it has been built?

 

[jdkerstetter]

Jug Choked? Yes. Remove the barrel from the gun and send it to one of the few people who do it.

In fact, I prefer it that way as you may as well see how the barrel shoots before going to all the extra expense of jug choking.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[sumoj275]

Thank you J.D. :hmm:

 

[vette_lover2004]

So, I received a reply from Barbie today. She confirmed that my barrel is NOT jug choked. That service is only done on special order, like you said. So, I can only guess that Dane had his barrels jug choked for an extra fee...which as I had said in the beginning, is usually done after the sale of the barrel you purchased. Any barrel you buy will be cylinder bore unless otherwise noted.

 

[Grumpa]

The old style rifled slugs had spiral "fins" molded in the lead, the purpose of which was to yield when the slug passed through any choke in the barrel (not to provide a "rifling" effect, as some thought). Most shotguns have choke, so the slugs had to be usable in every gun. This is one reason why they were not particularly accurate in any gun

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Yes, I well remember “rifled slugs” and “pumpkin balls” (under bore sized round balls) being required for deer season in Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Most deer were shot at close range so long range accuracy was not touted.

Given the field reports of shooting PRBs through jug choked barrels I may have to reconsider my original comments. A few thousands change with a taper in and out may not be noticed.

However I have seen turkey choked in-lines with some rather large bore diameter changes, but I suppose and in-line turkey shooter probably would not load a PRB anyway.

It is always good the hear about actual field tests.