Choke in a rifle bore?

:winking: Has anyone tried to lap a choke into a rifle bore? did it shoot better? was it hard to do? Been there adn done that ,but want to know others thoughts.

 

[roundball]

Do you mean make a 'jug choke'?

 

[R. Miller]

GREEN RIVER RIFLE WORKS IN UTAH MADE WHAT THEY CALLED CHOKE BORE RIFLES SLIGHTLY TIGHTER AT THE MUZZLE. i HAVE TWO IN .54 THEY WORK GREAT ! THEY ARE LONG OUT OF BISNESS.THEY WERE AMONG THE BEST IN THEIR DAY ......STICKWALKER

 

[robinghewitt]

I have a choked .451, damascus barel with a tape wound core by Hollis and Sheath. It is very accurate but I have to keep it pointing up until I'm ready for the first shot. Without fouling the bullet sits loose on the powder because it gets undersize when I push it down theough the choke :thumbsup:

 

[rayb]

Wasn't that the same technique that the famus Harry Pope used in his barrels?? I seem to remember reading something to that effect. His barrels still bring premium prices if one can be found, mostly in collectors hands now...


rayb

 

[Zonie]

Yes, many of Pope's barrels were choked, after a fashion.
Pope's barrels were more of a tapered style tapering from the breech to the muzzle.
Of course, Pope's barrels were designed to shoot long heavy bullets not balls, but many of them used bullets which were loaded from the muzzle. The primed, powder charged cases were of course loaded from the breech.

When I think of "choked" muzzleloading barrels like we use with round balls, I picture the style which has a uniform bore diameter from the breech to about 6-10 inches from the muzzle.
The barrels diameter is "choked" or reduced in size in this last 6-10 inches, a few thousanths of an inch.
This is supposed to give a tighter fit on the patched ball or bullet to improve accuracy.

Like the "gain twist" barrels, there are arguments about the added value of choking the bore but the theory sounds good to me.

As to the ease of creating a choked bore, IMO, it would be rather difficult to do it correctly without some fancy precision hone and precision bore gages (like a special air gage).

If, talking from the breech to the muzzle, the bore ended up being large, then small, then large, then small at the muzzle it would be similar to a "ringed" (or bulged) bore and my experiance with barrels which have been ringed is that they won't shoot worth a dam.

 

[B.Habermehl]

One barrel maker I know well says that almost every barrel he makes is slightly choked, by about .ooo5 that is one half of one thousanth or a bit more. Any machineist will tell you a reamed hole is usually bigger at one end or the other. For this barrel maker it is the end where the reamer starts in the barrel. This end is the future breech end of the barrel. I expect except for the barrel maker that pulls a carbide sizing ball through his barrels most barrel makers knowingly make barrels that are or can be a verry small amount tighter at the muzzle. BTW one half thousanth of a inch is not feelable when loading a PRB. You would be only able to detect it with specialised measuring tools.

 

[B.Habermehl]

I guess I shuold have answered the origional question rether than going off on a long winded tangent :redface: I have lapped some choke into a few rifle barrels. They were "seconds" with some reamer tracking on the tops of the lands. Till I had them cleaned up the barrels had a "Feelable" choke at the muzzle. I can't tell you a exact measurement but the barrels ended up shooting as well as their owner was capable of shooting from a rest with iron sights. The barrels were lapped from the breech to slightly short of the muzzle with a lead lap and powdered abraisive. BJH

 

[fho]

B.Habermhl:

We reamed a barrel and one end was bigger than the other end (.0009). We were wondering which end should be the muzzle and which end is the breech end?

Any information would be appreciated.
Thank you
Olie

 

[Zonie]

IMO, the larger bore should be at the breech.

 

[magnus wiberg]

I have bored and rifled rifle barrels for many years, and I´ve always used the traditional method with a (short bit) , long bit backed with a wooden stick and shims of thin paper.
This method automatically gives a very slightly tapered barrel, always working from breech end to muzzle.This taper is acomplished by the wood just slightly wearing away, as the bit works thru the bore.
Also ,I always lead the bore ,starting with coarse and going to finer cutting paste, before AND after cutting the rifling.
This way I can further control the amount of taper just a few inches from the muzzle end.
A barrel so bored and rifled is very easy to load with a patched, round ball, and the slight taper also makes the effect of fouling less noticeable when pushing the ball down to the charge.
Magnus in Sweden

 

[B.Habermehl]

Definately the smaller end should be the muzzle. The lead ball will upset lightly either from loading pressure or through fireing and will upset somewhat to fill the the bore. Lead has no memory so if it is put under pressure it will deform or upset some to a small degree. In passing down the bore on fireing it upsets a bit at the initial moment of powder burn and as it goes out of the barrel it will swage down the couple of thousanths of an inch till it clears the muzzle. As far as accuracy is concerned the effect of the last inch of the barrel is of greatest importance, given a square and concentric crown. BJH