Choked Barrel?

[BV]

I'm thinking I need a smoothbore dedicated to small game and shot, and I can't find any fowler kits offered with choked barrels. Are there any I'm missing, or do I just need to have the barrel jug choked?

 

[Grenadier1758]

When loading a muzzle loading smoothbore for small game and shot, it is much easier to load the over powder cards and wads when the basic bore is cylinder bored making the jug choke a much better choice than a true choked barrel. There are some muzzle loading shotguns with the screw in chokes. Ease of loading is not a comment heard about choked shotguns.

Yes, you can bend the cards and slit the wads to get them past the choke restriction, but they are often loose in the bore with more gas blow by. I have a smooth bore trade gun made in the 1970's from a full choked shotgun barrel that was rebreeched to be a muzzle loader. It works, but it is a pain to get the over powder cards and over shot cards started, then past the choke restriction they practically fall to the breech.

 

[George]

You could just learn to use a cylinder bore like the old boys did. They seemed to do OK.

Spence

 

[Dave Marsh]

Ditto what Spence said and try the Skychief load. I had mine jug choked and get great results. Do not go with the screw in chokes. I have been there and done that. The only good part was it was a 12 gauge New Englander barrel and I was able to sell the barrel for almost twice what I paid for it. Good luck.

Dave

 

[BV]

You could just learn to use a cylinder bore like the old boys did. They seemed to do OK.

Spence

Not much mystery in "learning" to use a cylinder bore. Either limit shots to 20 yards or so, or cripple game. I'm not much interested in the former, and not at all in the latter.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

When loading a muzzle loading smoothbore for small game and shot, it is much easier to load the over powder cards and wads when the basic bore is cylinder bored making the jug choke a much better choice than a true choked barrel. There are some muzzle loading shotguns with the screw in chokes. Ease of loading is not a comment heard about choked shotguns.

Yes, you can bend the cards and slit the wads to get them past the choke restriction, but they are often loose in the bore with more gas blow by. I have a smooth bore trade gun made in the 1970's from a full choked shotgun barrel that was rebreeched to be a muzzle loader. It works, but it is a pain to get the over powder cards and over shot cards started, then past the choke restriction they practically fall to the breech.

Did you try a larger diameter card? Both my 20 & 12 gauge SXS shotguns are cylinder bore on the right barrel & choked mod or imp. mod on the left, but the "bore" is a 19 gauge on the "20". I start my 19 gauge cards vertically in the choked barrel then turn them sideways once past the choke & they fit "tight" the rest of the way. If I use 20 gauge cards they are loose. I never use hard overpowder or cushion "wads" of any kind, just overshot cards & 1/8"wool felt. Chokes are never a problem that way. Can't jug choke my thin SxS barrels, so this is what works best for me. If I had a thick fowler barrel I would definitely jug choke it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The muzzle was 0.700" and I used 0.729" cards. Once past the choke, the components went very easily to the breech.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Not much mystery in "learning" to use a cylinder bore. Either limit shots to 20 yards or so, or cripple game. I'm not much interested in the former, and not at all in the latter.

how little do you know!

 

[Feltwad]

Not much mystery in "learning" to use a cylinder bore. Either limit shots to 20 yards or so, or cripple game. I'm not much interested in the former, and not at all in the latter.

I have always understood that the meaning of these forums was traditional and yet members come up with choke barrels such has jug choke All original shotgun barrels were smooth bore true cylinder and jug choke repros should be discouraged if you want a choke barrel then go for a black powder breech loader. It seems the moderators accept jug choke smooth bore barrels and yet they say no to breech loaders or any gun after 1860 or there about and yet I have and worked on pinfire shotguns a lot earlier than that date . Come on you moderators this a traditional forum so lets keep it that way to encourage jug choke which is just has bad has in lines and early breech loaders .
Feltwad

 

[Old Hawkeye]

The muzzle was 0.700" and I used 0.729" cards. Once past the choke, the components went very easily to the breech.

Standard 12 gauge is .729" bore. If your barrel bore measures .729", no wonder your cards are falling down the bore. Your wads/cards need to be .010" to .012" bigger than your bore to fit tight & work properly. Most standard 12 gauge wads are .740". If your choke measures .700 you have a constriction of .029", assuming your bore is standard, which would make your choke about an Improved Modified, which is between Modified & Full.

 

[George]

Not much mystery in "learning" to use a cylinder bore. Either limit shots to 20 yards or so, or cripple game. I'm not much interested in the former, and not at all in the latter.

Well, that might be true if you skip the learning part.

Spence

 

[BV]

how little do you know!

Well, that might be true if you skip the learning part.

Spence

OK then, stop being coy and enlighten me. Shotgun barrels are very simple devices with which I've been killing things for 40 years and competing for 30. Tell me what I don't know.

 

[Britsmoothy]

OK then, stop being coy and enlighten me. Shotgun barrels are very simple devices with which I've been killing things for 40 years and competing for 30. Tell me what I don't know.

A cylinder bored muzzleloader is not a 20 yard gun and no more a crippler than a heavily choked shotgun. All shotguns will eventually in the field cripple something fact.

I have jug choked one gun. I owned one 10g double that was conventionally choked and I currently own one double with some light choking.
I also own currently, three cylinder muzzleloaders.
I take no less with the cylinder barrelled guns and no more with a choked gun.

Tweaking the load chain will give greater yields from muzzleloading shotgun than choke. A poor loaded choked muzzleloader will throw very bad patterns. Chokes are not a panacea.
By all means do as you wish but please dont pin high hopes on it and chose your wadding wisely.

B

 

[Old Hawkeye]

OK then, stop being coy and enlighten me. Shotgun barrels are very simple devices with which I've been killing things for 40 years and competing for 30. Tell me what I don't know.

You can control how a cylinder bore shotgun barrel patterns by experimenting with different load combinations regarding charge weight, wads/cards, shot size & amount of shot. Everybody has a different "load" that patterns well for their purposes. A muzzleloading shotgun barrel is far from being a "simple device" & one person's load may or may not perform the same in someone else's shotgun. There are many threads here that discuss these loads & can provide you with some ideas & insight into how to get good performance from a "cylinder choke". I get reliable, clean kills on game birds from my cylinder barrels at 30 yards. With my modified choked barrels it goes to 40 yards. I don't shoot at things past 40 yards as my ML velocity is lower than "modern" shot shells & pellet lethality becomes inadequate, IMHO. Guys here can be very helpful to the open-minded. The "Skychief" load talked about here on the forum is a good place to start learning what the possibilities of a cylinder choke can be.

 

[Eterry]

When loading a muzzle loading smoothbore for small game and shot, it is much easier to load the over powder cards and wads when the basic bore is cylinder bored making the jug choke a much better choice than a true choked barrel. There are some muzzle loading shotguns with the screw in chokes. Ease of loading is not a comment heard about choked shotguns.

Yes, you can bend the cards and slit the wads to get them past the choke restriction, but they are often loose in the bore with more gas blow by. I have a smooth bore trade gun made in the 1970's from a full choked shotgun barrel that was rebreeched to be a muzzle loader. It works, but it is a pain to get the over powder cards and over shot cards started, then past the choke restriction they practically fall to the breech.

Than please explain how modern muzzleloaders shoot trap every month? No one I have seen uses a cylinder bore on the trap range.

My mentor has built over 100 muzzleloading single shot shotguns, ALL from modern shotgun barrels, All with some degree of choke, most full choke.

I have 3 shotguns with choked bores. They all shoot better than I do on the 16 yard line.

I was taught to bend the edge of the card wad, use a loading rod that fits the bore, and throw away those worthless fiber wads.

My 10 bore with full choke will destroy a target at 40 yards.

 

[George]

Than please explain how modern muzzleloaders shoot trap every month? No one I have seen uses a cylinder bore on the trap range.

My mentor has built over 100 muzzleloading single shot shotguns, ALL from modern shotgun barrels, All with some degree of choke, most full choke.

I have 3 shotguns with choked bores. They all shoot better than I do on the 16 yard line.

I was taught to bend the edge of the card wad, use a loading rod that fits the bore, and throw away those worthless fiber wads.

My 10 bore with full choke will destroy a target at 40 yards.

May I ask a question, please? No criticism intended, I promise, I've just been curious about this for a long time.

If you are going to use every modern technique in building the guns and choking the guns and loading the guns, what's the point of doing it with muzzleloaders? Why not just go full modern?

Spence

 

[painter]

Than please explain how modern muzzleloaders shoot trap every month? No one I have seen uses a cylinder bore on the trap range.

My mentor has built over 100 muzzleloading single shot shotguns, ALL from modern shotgun barrels, All with some degree of choke, most full choke.

I have 3 shotguns with choked bores. They all shoot better than I do on the 16 yard line.

I was taught to bend the edge of the card wad, use a loading rod that fits the bore, and throw away those worthless fiber wads.

My 10 bore with full choke will destroy a target at 40 yards.

I thought we were talking about hunting...

 

[BV]

Well, I guess I'll get some shot, wads, and cards and take my trade gun to the patterning board and see what's what. Maybe I don't need a fowler after all. But I might still get one anyway.

 

[LawrenceA]

Caywood does jug chokes i think

 

[Britsmoothy]

Well, I guess I'll get some shot, wads, and cards and take my trade gun to the patterning board and see what's what. Maybe I don't need a fowler after all. But I might still get one anyway.

Soak them wads in olive oil and put them on TOP of the shot!
Forget the nitro cards.
Put four or five thin cards on the powder.