Anybody any experience with jug chokes in a shotgun?

Alantoo

Well-Known Member
I have a shotgun which is true cylinder in both barrels....someone cut the end off the barrel.

I was was wondering about getting a cylinder hone and tightening up the pattern a bit with a jug choke.

Has anybody any experience of similar, or know a gunsmith who does it?

Alan
 
Best is to get Teague Chokes to sleeve in a new fixed choke or have his thin walls multi chokes jug choking is hit and miss with patterns excuse the pun.
 
Best is to get Teague Chokes to sleeve in a new fixed choke or have his thin walls multi chokes jug choking is hit and miss with patterns excuse the pun.

I was told that having Teague chokes fitted would cost 3 or 4 times the value of the gun...hence the DIY approach...it couldn't be any more hit and miss than it is at the moment!

Alan

The RFD I spoke to said Teague chokes would cost between £600 and £700 per barrel plus RFD shipping and handling. £1400 would buy a reasonable gun...£20 worth of cylinder hone plus an afternoon or two of "hone hone bang", "hone hone bang", seemed like a better option.

Alan
 
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Have you tried diffferent cartridges - some of the cup wads do tighten things up. Also try a harder shot. And to close up holes in the pattern, drop down a shot size - often kills better.
 
Have you tried diffferent cartridges - some of the cup wads do tighten things up. Also try a harder shot. And to close up holes in the pattern, drop down a shot size - often kills better.

Excellent free advice there, been there done it in a shortened sxs..:thumb:
 
As above; I found coppered shot was deadly from a cylinder choke but you still want to be careful about pattern density. Coppered shot penetrates better than soft shot so I'd say that you don't need to go bigger than sixes. Hevi-shot works too, if you're feeling flush.

Also had Teague chokes fitted to a fixed choke sbs & although expensive (get the long ones) they do throw fantastic patterns & I now don't use anything else, even in o/u's.

Just saw the Teague price in the earlier post; I paid about £450 in total (both barrels) including re-proof, couriers & 4 chokes, key, box etc.
 
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As above; I found coppered shot was deadly from a cylinder choke but you still want to be careful about pattern density. Coppered shot penetrates better than soft shot so I'd say that you don't need to go bigger than sixes. Hevi-shot works too, if you're feeling flush.

Also had Teague chokes fitted to a fixed choke sbs & although expensive (get the long ones) they do throw fantastic patterns & I now don't use anything else, even in o/u's.

Just saw the Teague price in the earlier post; I paid about £450 in total (both barrels) including re-proof, couriers & 4 chokes, key, box etc.

That is a bit different, maybe the RFD was just trying to put me off for some reason.

I will contact Teague and find out current prices, how long ago did you have yours done?

Alan
 
Have you tried diffferent cartridges - some of the cup wads do tighten things up. Also try a harder shot. And to close up holes in the pattern, drop down a shot size - often kills better.

I have tried a few, the plastic 7s had the best pattern and were the most likely to hit something, the fibre wad 6s were the worst...huge spread and big gaps.

Will cadge a few more from chums and explore further.

Alan
 
Ok last one I had a fixed choke added to from 1/4 to 5/8 cost a lot less than that. My other question is why are you paying a middle man go direct to Teague.

If you want to mess around lapping etc go for it what harm can it do.

Have you tried a slightly lighter plastic load they will normally pattern tighter.
 
I have had a look at the Teague website and they publish retail costs there... around a 1/3 of the price I was told.

I did not realise Teague would work direct to the end customer...all part of the slight obfuscation (or maybe plain ignorance) of the RFD I just happened to ask.

It turns out they are less than 20 miles down the road so the shipping wouldn't be involved...

So the question is...do I want to spend around the same figure as the value of the gun and have an assured result, or prat about and maybe make matters worse....hmmm?

Mr Teague wins I think...thanks for the prompting all.

Alan
 
Choke as you know is the difference between the diameter of the bore at the muzzle and just behind it.

Now it's no difference to put choke in a gun if the muzzles are "true" cylinder or if the muzzles are less wide.

The only need is that there's enough thickness in the barrel walls immediately behind the muzzles to bore them wider.

On something like a Greener GP gun there will be. In a shortened side by side there may be.

Or they may be but only enough to put in an improved cylinder or quarter choke.

In UK it's also more often called recess choke. Purdey used to bore some guns that way.

It's no more expensive for a properly equipped gunsmith to put it than the more usual choke.

Indeed some believe it gives a better quality pattern.

But as others say you can always go up a degree of choke anyway by using a plaswad, using copper shot or using a lower velocity load in your chosen shot size.

In any case all modern crimp closure cartridges effectively shoot a degree of choke tighter than do the old roll turnover cartridges.

But...shooting is like billiards. It's the easy shots that fill the bag.

A friend's Purdey was bore true right and improved left. It killed and killed consistently out to forty yards with one ounce of English #7.

My Boss is bored the standard way tight improved and tight improved in both barrels and my late father's gun I had bored with a slight recess choke to loose improved and loose improved.

In the field it shoots better than the Boss. So recess choke (or "jug" as some call it) works and works well!

With 1 1/16 #6 it kills pheasants dead. But if I were on a drive expecting to shoot woodcock as well I'd be tempted to use 1 ounce #7.

BUT FIRST OF ALL PLATE YOUR GUN WITH A SELECTION OF CARTRIDGES. IT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU.

Hint....Lylvale Express in some guns pattern better than Hull or Eley in like for like shot size and shot load weight.

Teague will be able to plate your gun and, I think, recess choke it for you or get it done.
 
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