Installing mid-barrel bead

[John in WI]

I just traded some stuff for a Maverick 88 12 gauge and got back from putting some reloads, some game loads, and a couple of commercial 00's through it. It's got an 18.5" cylinder bore, no vented rib, and really, no frills at all.

The only thing about it that strikes me as "cheap" about it is the hollow stock. It feels solid enough, but you can hear it, and the balance is a little wierd.

Still--I'm impressed. A solid, working shotgun that you can buy (new) for under $200.

I think it's going to spend most of it's life as my HD gun, and for the occasional "Zombie Shoot" at my club.

I don't want to dump a lot of money in to it (that defeats the purpose of a low-buck shotgun), but I really like the dual-bead setup on my other Mossy. But that one has a ventilated rib and the installation was simple.

I'm not really sure what is the best way to install a mid-barrel bead. I googled it, and some recomend solder. I would be ok with that (I have a little "micro-torch" and have soldered some delicate parts for knife making), but I'm not sure if that's the best way to proceed.

The front bead is brass, but I'm thinking maybe replacing it with a white bead, and moving the exsisting bead back.

I can't imagine it would be too hard to file a tiny spot clean on the barrel and install this thing with a touch of silver solder. That should hold up to the recoil, don't you think? Will the heat damage the structural integrity of the barrel?

Thanks for any advice--I don't want to Bubba-ize it.

[xd4584]

I'm no expert on shotguns but I don't see the need for a middle bead on a short barrel shotgun. I know the benifits for 28 inch barrels. You can buy the ribs from numrich but you will still need to solder it fast. There are some other options like ghost rings too

[Bren R.]

I'm not a fan of the mid-rib bead either, unless the gun doesn't fit me in the first place so I can get the proper alignment. Actually shooting, you shouldn't be looking at the bead.

Then again, I'm a wing, trap, and sporting clays shooter... not a slug hunter.

Bren R.

[gnoahhh]

Forget about a middle bead. The only way it'll be viable is if you put a rib on the barrel so as to keep both beads in the same plane.

[John in WI]

I'm not a fan of the mid-rib bead either, unless the gun doesn't fit me in the first place so I can get the proper alignment. Actually shooting, you shouldn't be looking at the bead.

Then again, I'm a wing, trap, and sporting clays shooter... not a slug hunter.

Bren R.

Maybe you're right. My other Mossy has a rifled barrel and rifle sights. For all intents and purposes, it's a rifle!

I haven't been bird or bunny hunting in a very long time and never was very good at it. But even for this shotgun (with the 18.5" cylinder bore) I should spend more energy practicing getting a sight picture without really looking at the bead. Not trying to use the bead as a "sight".

I will work on that when I get out to the range next weekend.

I was just curious about how they install bead and was a little surprised to learn that they drill directly through the barrel and thread them (or peen them) in. Learning that, there is no way I feel qualified to take a drill press to a barrel! Not with my face inches away from it.

[Tokarev]

I would not use any kind of sight other than regular bead combined with a tactical light for HD.
When you are awoken from sleep by the sound of breaking glass door in your kitchen, the first thing you would need would be to wake up by the time you line up the sights with the perps. Doing that w/o a light shining is damn difficult, and once you have a light, you pretty much know where you are pointing. Just my thinking.

[John in WI]

That's the thing I'm researching now Tokarev. I want to keep it simple, but there are just a couple "tactical" upgrades that are excellent to have. A good light, and a side saddle or stock mounted shell holder, that would pretty much be that! Oh, and a sling, in case you need to shoulder it for some reason.

But it's just about perfect as is. As (legally) short as possible, basic, no frills, solid design. The guy at the store was trying to sell me on the pistol grip "JIC" Mossberg 500, and was surprised when I asked him "Sure--so it includes a real stock?"

A pistol grip on a 12 gauge. Yeah--that works GREAT in the real world!

[KCSO]

To install a mid bead you need a bead SMALLER than a front bead. Perspective you know. Now mark dead center in the rib with you center finder tool and center punch. The drilll and tap for 3-56 and screw in a bead with a little locktite.

[Bren R.]

To correctly shoot a mid-rib bead, you stack them like a figure-8... you don't align them.

(well, factory ones... you could mount yours any way you wanted to...)

Bren R.