Cutting short a 12guage slug barrel?

[bremraf]

Hey fellas, I have a Maverick bolt action smoothbore 12 that shoots minute of paper plate at 100 with remmy sluggers. I don't take it to the woods that much because it has a 25" barrel, and was wondering if anyone has experience shortening a barrel on a smoothbore and it's effect on slug accuracy. I think its a modified choke.

[Texas by God]

If you can keep three on a plate @ 100yds I would leave it alone. Texas is not slug country so my opinion is just that. My only experience with hunting with slugs is canoe hog hunting where 25 yds is long range. My 18" cylinder H&R Topper is plenty accurate for that. We can't use rifles or pistols in lakes or rivers by law. Best, Thomas.

[JSnover]

I have a 12 gage pump with a smooth 20" barrel and it shoots slugs very well @ 100 yards. You won't have any trouble there but you will not have any choke after cutting the barrel back.

[NyFirefighter357]

Cutting the barrel is easy but your going to loose your choke and prob your accuracy. I would either get a shorter barrel or send it to be cut and choke tubes installed. I use a Marlin 512 Slug Master with rifled barrel it's heavy but shoot great out to 200yrds.

[bremraf]

Thanks for the opinions fellas, I was kinda thinking the same thing. I'm just not a fan of big long rifles or shotguns for hunting. Maybe I will have it sent out. Its not worth much really but I always like to tinker. Maybe I should just leave this one alone and suck it up.

[CastingFool]

I recall reading an article in the American Hunter magazine a few years back, about slugs and accuracy. What I gathered was less choke was better for shooting slugs out of a smoothbore. My 20" smoothbore barrel on my 870 has an Improved Cylinder choke. It was good for 2-3/4" groups at 50 yds, with either Remington or Winchester foster slugs, all day long, as long as I did my part. I don't know how much constriction an IC choke has, but I do know it's a lot less than a modified choke.

[JSnover]

It really isn't hard to cut down and re-crown a shotgun barrel. Hit the auction sites, gun shows, etc for a junk barrel, you can practice quite a few times on that.
But in the end it's your gun and I don't blame you for being a little leery of chopping it up.

[pietro]

Hey fellas, I have a Maverick bolt action smoothbore 12 that shoots minute of paper plate at 100 with remmy sluggers. I don't take it to the woods that much because it has a 25" barrel, and was wondering if anyone has experience shortening a barrel on a smoothbore and it's effect on slug accuracy. I think its a modified choke.


Since I've cut untold smoothbores shorter (successfully) for my friends & customers, I would suggest that you just cut the barrel properly (squared/de-burred) & shoot it to determine the accuracy............

After all, it's only a Mossberg 500 economy model, with plenty of replacement barrels available if it doesn't work out.


.

[Texas by God]

It's a Maverick bolt action according to the op. I too have cut off many a shotgun barrel and never regretted a one. Go for it. It won't hurt the low value of that gun.
I reversed my original advice after thinking on it further.
Best, Thomas.

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[missionary5155]

Greetings
Choke restriction has been played with for some years.
Did some tests with a double (Fox B) working with round ball to use on bears. Started reaming the choke out at .005 increments. Found a restriction of .009 started to get groups better. .005 was the best on that barrel. And at .003 restriction is was no better so stopped. This was with RB so your slugs may act a bit different.
So both barrels on that Fox B are set at .003. Using .685 RB in a Red Winchester wad they shoot nice huge clover leafs at 50 yards moving at 1550 fps.
Mike in Peru

[GhostHawk]

IC = Improved cylinder it has just a touch of choke more than a Cylinder bore which has none.

Then modified which is light choke wise then full which is quite a bit of choke but can make a big difference on patterns.

[pietro]

It's a Maverick bolt action according to the op.




FYI, The Maverick is made by Mossberg, using the Model 500 as a base.

The parts are mechanically interchangeable.


.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I'm sure that if you removed only enough barrel to eliminate the choke, it would shoot at least as well as ever - maybe a little better, especially if you felt able to use slugs or sabots which were a closer fit to the bore. Shortening enough to make a handier gun in undergrowth is less sure, but my is still that it would either improve accuracy or affect it not at all.

Barrels are fairly inexpensive, and it isn't the sort of gun that makes it a shame to have mixed parts. It sounds like it is a choice between certainly buying another barrel in order to experiment, or maybe buying another barrel after experimenting.

[NSB]

Someone needs to drop in here and point out that the majority of the problem with a shotgun's ability to shoot slugs accurately is due to the mating of the barrel to the receiver. There used to be a few guys around who specialized in doing this kind of work and got amazing results. I knew one of them, but he passed away three years ago. You might want to google around and see who specializes in this work and read up on what they do to gain the accuracy. It's been a while since I was around this subject and watched my friend pursue that objective. I can say that I saw him take poorly shooting Remington 870s and get them to shoot five shots around 3" at a hundred yards with regularity. Cutting the barrel off isn't going to take you to where you want to go. You'll just end up with a shotgun that has a short barrel and still doesn't shoot well. But, like others pointed out, there are barrels to be had at a very affordable price. Good luck with this project.

[JBinMN]

NSB above reminded me of an article that the OP and any others interested, may want to read:
https://www.buckmasters.com/Magazines/GunHunter/Articles/ID/2527/Going-Full-Bore

Part of the article mentions:

How tightly a slug fits in a barrel and the gun’s choke constriction are often the biggest factors in accuracy. A general rule of thumb is: The more open the choke, the better the barrel will handle slugs. However, in my experience, the barrel’s internal diameter makes a much bigger difference than its choke constriction.

While many guns with skeet or improved cylinder chokes shoot slugs well, I’ve seen many modified-choked shotguns that threw slugs into tiny groups at 50 yards.

I’ve found that Remington rifled slugs prefer cylinder bore, while Winchesters and Federals seem to shoot better out of a slight constriction. Full-bore slugs like Brenneke commonly prefer a slight constriction.

Also, the best smoothbore barrels for slug shooting are finely polished, particularly in the crown and forcing cone areas.

And...As per NSB mention in the post above:


My most accurate slug smoothbores also have barrels fixed to the receivers. By firmly mating the barrel and receiver, you’ve taken the major harmonic effects (vibration) out of the equation. If you pin the barrel to the receiver, or epoxy it in place, it can later be removed for cleaning or to switch to a scattergun barrel.

G'luck in your efforts!
:)

[Texas by God]

FYI, The Maverick is made by Mossberg, using the Model 500 as a base.

The parts are mechanically interchangeable.


.
The Mossberg 500 is and always has been a pump action, not a bolt action.

NSB above reminded me of an article that the OP and any others interested, may want to read:
https://www.buckmasters.com/Magazines/GunHunter/Articles/ID/2527/Going-Full-Bore

Part of the article mentions:


And...As per NSB mention in the post above:



G'luck in your efforts!
:)


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[Texas by God]

If it is indeed a bolt action, there is no concern of barrel to action fit as it is either pinned or threaded.

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[ulav8r]

It would be mighty hard to think a Mossberg 500 is a bolt action. Just a little searching found links to Maverick arms bolt action shotguns that were available in the late 90's. Maverick was the brand name, not the model name. A Mossberg Maverick is not made by Maverick Arms.

[pietro]

The Mossberg 500 is and always has been a pump action, not a bolt action.




Respectfully, the Mossberg Maverick 88 IS a pump-action shotgun based on the Mossy 500.


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JD216DIO4g8/maxresdefault.jpg




IDK of any such thing as a bolt-action Maverick shotgun - so if you do, maybe you could please enlighten us. :)



.

[ascast]

I love these open discussions that go all over the place. Years ago, like 40 there was some research printed in the rifleman ( IIRC) which pointed clearly to slugs shooting better in cylinder bore guns, no choke. At the time, a lot of scatter gun were being bored out to remove chokes for slug shooting. I did a lot of testing of that, shooting several brands of slugs in several scatter guns I had. My Ithaca Featherweight Deerslayer in 16 ga would put Rem. Sluggers in 4 inch group at 100 yds all day, or until your shoulder gave up. Brennekes were almost as good. Nothing else even came close. Most would not shoot that tight at 25 yds. So, I say cut it off. Be sure you cut it off square and crown it. ps epoxy will hold your new sights on for years.
good luck

[ulav8r]

The Mossberg Maverick is a "line" according to Mossberg's website. It is still a Mossberg, just like a Glenfield is a Marlin.

"MODEL 95 BOLT ACTION

12 ga. only, 3 in. chamber, synthetic stock with recoil pad, 25 in. barrel bored mod., crossbolt trigger guard safety. Mfg. 1995-1997. There is pricing information available for purchase for this model. This data is available in the following options:

Blue Book of Gun Values Online Subscription (Total Access)

Includes all manufacturers/trademarks & makes/models. Most subscriptions are available in 1, 2, and 3 year increments."

Above found at http://bluebookofgunvalues.com/Gun_Values/Gun_Manufacturer_Model_Value.aspx?id=MAVERICK_ARMS _INC_SHOTGUNS_MODEL_95_BOLT_ACTION

[Texas by God]

Pietro- I'm familiar with the Maverick 88 pump from El Paso- I gave them to two nephews for graduation and nary a bobble. I remember hearing of a Maverick bolt action shotgun and thinking why? In the mid 90's?
But I'm thinking it will make a good slug gun for the OP.
Best, Thomas.