Lyman Cutts choke tubes? Tell me about 'em.

[RickinTN]

Hello everyone,
I know this is a little off topic and forgive me if it's in the wrong place. I have found myself the proud owner of a Model 12 in spite of the Cutts Compensator attached. I know very little about them. I think it is the expansion chamber which I find annoying. I notice choke tubes for sale both internal and external threaded. The portion of the Cutts on my shotgun which is attached to the barrel is eternal threaded. This is the portion which the expansion chamber threads to. are the internal threaded choke tubes compatible with the external threads on my shotgun and can they be attached directly to it this eliminating the expansion chamber?
Please educate me on the Cutts system.
Thanks for your help,
Rick

[turtlezx]

intresting ???? i deal alot with lyman and cutts chokes. But never tried the lyman internal thread choke onto a cutts adaptor.
If no 1 has tried it buy a choke and try it. the expansion chamber does reduce recoil at the expense of noise

[W.R.Buchanan]

This is what a regular Cutts Compensator looks like . This one has the Improved Cylinder Choke Tube on it and is on my Ithaca Model 37 made in 1940.

The part that is Silver Soldered to the barrel has External Treads on it. The Tube with the slots on it (Expansion Chamber) has Internal Threads on both ends. The Choke Tubes all have External Threads which screw into the Expansion Chamber.

There are 6 different Choke Tubes. Starting with Spreader, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Full, Extra Full, and Extra Extra Full. There is a Wooden Box out there to house the Tubes and Wrench when not in use. That will be harder to find than the individual Tubes.

The way the thing works, And it works very well !!!,,, is that the payload flies down the barrel under the Pressure of the Expanding Gasses from firing.
When the payload goes past the end of the barrel, most of that pressure is released thru the Slots in the Expansion Chamber. This reduces Recoil, then the Payload goes thru the Choke Tube where it is squeezed down to provide an optimum pattern for whatever distance you will be shooting at. At the same time since there is very little pressure left after going thru the Expansion Chamber the payload is essentially "Coasting" thru the Choke Tube. Also, when the payload hits the Forcing Cone in the entrance of the choke tube, there is a significant amount of force that is directed away from the shooter, thus Reducing Recoil.

If the barrel on your M12 is marked Full, the Cutts Compensator was added after it left the factory. If there is no choke marking on the barrel the Compensator was installed at the factory.

Hope this helps, and do note,,, the Cutts Compensator is probably the Coolest thing you can have on a Model 12. It makes the gun good for everything,, As long as you've got all the choke tubes.

I also have a barrel for my Browning A5 that has a Cutts on it as well.

Please post a pic of your gun and the Compensator.

Randy

[turtlezx]

didnt answer his question

[RickinTN]

Hello Randy, and thank you for your response. I have seen the tubes with internal threads. Do you knows if they fir onto the adapter thus eliminating the chamber. Are you familiar with those?
Thanks,
Rick

[HWooldridge]

I have a Cutts on a model 11 Remington that belonged to my grandfather. Re your question, I believe both ends of the expansion chamber are the same thread, so the standard choke tubes won’t fit directly on the barrel (since both are male threads).

I have never seen internally threaded tubes that would fit over the barrel adapter, but that’s no guarantee they were never produced. As a solution, you might get a gunsmith to thread a short piece of solid wall steel tubing to replace the slotted body.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to install a new one, but the Cutts was a good design and works well if you come across a shotgun with one already in place. My Remington shoots buckshot like a dream and has accounted for many deer.

[Texas by God]

Lyman has a Cutts Compensator PDF online that might help you out.
I had a Browning A5 Light Twelve with the Cutts on it- a great shotgun but not very “Light”….
To this day, it’s the only shotgun that I’ve made a triple on Mourning Doves with.
They are ugly but they do work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Duckiller]

Have a Remington model 11 12 ga with a factory installed polychoke (adjustable ) and a Winchester Model 12 16 ga with an aftermarket Cutts. The Cutts has both adjustable and fixed chokes. They all work.



with newer guns having screw in chokes I am now sure the older guns will ever make it into the field with me. Sons or daughter may take them hunting. I may take them out for Trap or Skeet just because they are fun.

[turtlezx]

rick alotta talk but no answers just by 1 off ebay if it doesnt fit (thats my guess) send it back for a refund

[mehavey]

Hang onto that Model-12 with the standard Cutts
Don't fool with it.

I've been shooting my Grandfather's 1924 for 55 years, my father 25 years before that (a 100-bird skeet shooter), and my grandfather 20 years before that.
My father put the Cutts on it 75 years ago -- making for a perfectly balanced/swinging shotgun.

Did I mention don't mess with it?

[Cap'n Morgan]

Rick,

The threads are the same size.

I once had an A5 browning with a cutts compensator, and I made a new, short expansion chamber to get with of the awful noise.
What i didn't realize (I was young and foolish) was that the length of the new expansion chamber should match the original chamber.
Otherwise the chokes will not work as intended, as their internal diameter is larger than normal chokes to compensate for the flight distance before the shot meets the choke.

[15meter]

I've got a Cutt's with an adjustable choke on a model 12. I like it a lot. I can shoot skeet in the morning and sporting clays in the afternoon with the same gun. I've consistently shot my best sporting clays scores with it. Mid to high 40's.

I don't think they made a lot of the adjustable choke versions, I've only seen one Lyman marked adjustable Cutt's, (mine) in all the years I've been shooting clay targets. They have all but disappeared around here, I think a lot are hiding in the very back of gun safes.

I think they have fallen into the same category as mopeds and fat girls, fun until your buddies see you.

I've got a poly-choke on a Model 12 that doesn't work as well as the Cutt's.

I've always been curious if the standard Cutt's choke tubes would fit in place of the adjustable gizmo. Just never dug that far into it to see.

[rockrat]

Grandad had a Cutts on his 11-48. He gave it to me for bird hunting. Couldn't hit a darn thing except for a bird flying to the right. After about a year of missing birds I patterned it and it was hitting 2 ft left. Cutts was mounted crooked, pointing left. Took the choke tube off and pattern moved right. Got more birds after that, at least up close, since it was a cylinder bore.
He later told me that he gave it to me cause he couldn't hit anything with it.
I bought a double barrel SxS and started hitting a LOT more birds

[W.R.Buchanan]

Here's a link to the Cutts info on the Lyman site. https://www.lymanproducts.com/media/...ompensator.pdf

The whole idea of this thing was to Reduce Recoil which it does by like 35%, and make the gun suitable for any sporting use. (Skeet, Trap, Doves, Ducks, Geese, Deer, etc.

Back when these things were big (30's,40's, 50's) most people only had one gun to do all their Hunting and Shooting with.

My Ithaca 37 was purchased in 1940 at a Hardware store in Ventura CA. I purchased it in 1973 after I got out of the Air Force from his oldest son and friend of mine for $100. Both are gone now as well as the Hardware store.

I completely refurbished it a few years ago and it is my Favorite Shotgun. See Pic above. And it took me 40+ years to find all the choke tubes and finally the Wooden Box! the stock was broken at the wrist and so I bought Fajen Wood for it around 1976, I had a friend who does really nice wood work on high end shotguns do the wood, and I sent the gun to Ithaca for re-bluing along with all the tubes. Everything matches ! The gun is a joy to shoot! As will your M12 .

Hope this helps some more?

Randy

[Patrick L]

So 14 replies and only 1 sort of tried to answer the OPs question. Lots of great memories of grandpa's gun, detailed information on what a Cutts is and how it works, and everyone's' opinion on whether they like the Cutts or not. CAN INTERNALLY THREADED CHOKE TUBES BE USED WITHOUT THE EXPANSION CHAMBER???? THAT IS THE QUESTION.

So sorry Rick! Try posting this on shotgunworld.com

[turtlezx]

yep thats what i said see above just buy 1 then we will all know

[RickinTN]

There is a Lyman modified choke for sale on ebay with internal threads. I would buy it and try it but the seller has a no-return policy. I have sent a message asking for the inside diameter of the threaded portion. If it matches up I'll probably give it a try.
Thanks to those who have responded. I'll try to keep you posted,
Rick

[turtlezx]

thought seller has to take returns by ebay rules???? just pic another seller

[elmacgyver0]

Funny, I didn't see the OP complaining.

[TNsailorman]

NO, eveilbay does not require a seller to accept returns if he specifies in his add "No Return".