The Single-Barrel, Break-Open Shotgun

[Mortblanc]

If you expect accuracy from a slug the very last thing you want is for the projectile to "fall thorough the bore".

The need for a loose slug is an internet myth. Slugs are expected to be fired from any choke constriction except the "super full" turkey and coyote chokes.

Slugs are supposed to compress as they travel the bore. It is expected. It is INTENDED!

Cast lead bullets that are fired at much higher velocities through rifle barrels are NOT sized below bore diameter. They are Sized at .001" OVER BORE DIAMETER.

Shotgun slugs are hollow for most of their body mass. They are designed to expand on firing, then squeeze through the choke as they exit. They are still being made as they were back when almost every shotgun came with a full choke and "the fuller the better" was the rule of the day.

Charles Harris problem almost assuredly came from firing a copper jacketed bullet through his .410 bore shotgun. He was firing a .429 diameter jacketed bullet through a .410 bore and the lead core squeezed from the copper jacket, which remained in the barrel. The next shot split the barrel like peeling a banana due to the obstruction in the bore. IT HAS NO BEARING ON OUR DISCUSSION.

I have fired slugs through every choke constriction on purpose just to find out how much variation in accuracy there was between my screw in chokes.

If one cuts down their shotgun barrels there is not a need to "proof" the barrels again. Why would there be? You are working on the muzzle, not the breech.

I have cut down more than 100 barrels in my time and never had one blow up. Fact is there were a couple that I cut because they had blown up!

However, if I had a good double I would not cut it unless there was another factor involved.

I have one double gun I cut down for shooting skeet (cyl/cyl) back before screw in chokes had been developed. I have regretted cutting that gun down for 30 years.

I consider modern screw in chokes the frosting on the shotgun cake.

---

My 12ga ball mold, and most slug molds, cast a .69 caliber projectile. Most 12ga bores mike out at .730 and do not approach the .69 caliber mark until they reach modified (3/4) choke.