Patrick Sweeney - Gunsmithing: Shotguns

GUNSMITHING SHOTGUNS

PATRICK SWEENEY

2000 by Krause Publications

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a critical article or review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper or electronically transmitted on radio or television.

Published by

krause publications

700 East State St., Iola, WI 54990-0001

eISBN: 978-1-44022-448-5

715-445-2214

www.krause.com

Please, call or write us for our free catalog of antiques and collectibles publications. To place an order or receive our free catalog, call 800-258-0929. For editorial comment and further information, use our regular business telephone at (715) 445-2214

Library of Congress Catalog Number: 00-104631

ISBN: 0-87341-902-0

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

Writing a book that consists of more than a collection of memoirs requires assistance. In the case of a book on gunsmithing, writing requires the help of other gunsmiths, the manufacturers and suppliers, and the forbearance of the editor. I would like to thank my fellow gunsmiths for their help through the years and on this book. I would also like to thank the manufacturers for their kind loan of shotguns, ammunition, tools and parts. As for my long-suffering editor, I hope that Kevin has found a 200-yard range at which to soothe his frustrations.

Dedication

I think it was H.L. Mencken who described writing as sitting at a typewriter and staring at a blank sheet of paper until beads of blood form on your forehead, fall off and form words. I laughed the first time I read it. I didn't laugh the first time I found myself sitting at a typewriter at 2 a.m., unable to write anything worth sending off in the morning mail to make the deadline. That was in 1987. However, writing, and being a writer, are two different states. I will forever be in debt to Felicia for kicking me from writing to being a writer. I only thought I knew the language before reading what she can write, and for what she has done to improve my writing. Thanks, Felicia, Had I a hat, off it would be.

The Author

Patrick Sweeney lives in the Midwest, writing and teaching, and traveling to various exotic locales to shoot and teach. While many consider the job of a gun writer to be a dream come true, he just wants you to know that the grind of shooting mountains of ammunition, traveling to Paris to view the museum at Les Invalides (and stopping off in Liege to see the FN factory) are not as fun as they might seem. They are a lot more fun. Stay tuned for more episodes.

Foreword

If you've ever looked at a malfunctioning shotgun and said, I can fix that, this book is for you. If you've ever looked at an ugly shotgun and said, I can spruce that up a bit, keep reading. Gunsmith Patrick Sweeney has again added to the collective knowledge of hobby gunsmiths everywhere. Gunsmithing Shotguns, provides the insight and the details to give you the confidence to work on your own shotgun. Whether you hunt upland birds, waterfowl, turkey or deer, this book has something that will make your life easier. The same is true if you use your shotgun for competitive sport shooting. Sweeney's years of experience at the gunsmithing bench have been translated into easy-to-read text and augmented with clear, instructional photos. Read this book, practice the skills presented here and you will be able to work on your shotgun. Just that simple.

Kevin Michalowski
Firearms Book Editor
Krause Publications.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
History

Chapter 2
Black Powder to Breechloaders

Chapter 3
Tools, A Place, and Practice

Chapter 4
Shotgun Types and Their Maintenance

Chapter 5
Stocks and Woodworking

Chapter 6
Chokes

Chapter 7
Chamber, Forcing Cone and Bore

Chapter 8
Insert Tubes and Smaller Gauges

Chapter 9
Sights

Chapter 10
Bluing

Chapter 11
Trigger Work

Chapter 12
The Winchester 1897

Chapter 13
The Mossberg 500

Chapter 14
Restoring a Double

Chapter 15
The Remington 870

Chapter 16
The Remington 1100 & 11-87

Chapter 17
The Browning Auto-5

Chapter 18
Building a Turkey Gun

Chapter 19
Building a Deer Hunting Shotgun

Chapter 20
Building a Shotgun for Practical Competition

Chapter 21
Recoil Reduction

Introduction

The shotgun has been with us ever since somebody got the bright idea of using gunpowder to launch a projectile. Ever since then, we have been struggling with the same questions. How big? How heavy? How to make the damned thing hit where I want it to? When smoothbores were the only guns available, a lot of time and energy went into perfecting them. What a lot of shooters today don't realize is just how far those efforts went. We think of a muzzle-loading firearm as a curiosity, or another way to get more hunting time. It couldn't compare to a modern shotgun, rifle or handgun could it? Don't bet on it.

A muzzle-loading rifle can be quite powerful, enough to handily kill any big game. A smoothbore can be accurate. When dueling was fashionable, rifling in a dueling pistol was not allowed. However, gunsmiths could so precisely bore the barrel, and make molds for bullets to match them, that one English nobleman who practiced (a rarity then and now, someone who actually practices) bragged he could hit a silver dollar a 20 paces every time. Want to duel against him? Neither did anyone back then. And unreliable flintlocks? At the pinnacle of their design and manufacture, a lockmaker could make a flintlock proof against rain, and sure in function.

Shotguns were close-range hunting and defense weapons that threw a lot of pellets. A duck centered by an ounce of No. 4 shot can't tell whether the shot came from a muzzle-loader at 20 yards or a modern thunderstick at 50. Confusion over the proper design and use for a shotgun didn't come up until rifles had supplanted them as general-purpose tools. Once rifles took over as the main hunting tool, and the main military personal weapon, shotguns were defined more by what they lacked than what they had. Shotguns were rifles without rifling. Even though hunters don't aim much (just watch them shoot) many feel that aiming is the only way to shoot. The idea of a cloud of shot sweeping their quarry from the sky is too peculiar. Others take the idea of a cloud of shot too much to heart, and assume that if they throw lead up, ducks fall down. Shotguns work differently than rifles, and if you do not understand the difference, you will be frustrated with any shotgun.

Without a dominant position, the shotgun found itself being forced into many secondary roles. It's a duck gun. It's an alley-sweeper. Its a slug-throwing deer gun. Well, it is all of those but not all at once. Many advocates feel that the shotgun and a selection of ammunition is the most versatile firearm going. However, unless you have all of the ammo selections at hand, and the time to make a choice, the versatility is theoretical.

Even the U.S. Army has tried to make the shotgun into something it isn't. Enamored of the idea of multiple shot payloads, but not satisfied with the durability, range or penetrating power, they have tried to improve the shotgun. The goal is to create a weapon that will give a near 100 percent certainty of hits at 100 meters, the ability to penetrate body armor and chance obstacles, and has quick-reloading capabilities. As any capable shotgun shooter or gunsmith could tell them, the Army ended up with a weapon that was larger than and nearly as heavy as a light machinegun, had heavy recoil, and a limited magazine capacity. The Army isn't alone in trying to force-fit the shotgun into new jobs. Law enforcement agencies have struggled with the role of the shotgun, from a can't miss alley sweeper to a weapon issued only on raids, to a launching device for tear gas and pepper spray.