Where are you going, Poly Choke?

Hardcase · August 31, 2011, 02:30 PM

We had a great round of sporting clays last weekend (other than my wife's recoil issues, which I think we've ironed out), except for one kind of funny incident about halfway through the 100 round course.

I was really tearing it up with my old Winchester Model 50 with its equally old Poly-Choke when one of my buddies says, "What's that silver spot on your barrel?"

I looked and the "silver spot" was the shiny steel between where the Poly-Choke used to be seated and where it had slid up to. Seems that the set screw holding it onto the barrel had fallen out and I was slowly blasting the darn thing off the end of my shotgun!

Thankfully we caught it before the thing went sailing off into the tall grass. And doubly thankfully, one of the guys had brought a couple of extra guns. So the Winchester is at the gunsmith's shop getting put back together. No harm done.

zippy13 · August 31, 2011, 03:31 PM

Live and learn. You were very lucky not to have lost more than the screw!

highvel · August 31, 2011, 05:31 PM

Both of the Poly-Chokes I have are soldered to the barrel, I didn't know they also used set screws.
Learn something new everyday!

Slugo · August 31, 2011, 08:05 PM

screws right into your new threaded barrel. $99 bucks at Cabela's...

Doc TH · August 31, 2011, 09:30 PM

Very interesting! Thanks for the news - didn't know they made a new screw-in version.

Hardcase · August 31, 2011, 10:24 PM

What is this "screw in choke" that you speak of?

I'm not gonna say that they didn't exist in the early '50s, but not for my gun!

I also thought that the choke was soldered on, too. Anyway, the gunsmith says that when he's done with it, it'll be good as new. So if it's supposed to be soldered, I guess that's what he'll do.

Gehrhard · September 1, 2011, 06:58 PM

The screw-in Poly-Choke has actually been around for a few years... Also kinda cool though of course they were part of the overall barrel length when originally on.

Hardcase · September 8, 2011, 02:41 PM

Got it back last night, good as new (or at least good as it was before the great escape attempt)!

The choke is not soldered on. Apparently it is swaged onto the barrel and then a set screw holds the works together. So, a drop of Loktite will hopefully keep everything in one piece.

Tonight is skeet night, Saturday is sporting clays!

Dave McC · September 8, 2011, 06:35 PM

Let us know how it shoots. Thanks....

Hardcase · September 11, 2011, 09:51 PM

Well, it shot great for the five or six clays, then I noticed that it was doing the same thing as before - slipping down the barrel.

I bit the bullet (so to speak) and put barrel in the vise and pulled the choke off the rest of the way. I found the problem. There's some erosion at the junction of the choke and the barrel. It's not a smooth transition from the barrel to the choke, so some shot must be catching on that rough part and pushing the choke off the barrel.

So, I'm left with a conundrum. I can replace the choke, get a new barrel (if I can find one) or see what a gunsmith can do about threading the barrel. I really like this shotgun, even though it's older than I am.

I've got an email in to Poly Choke and a couple of others to some obsolete parts houses (Numrich says that they're out of stock). And I'm open to suggestions from you guys, too.

EDIT: Todd Martin, the owner of Poly-Choke emailed me back and asked me to send the barrel and choke to him so that they could see if it's repairable. I'm sending it out tomorrow or Wednesday.

Hardcase · November 15, 2011, 10:11 AM

As a member of the royal family of procrastinators (I'm definitely not the king...maybe a duke or an earl), I didn't send the barrel off until the first week of this month.

There was some sort of problem with the sleeve and the entire assembly apparently had never been properly installed on the gun. Anyway, the folks at Poly-Choke put a new assembly on and the turn around time was about 10 days. It only cost about $120, so I've got my blob-ended shooter back in business. We shot a few rounds of skeet last weekend and it certainly out-performed me!

Dave McC · November 15, 2011, 02:32 PM

Thanks, I love happy beginnings even more than happy endings....

August 31, 2011, 02:30 PM	#1
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	Where are you going, Poly Choke? We had a great round of sporting clays last weekend (other than my wife's recoil issues, which I think we've ironed out), except for one kind of funny incident about halfway through the 100 round course. I was really tearing it up with my old Winchester Model 50 with its equally old Poly-Choke when one of my buddies says, "What's that silver spot on your barrel?" I looked and the "silver spot" was the shiny steel between where the Poly-Choke used to be seated and where it had slid up to. Seems that the set screw holding it onto the barrel had fallen out and I was slowly blasting the darn thing off the end of my shotgun! Thankfully we caught it before the thing went sailing off into the tall grass. And doubly thankfully, one of the guys had brought a couple of extra guns. So the Winchester is at the gunsmith's shop getting put back together. No harm done. __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

August 31, 2011, 05:31 PM	#3
highvel Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2010 Location: Powhatan VA Posts: 633	Both of the Poly-Chokes I have are soldered to the barrel, I didn't know they also used set screws. Learn something new everyday! __________________ Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.--Mark Twain "I have opinions of my own 'strong opinions' but I don't always agree with them."--George Bush

August 31, 2011, 08:05 PM	#4
Slugo Junior member Join Date: September 15, 2001 Location: Central PA Posts: 1,007	here's the newest version... screws right into your new threaded barrel. $99 bucks at Cabela's...

August 31, 2011, 09:30 PM	#5
Doc TH Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2005 Posts: 633	poly-choke Very interesting! Thanks for the news - didn't know they made a new screw-in version.

August 31, 2011, 10:24 PM	#6
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	What is this "screw in choke" that you speak of? I'm not gonna say that they didn't exist in the early '50s, but not for my gun! I also thought that the choke was soldered on, too. Anyway, the gunsmith says that when he's done with it, it'll be good as new. So if it's supposed to be soldered, I guess that's what he'll do. __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

August 31, 2011, 03:31 PM	#2
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Live and learn. You were very lucky not to have lost more than the screw!

September 1, 2011, 06:58 PM	#7
Gehrhard Junior member Join Date: July 15, 2009 Location: East of the Missississippippi Posts: 675	The screw-in Poly-Choke has actually been around for a few years... Also kinda cool though of course they were part of the overall barrel length when originally on.

September 8, 2011, 02:41 PM	#8
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	Got it back last night, good as new (or at least good as it was before the great escape attempt)! The choke is not soldered on. Apparently it is swaged onto the barrel and then a set screw holds the works together. So, a drop of Loktite will hopefully keep everything in one piece. Tonight is skeet night, Saturday is sporting clays! __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

September 8, 2011, 06:35 PM	#9
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Let us know how it shoots. Thanks....

September 11, 2011, 09:51 PM	#10
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	Well, it shot great for the five or six clays, then I noticed that it was doing the same thing as before - slipping down the barrel. I bit the bullet (so to speak) and put barrel in the vise and pulled the choke off the rest of the way. I found the problem. There's some erosion at the junction of the choke and the barrel. It's not a smooth transition from the barrel to the choke, so some shot must be catching on that rough part and pushing the choke off the barrel. So, I'm left with a conundrum. I can replace the choke, get a new barrel (if I can find one) or see what a gunsmith can do about threading the barrel. I really like this shotgun, even though it's older than I am. I've got an email in to Poly Choke and a couple of others to some obsolete parts houses (Numrich says that they're out of stock). And I'm open to suggestions from you guys, too. EDIT: Todd Martin, the owner of Poly-Choke emailed me back and asked me to send the barrel and choke to him so that they could see if it's repairable. I'm sending it out tomorrow or Wednesday. __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae Last edited by Hardcase; September 12, 2011 at 04:30 PM.

November 15, 2011, 10:11 AM	#11
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	As a member of the royal family of procrastinators (I'm definitely not the king...maybe a duke or an earl), I didn't send the barrel off until the first week of this month. There was some sort of problem with the sleeve and the entire assembly apparently had never been properly installed on the gun. Anyway, the folks at Poly-Choke put a new assembly on and the turn around time was about 10 days. It only cost about $120, so I've got my blob-ended shooter back in business. We shot a few rounds of skeet last weekend and it certainly out-performed me! __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

November 15, 2011, 02:32 PM	#12
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Thanks, I love happy beginnings even more than happy endings....