Briley replacement tubes

Alex Johnson · March 8, 2000, 02:06 PM

Does anyone have any experience with the Briley conversion tubes. I have a nice SxS damascus 12 guage that has absolutely terrible bores. I was thinking about using the 20 guage tubes that they offer. My question is how much does this affect the feel of the gun?

K80Geoff · March 9, 2000, 02:41 PM

I presume that you are talking about the "Companion" tubes that Briley makes to convert your double to a smaller gauge?

I have a set of 28 ga tubes for my remington O/U. They do make the gun balance differently as they add weight to the barrels. In some guns the tubes tend to rattle, particularly if you have open chokes. To solve this in my O/U I have to install full choke tubes in the 12 ga barrels to hold the tubes securely.

If you have several guns that have the same length barrels the Companion tubes are a good idea. If you are only interested in converting one gun consider having Briley make a set of their titanium tubes expressly for your gun. these tubes are much lighter and the choke tubes are easier to change while the tubes are in the gun.

There are companies who will sleeve the bores on older guns. This is most often done with older Damascus barrels that are not considered safe to shoot with modern ammunition. The sleeve is permanent and will make your 12 ga into a 16 or 20 ga gun. the advantage here is in the weight savings. Sleeving is more expensive than knock out tubes like the companions.

In short, the Briley tubes add weight to the barrels and affect the handling of the gun.

Geoff Ross

Alex Johnson · March 10, 2000, 02:00 AM

Thanks for the information. I am rebuilding an underlever damascus 12 guage shotgun. The gun will be in perfect mechanical condition when I'm done with it, but the bores are too bad to be of any use. I have thought about sleeving it, but the Briley alternative sounded attractive. I will definately give their titanium barrels some attention. Thanks again for the response.

Dave McC · March 10, 2000, 09:06 AM

Alex, I know a couple of folks that have the titanium tubes in old family guns. Satisfaction seems universal.

If that 12 is fairly lightweight, it should make a nice 16 ga post rebuild.

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March 8, 2000, 02:06 PM	#1
Alex Johnson Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2000 Location: Grand Forks, ND Posts: 812	Does anyone have any experience with the Briley conversion tubes. I have a nice SxS damascus 12 guage that has absolutely terrible bores. I was thinking about using the 20 guage tubes that they offer. My question is how much does this affect the feel of the gun?

March 9, 2000, 02:41 PM	#2
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	I presume that you are talking about the "Companion" tubes that Briley makes to convert your double to a smaller gauge? I have a set of 28 ga tubes for my remington O/U. They do make the gun balance differently as they add weight to the barrels. In some guns the tubes tend to rattle, particularly if you have open chokes. To solve this in my O/U I have to install full choke tubes in the 12 ga barrels to hold the tubes securely. If you have several guns that have the same length barrels the Companion tubes are a good idea. If you are only interested in converting one gun consider having Briley make a set of their titanium tubes expressly for your gun. these tubes are much lighter and the choke tubes are easier to change while the tubes are in the gun. There are companies who will sleeve the bores on older guns. This is most often done with older Damascus barrels that are not considered safe to shoot with modern ammunition. The sleeve is permanent and will make your 12 ga into a 16 or 20 ga gun. the advantage here is in the weight savings. Sleeving is more expensive than knock out tubes like the companions. In short, the Briley tubes add weight to the barrels and affect the handling of the gun. Geoff Ross

March 10, 2000, 02:00 AM	#3
Alex Johnson Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2000 Location: Grand Forks, ND Posts: 812	Thanks for the information. I am rebuilding an underlever damascus 12 guage shotgun. The gun will be in perfect mechanical condition when I'm done with it, but the bores are too bad to be of any use. I have thought about sleeving it, but the Briley alternative sounded attractive. I will definately give their titanium barrels some attention. Thanks again for the response.

March 10, 2000, 09:06 AM	#4
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Alex, I know a couple of folks that have the titanium tubes in old family guns. Satisfaction seems universal. If that 12 is fairly lightweight, it should make a nice 16 ga post rebuild.