the chokes will most likely need to be opened upArchived Message
Posted by Jent P Mitchell III on December 8, 2015, 12:10 am, in reply to "choke gauge"
Hello Tim, In my opinion the chokes on most L C Smiths need to be opened up to be shot with the modern plastic wads found in most of our 12 gauge ammunition sold in the USA. In my opinion you will only need .007 to .009 inches of choke in the right barrel and .014 to .018 inches of choke in the left barrel of a 12 gauge L C Smith to shoot LEAD shot. Do not shoot STEEL shot out of your L C Smith unless you open the chokes up to about .005 to .006 inches in both barrels!!! In my opinion you will want to lengthen the forcing cones in most 12 gauge L C Smiths. If this L C Smith is a gun with 3 inch chambers then there is a whole different set of numbers to deal with. Now all of this is just my opinion on how a good shooting SXS should be choked to shoot clay targets or quail or doves or pheasants or rabbits. If your L C Smith is going to be a dedicated 12 gauge SKEET GUN then both barrels should be choked about .006 to .008 inches and the forcing cones should be nice and long and remove the automatic safety setting rod. In other words alter the gun so the SAFETY stays where you put it. Some shooters go so far as to totally remove the SAFETY from dedicated SKEET GUNS and TRAP GUNS. The L C Smith factory even built guns right from the factory WITHOUT any SAFETY so that the SAFETY could never accidentally be left engaged. So in my opinion you do not need to be concerned about what the chokes are right now because you will be having them opened up soon after you purchase the gun. Be sure to check the ribs closely to make sure that they are not loose or popped in a small area. Look closely for any bulges in the barrels. Bulges are very very bad and almost impossible to repair. Small dents are usually not a problem. Small dents can be raised easily with 3 or 4 different types of tools. Even medium dents are not usually a problem. If you come to Allentown, Pennsylvania for the L C Smith Christmas shoot at LeHigh Valley Sporting Clays you can see several L C Smiths that have been altered and improved by having their chokes opened up and their forcing cones lengthened. Pastor Charlie Brooks will most likely be at this shoot and he can explain in detail how this choke work and forcing cone work is done and should be done. Pastor Charlie can do this work for you. He does not need the whole gun he only needs the barrels. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL, JENT