Lengthen Shotgun Forcing Cone

[Sharps40]

Been wanting to do this for a while. Found a new in box Clymer 12g forcing cone reamer and Craftsmen Tap Handle for $90 and since I have two 12g SxS shotties inbound for customizing.....(Goodwife wants a light handy for around the house and yard) I figured what the heck.

The pair of Winchester 1300 riot guns are the experimental barrels......Kick like mules so maybe this'll help some. In any event, first one went well and needs a bit of final polish to be done....second one went perfect, probably does not need any final polish. All told, 30 minutes to put a 1 3/8" long forcing cone in both barrels.

Easy peasy and the Clymer reamer self centers and really smooths out the final cuts to an almost polish.

The factory forcing cone, not really a forcing cone, more like an abrupt shoulder that appears to be an o-ring in front of the chamber.

The first of two forcing cones cut today in the photo below. This one I went a bit too heavy handed on and will have a bit of polishing to do to complete the job. No worries, just another 10 minutes work. (The other barrel was done with a much lighter hand and the final cuts were almost a polish. The cone in the second is lovely. I'll prolly polish it for the practice but I don't think it really needs it......)

I set things up horizontal on the bench for the second barrel to get some photos, the reaming is done vertically. The cutter self centers and gently pulls itself in, very little down force is needed as I found out with a much better finish on the second try.

The supplies, reamer, tap handle, patches, cleaning rod, brush, lots of good cutting oil.

Only turn the reamer about 3 to 5 full turns and then pull and clean it and the barrel. Initially, when hoggin out the abrupt factory cone, the shavings are long and fill the flutes of the reamer quickly....as the cutting progresses, the chips become fine like sawdust and the finish becomes smooth as a babies behind.

Here the reamer is just starting the cut......After remounting vertically, I reamed slowly, carefully and cleaning and oiling often until the reamer end was even with the lip of the chamber where the cartridge rests. You can check the work as you go, watching the factory forcing cone disappear as it gets longer and gentler. A neat process. Can't wait for them other SxS's to get here. Meantime, I'll have to make up a polisher and finish these barrels up to a high polish.

 

[contender]

Great post! Looking good there!

 

[Sharps40]

I want to polish yet. Get it all figgered out before cuttin the doubles for coach guns.

 

[Enigma]

I had the barrel on my Remington 870 Express done; it made a significant difference in both perceived recoil and patterning. If I was heavier into shotguns, I'd probably buy a reamer and do them myself. As it is, there's no real need since I don't own that many shotguns.

 

[Sharps40]

Cool thing is, with 6 barrels to do and the low entry price on the tooling.....i'm at $16.50 per forcing cone......not counting whatever polish setup I wind up with.

 

[Mobuck]

I had the forcing cone lengthened on my "custom" turkey gun over 30 years ago. It makes a big diff in performance with the heavy loads used for turkey. At that time, about the only folks doing this mod were trap or "card" shooters.

 

[movingmd]

I cannot wait to see your polishing setup.

 

[Sharps40]

Its a cheep polishing set up...... 98 cents for a stick of wood and $7 for two packs of wet/dry paper. Ya might be disappointed cause it ain't spensive or fancy and it didn't come way overpriced from Browntheifs catalog or the Midwayintoyourpocket web page.....

Did a 400 and 600 polishing pass on both barrels.

A slotted stick, some 400 and 600. I reinforced the back of the paper with duct tape, used oil for the lube and padded the wrap with fine bubble wrap for the pressure. Worked great. I believe the 600g finish in the chamber and forcing cone exceeds the factory polish in the barrel. Might have to try a beater full length for a clean up....

Sample, this is the first barrel I put a long forcing cone in, before and then after the polishing. Good enough I think and smooth as the babies butt. Should be fun getting it dirty next weekend.

The 600 finish fairly shines in the chamber and forcing cone. Will be interesting to see, if when polished this way on a SxS do the fired shells drop free when the muzzle is turned up and given a quick shake.

 

[powder smoke]

Very interesting and seems simple enough. Thanks for sharing. ps

 

[Sharps40]

Hopefully shoot at least one of them this weekend. See if its still a cheek buster and shoulder shover or not. I spect, with 12g Buck it'll still be stout. But if its a bit less smack in the cheekbone I'll be happy to have spent the equivalant of $17 per barrel (I'll be reaming 6 barrels) for lengthened forcing cones.