In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Got to go buy a dial caliper
Ricci.Wright
Member Posts: 5,127 ✭✭✭✭
I can't find mine and I have a bunch of SxS shotguns coming in. L.C. Smith and Fox didn't bother marking their guns so I need to measure them. I hate cheap tools but I guess I am going to try a $26.00 unit from harbor Freight. I don't need calipers that often and I don't think I need Starrett or Mitutoyo to measure shotgun chokes.
Comments
Just drop a dime down the barrel and measure. Or is it a Penny?
Had to hold my nose and go to Wally world. Need a new set of Bose Head phones. There or Amazon(not)
Low and behold there in the gun stuff were two boxes of 100 Federal fusion 160gr .284 bullets, 30.00 each. STW fodder. Needed dial calipers. Insert Ricci's post. Sure enough there were two RCBS dial calipers at 40.00 each. Can't have too many.
Set of 204 Ruger dies followed me home to.
Ammo shelves and accouterments, non existent.
Would this work for you? https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/shotgun-tools/choke-adapters-gauges/quick-check-choke-gauge-prod10984.aspx
I've used one with good results for years and only $9.99. Come to think of it, Brownells price was only about $3 when I bought mine. That will give you an idea of how long ago that was.
I believe that if it’s a full choke In a 12ga, a dime will not fit in.
Don’t be afraid of the cheap harbor freight digital calipers. They work just fine and they’re actually very accurate!
from a machinist standpoint, calipers are too variable to get truly accurate dimensions, even the high$ end kind. for shooters, that accuracy is seldom needed. altho a mid range cost will certainly be better for you thank bargain basement types....choose wisely. a good set will keep its value a long time. cheapos, well they last cheapo times
ricci i have used the harbor freight ones for years, i have a plastic pair, stainless pair, and the electronic ones. the only complaint i have is you need to remove the battery from the electronic one for storage. they all measure very closely with each other so they are all inaccurate in the same direction or they work as they should.
Inside diameter gages..then mic them. Dial calipers are used for rough measurements
I suggest telescoping gauges and a micrometer to read the gauges, but that's me.
I'm not sure I'd rely on a Harbor Freight caliper for rough carpentry.
just buy one of the inexpensive bore gauges basic a tapered metal gauge that is marked in graduating lines and has cyl mod full among others etched into them
I am sure more high end precision variations are on the market also
Don’t make it to simple for Ricci, he will have to get Ken to explain it to him.
Brown and Sharpe
Ricci, you are not a machinist and shotguns are not precision tools. You do not need to measure to seven digits. You are measuring choke diameter (actually, you're measuring muzzle diameter, the actual choke may be an inch or more deeper in the bore.) Just go to Hobo Freight or Wally world and pick up a $25 steel caliper. When you list a gun, it is more than enough to say "Chokes appear to be Mod/IC" or whatever.
I ran a maintenance program for a machine shop full of all kinds of mills and lathes and precision tools. You are right, I do not need to be that precise. Just need to measure rough bore diameters. For the $150.00 I would spend on a quality tool I don't need, I could buy a brick of .22 lr ammo. 😁😁😁
Been using this RCBS for well over 20 years.
Measuring chokes is no different from measuring any other type of dimensions we run across in firearms. You choose what tool works best for you, your budget and style of working.
When I apprenticed, the master gunmaker was very careful to point out that I would find some differences between American shotguns and British shotguns. He said that I needed to pay close attention to some dimensions, especially with chokes. The British have a slightly different way if differentiating the size of chokes. Here is a nice article pertaining to chokes and measurement:
Buy what you want to afford and what works for you.
Best.
I might have something I can send the OP, if'n he wants them.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Now you done went and done it.
One must needs a set of inside calipers. Choke should be measured for the full length of constriction, beginning to end. Measure inside then check with dial calipers.
I could tell you what you should use but it would only measure a full choke on a .410😉
I have a Vernier caliper I bought sixty years ago that cost me most of a weeks take home pay @ $1.50/hr. It still works fine but my eyes don't. I have a dial one & an electronic one from Harbor Freight that both work very good that cost FAR less maybe 20 years ago. The electronic one is nice since you can switch from inches to Metric but needing a battery can be a problem. I also have a set of micrometers from Harbor Freight that I am quite satisfied with.
My device couldn't even fit into a 2 bore. 🤷♂️
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain