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Bang! Bang! So far, so good!
BobJudy
Member Posts: 6,630 ✭✭✭✭
Got back from the gunsmith about an hour ago. They worked on replacing the broken sear on that 101 Winchester that I got back this year after it was stolen in 1989. The gun club is open today but it is a drizzly miserable day so I took it out in the backyard and shot a few leaves out of a maple tree. It fired both barrels just the way it should and it appears to work like it did in 1989. One change I had them make was to add a Decelerator pad because my shoulder is a lot older than it was in 1989. Hopefully we will get some decent weather so I can try it on a round of skeet or clays soon. Bob
Comments
I bet that is very satisfying. Glad to hear they got it working for you. Sounds like a good gunsmith. I think you should post up their name here in case someone else local to you wants a good one.
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
I thought you were supposed to wait until the leaves fell? Don
Good idea Mr. P. -
Dick Williams, it is a second generation gunsmith shop not to far from Frankenmuth, Michigan. They had the gun for 4 months because the guy that works on O/U shotguns was recovering from shoulder surgery. I knew this going in and figured that I had already waited 33 years, so what was another few months.
Not sure if I am going to refinish the stock or not. It has a few minor nicks and dings that were picked up during its absence but surprisingly not to bad. If I get ambitious, that might be a winter project.
Sorry Don, you must have me confused with one of our other members that shoots at poor defenseless leaves after they have fallen. Although a few of mine may have fallen in the pond after my shot.😁 Bob
Glad you got your gun back. It would be interesting to know how it was used in the 30+ years it was gone. Also,the 101 is a good shotgun. I have a 20 gauge I bought back around the time your's vanished. I used to shoot it a lot but it hasn't been shot in 15 or 20 years.
I’ve got a Win. 101, I really like it, it’s my bird gun. Got a question for you if I may.
My 101 is suppose to be mod. and full, the full mics at .695 and the mod. mics at .717. Seems to me the mod. Is more between imp. Cyl. and mod. Have you ever check your choke size? Assuming yours is in mod. and full as well.
Measuring the choke dimemsions is only an estimate. The only way to determine the actual choke performance is to pattern it at 40 yards and count the pellets in a 30 inch circle. Different shells will give different patterns. Hopefully BobJudy will elaborate on this. A good book on Shotguns also explains it. But if you are hitting birds and clay targets satisfactorily, why bother. Good luck.
The most important thing is if you are hitting what you are aiming at but if you want to check here is a chart that makes it simple to see what you have;
The good old standby measurement for a 12 ga bore is .729. By this chart your .717 barrel would indeed be between light mod and imp/cyl. The kicker is that not all 12 ga shotgun bores measure .729 and navc130 is correct in that you will have to pattern it to determine actual performance. Another thing to consider is that todays modern shells throw a tighter more even pattern than the shells of yesteryear. The advent of the plastic wad and shotcup is a vast improvement over the old shells that damaged quite a bit of shot scrubbing on the inside of the bore causing the pattern to open up faster.
This chart shows the spread to expect if you pattern your gun;
No need to count pellets, just shoot your modified marked barrel at 35 yds and measure the bulk of the pattern. There will be a few fliers outside of the bulk of the pattern caused by deformed shot not flying straight but you can disregard those.
I can't really help by measuring my 101 as it has, what at the time it was new, the wonderful invention of changeable choke tubes. I unfortunately only have an improved cylinder and a skeet because that was what was in the gun when it was returned. Somewhere I need to find period correct WinChokes to replace the ones I am missing. Bob
Bobjudy, thanks for the information.
I’ve used shoguns over the years but never reloaded for shotguns, just used shells off the shelf. I remember over forty years ago used some Remington Express and they seemed to give a better pattern at the time over other brands, in my shotgun anyway.
I have patterned it over the years with different brands, Winchester AA is hard to beat and the Federal TopGun I’ve used last couple years seem to to do pretty well also. The mod. Barrel seems to throw just a little tighter than my imp. Cyl. barrels on my other shotguns, that’s why I always wondered about if maybe someone had opened up the choke a little way back when before I bought it, over twenty years ago.
I’ve really come to enjoy my 101 over the years, just point and shoot and it’s on target, the full choke seems to shoot high, but I like that it’s easier for me to point and keep the bird in my vision. Again thank you for the reply.