April 19th
I am are now offering jug choking for muzzle loading smoothbores of most makes and models of firearms. I cannot choke some of the models of barrels due to their chrome-lined bores. Some of those that might have chrome lined bores are newer double-barreled percussion shotguns. The chrome lining is too hard to ream and will destroy our tooling. I can jug choke 20, 16, 12 and 10 bore guns with normal steel composition. My guns are built using gun-barrel quality, high carbon steel and most modern (non-chrome) steels are fine for this procedure.
The principle of jug choking is that a section near the muzzle is reamed larger than bore size with critical angles on the front and rear areas to increase the pattern and performance of shot loads. The jug choking does not adversely affect round ball performance and in fact can improve round ball accuracy. It is not a constriction type of choke, so there is no danger of excessive pressures being developed. It is easy to clean and easy to load.
The charge for jug choking is $95 plus insurance and shipping. Normal shipping charges will run $20 to the lower 48 states. Please remove the barrel from your gunstock and package securely to avoid shipping damage. Please do NOT send us the entire firearm. Please advise me of the insurance value for the return shipping. Include 60 cents per hundred dollars of insurance that you would like for your barrel's return shipment. You can sometimes procure shipping cartons/tubes from carpet stores or other commercial businesses. I will return the barrel in your carton/tube.
Please advise me as to the amount of choke you desire; improved, modified or full. I cannot GUARANTEE any particular shot pattern percentage because of the numerous variables in load components, procedures, methods, and conditions. I have had VERY good success in delivering improved patterns for our customers and have confidence that we can improve the performance of your smoothbore, too.
One mistake that can easily be made is overloading a jug choked barrel. They seem to perform better with moderate loads/charges. The patterns are more even and have no holes in them if you don't try to magnumize a muzzleloader. I just took a fine bird with 1 1/8 oz. of #5 bismuth and about 85 grains of 2fg at 40 yards!
12 Ga. English Game Gun Turkey
I will normally complete the work in one week and then return the choked barrel to the customer. Sometimes I'me a little faster, but you can probably figure on a total of 2 weeks for the entire process.
Send your barrel to; Caywood Gunmakers, 18 King's Hill Estates, Berryville AR., 72616
Thanks and Good Shooting!!!