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I have a model 37 commemorative, 1776-1976 with 30" barrels choked modified. I have adjusted the butt stock as far down as I can and still see the bead but it shoots 3" high at 16 yards. Is it possible to adjust the fixed choke in some manner to bring it down? I have read somewhere here where guys have filed the edge of the choke in the muzzle area but I have not heard whether they were successful after patterning again. I could sell the gun to someone who it fits but I do like the gun and would like to keep it. I would appreciate advice.

builder,
I suspect that a really good shotgun mechanic can bend the barrel enough to get it to shoot where you want it to,
Mike

Der Ami is correct. Bending it to move the pattern 3" lower is VERY easy. You won't ever know it was done if you don't watch.

I have seen it done, and moved the pattern more than that, on a Model 12.

SRH

I've likely told this before, but my first gun after the obligatory (for southern boys) singleshot .410 was a 20ga model 31 Remington pump that belonged to my mother. She'd fallen in a middle GA gully while bird hunting and bent the barrel laterally. I learned to shoot by using no lead at all in one direction and doubling the lead in the other.

I showed it to a local gun trader who led me out to his front yard where there was a forked tree. He took the barrel off and put it between the forks and bent it back straight by eye. I never could get used to that gun after that...Geo

Thanks guys. I have done that with a model 31 Remington and I know it can be done on a model 12 just as you say. In the past a very good friend helped me pattern two pump guns. He brought along a tool that looks a bit like a huge gear puller. It was made for bending barrels. We used the tool to bend the Model 31 to shoot more to the right. (4" on 16 yards). It was easy. This was probably ten years ago.

The other gun was a model 37. We bent the heck out of it and it just returned to origin. I surmised, as he did that this being a newer gun used a different type of steel. We were unable to move the point of aim and in the end I sold the gun.

I have not tried to bend this barrel but this is what I know. I really like the feel and looks of the gun. It is a 1776-1976 Centennial (no gold) with nice engraving and a black finish. Possibly the buttstock has been replaced since it has beautiful figure in my eyes but it came without checkering. It came with a 30" plain barrel, choked Mod and is relatively light weight and handles well. My kind of feel. I am not a collector.

Since it was made in 1976 I assume it is the same steel and the guy with the tool lives five hours from me. Maybe it is worth a shot at bending anyway. Any ideas on how to accomplish this?
I have a table top drill press that I could use to push down on the center of the barrel while holding the ends up on a couple of blocks of wood. Not much of a throw on this homeowners type press though. Maybe four or five inches. Any other thoughts?

Sorry to ramble on.

You might have a bottle jack or scissor jack that could do very small increments at a time. I'd spend a good bit more time on blocking, leveling and protection the finish, than pushing on the barrel. I hope you don't mind if I add in that it may shoot just fine as is.

It does shoot high for me and I am not good at adjusting. I try very hard to fit all my guns to me so whichever I pick up I have a good chance of shooting it well.

I do have both jacks and that is a great idea.

I figure on forming a half circle cut on the block second from the top and the top one and use screws to clamp them together and using blue tape to cover the barrel to protect the finish.

builder,
I suggest you have someone with a lot of experience( even some) try it for you.
Mike

Before I did any bbl-bending excercizes,,I'd replace the front bead with a larger one.
That will generally make you naturally point the bbl lower on the target as you look just over the top of the taller bead.
The Ithaca's are standard 6-48 IIRC.

Lot's of large(r) dia round bead sites available in steel, brass, colors, ect.

Worth a try before you go the blacksmithing route though that can give good results if done correctly.
The correction needed is very small but must be done very carefully.
Tubing bends differently than a solid bar.

Thank you for taking the time to help me solve my problem. I never would have thought of it. I just ordered a front sight that will be higher. If it works I won't have to take the risk of bending the barrel.

In the construction trades when there is a critical bend to do in tubing we fill the tube first with sand so the bend retains its round shape.

Thank you Kutter. Your idea worked. Shot it today at sporting clays very well and then patterned it. Pattern was perfectly centered which is what I like. Easy to tell since the pattern is less than ten inches at 16 yards. I think the chokes get opened a bit when I have some time over the winter. It is a beautiful model 37 that I have not shot in ten years. Lots of fun!

I use to shoot Skeet with a fellow who had his barrel bent so it patterned three feet high at the center post. He had a flinch and pulled the gun off his shoulder every time he pulled the trigger. On doubles he would pull the butt off his shoulder on the first shot, then remount the gun and pull it off again. Doing so made his point of impact three feet low at the middle post. I watched him bend a new gun barrel in between the slats of our fence to change his point if impact. He said with
a Browning he would slam the barrel down on top of two bags of shot. Browning barrels were very easily bent. He could also help straighten out a fellows bent barrel if it got bent by accident. Trap shooter have also been known to bend a barrel to change POI. More than one way to skin a cat.

It shoots 3" high at 16 yards .Its a shotgun NOT a rifle .Now you know wear it shoots its up to you to calculate this in your lead when taking the shot .

You sound like somebody I'd like to shoot for money. Lessee, float everything over the bead, and the farther off it is the more I have to float it. Three inches at 16 is 6 at 32, and 9 at 48 yards. You won't miss every shot because of that much, but you darn sure will miss some, and wing many. When you have to make allowances for the flaws in the gun you will never shoot your best. Your mind is on the wrong thing.

I explicitly disagree with the proposal that a little off is okay. I do not tolerate it because it can be fixed. With a doublegun, if it can't be rectified without removing and relaying the ribs, move it down the road.

To shoot a shotgun the best possible, which is the only way I'm interested in, it's got to shoot exactly where I am looking.

SRH

Stan, you shoot at a level far beyond the abilities of most of us, well me for certain. I'm an open choke kind of guy and wide patterns make up for gun problems as well as poor marksmanship. You may be able to center pattern your shots on targets; I rely upon the kindness of a well spread pattern...Geo

Turkeys excepted of course!

Oh my, Geo., I rely on patterns spread, too. But, I don't want too have more pattern spread on one side of the pattern than the other. Any man that is good enough to compensate for a poorly regulated gun could be a master shot with a regulated gun! But, he will never be with an unregulated gun.

SRH

I have made it a practice to make all my guns fit the same since I shoot all my guns. They have to all shoot at what I am looking at or I would be lost. They may swing differently but I can compensate for that. If I cannot make it fit then it goes down the road and hopefully it will fit the next guy.

I am still amazed that Kutter's fix worked and have been scratching my head at such a simple effective fix. Knowledge and experience such as Kutter's is invaluable. BTW, I spent a lot more time finding the larger sight than installing it. Not as easy to find it as I expected.

Thanks all for your help and comments. The education and friendship I have received from board members over the years is priceless to me.

Well done, builder. Advice is cheap, but it's not always as good as Kutter's.

Good shooting! SRH