doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Savage Four Tenner inserts

I don't think they are sold anymore, but I do have a pair of 12ga to .410. They are 12" long, 3 1/2" at the breech end is steel, 8 1/2" aluminum with an o-ring at the end.

I used them in an old Batavia Leader with considerable pitted twist bores and a few small dimple dents. It's bored ic/ic.

Anyone have an opinion on using them for twist steel barrels?

Just my opinion, no test conducted. The 4-tenner itself will contain the pressure until it clears it's end. The carrier bore is so much larger than the .410 wadding I would think no seal could be established so little pressure would be applied to it. I would think you could use them a good piece of bamboo fitted to a suitable breech.

The .410 wad does not seal the bore in a 12 ga. barrel. So there should be no possible pressure problem. I would not worry about using them unless you worry that having fun could be habit forming. If you are worried I am always willing to by an extra pair to put your mind at ease.


"I would think you could use them a good piece of bamboo fitted to a suitable breech." You might not want to use bamboo as I do not think that it has enough hoop strength for the job. Maybe we can ask Mr Bell to find out for us.

Well that Bamboo was sort of a jest, but I do recall reading the MauMau did make homemade shotguns using Bamboo wrapped with wet rawhide which then shrank tight for re-inforcement. As they were stealing the Brits shells to shoot them with, they were of course using 12ga shells & no doubt sought out a much better fit.

I managed to shoot a few 25 straight rounds of skeet with 4-tenner Savage tubes in a 12 gauge double. I personally felt these performed very well. I still have the tubes in their original boxes.
Jim

The prevalent opinion for the Savage Four Tenner is that it is safe in old shotguns with twist, etc. barrels. This also seemed to be suggested in some of the advertising that accompanied their introduction.

Until a few years ago I would have had no hesitation in using a set in an old sotgun. However, today I am more hesitant after one of the shooters at our trap club was using a set in an old twist barreled double that appeared in good condition had one barrel burst just forward of where the four tenner sub barrel ended.

The cause was not determined but a number of shots were fired in a round of skeet prior to this incident. The ammunition being used was factory loaded.

Today, if I were using barrel inserts in any older shotgun I would prefer full length tubes.

Bill