doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com dime choke

I think anyone who may have used a dime to check the left barrel of a 12 gauge double with a dime may find your remarks somewhat offensive.

Most Respectfully.

Jolly

Well . . . maybe leave out the "dumb enough" part to meet current PC standards . . . I'd say telling them the dime is worthless to check choke is worth one heckuva lot more than the dime!

You like your dime test. Let's try it with just one modern gun like a Mossberg 835. That gun has a oversized factory bore of a 10 bore. Subtract .040 for a full choke and that dime drops down the barrel like a stone into a open well. The seller was willing to give real measurements for the gun and got the dime question. I've got atleast four side by sides in just my little collection which are full choked and the dime would not be stopped by the choke. Perhaps the dime worked on Belgian clunkers and farm guns but these days get a set of bore micrometers and measure the bore to honestly know what you are buying. Many modern and more than you expect old guns have larger bores, so this test is obsolete at best.

If you want to know if a set of barrels has been cut look at the end. 99% of cut barrels are not refinished well enough to hide the butchery. Heck, often you can still see the hacksaw marks or the fact no one bothered to put new fillers into the space around the ribs. Same goes for reamed chokes. Left rough and stand out like a sore thumb upon visual inspection. If you can't inspect the gun have the seller measure them.

The drop-in gauges aren't any better unless the bore diameter is standard. Much underbore or overbore and you'll get a false reading.

Larry if you measure 6" in and then the choke area you get real meaningful information. I agree a set of flat metal gauges with full stamped on the side of them is worthless. You are right right bores might not even let the "modified" one in.

I won't disagree that using more modern instruments is a good thing to use to check chokes and bores but saying anyone is "dumb' or "stupid" for using a dime is kinda not very nice.

Just my opinion as yours may vary.

Most respectfully, Jolly.

The dime is a great test. You just need to ask the prospective buyer if he wants you to use a new dime or an old one, or the larger Canadian dime.

Anyone has ever used a bore gauge will know that some barrels actually have some flare at the muzzle. Might require a nickel test?

So Jolly Bill you don't like the term dumb. Well when you pass up meaningful information that is down to the .001" for a crude test I do consider that dumb. When I buy a gun I have my own tools to measure anything I need to know. Information like that will prevent a lot of bad buys and more than a few surprises. To turn your back on highly accurate information for a wild ass, crude test is again dumb. If that makes me unPC I can live with that. Now if the buyer does not understand measurements and their meanings all he has to do is a little research or ask. Knowledge is king and to avoid it or ignore or not bother to find out what it means is not a very smart thing shall we say.

I'm willing to pay 5 cents for all dimes that are defective due to being a couple thousandths under-size or over-size... especially the obsolete silver ones.

I have an old Birmingham proofed W Richards whose bores were proofed @ 14 (693"). Bores now measure just below 13 (.710"). As it was built prior to the "Tween" sizes being marked it may well have been built closer to a 13 than a 14.

This gun is cylinder bore in both barrels but obviously with even an IC choke an unworn dime would not enter thus showing it to have "FULL" chokes. I will not use the term Dumb or Stupid if that makes everyone happy. I will just say that depending on the dime "Trick" to determine choke shows a total "Lack of Intelligence" regarding bores & chokes. I forget the exact measurement of the bores but it may not accept a dime as is with the cylinder bores haven't checked it as I measured it & determined it was cylinder. Furthermore it never had choke as it was made during the era it would have been marked "Not For Ball" if it had been choked & it carries no such mark.