Tip Of The WEEK "Shotgun Stuck Choke Tubes"

If you can’t remove it bring it to me for repair or a gunsmith to remove the choke. Work safely.

Cleaning a shotgun with a removable choke tube is relatively easy,.. until it isn’t. When a choke tube gets stuck, it can become almost welded in place. 

The Gunsmithing Club of America is where Professional and Hobby Gunsmiths gather, exchange ideas, and seek help, and support from each other.

 

Many of the questions are very advanced, and the Pro's provide suggestions, answers and solutions. 

But here is a fairly typical exchange regarding a common problem. A stubbornly stuck choke tube:

“My customer bought a Remington 870 Wingmaster, Lite Contour 12-gauge shotgun online. When he received it, it had a choke tube stuck in the muzzle. He contacted the seller, who never told him about the stuck tube. He did not deny it, but did not offer to take back the gun. That’s about all I know about that. 

At any rate, my customer did some Internet searches and said he read that this is a common problem with this gun. One internet suggestion was to “shoot the gun a few times to heat up the barrel and the tube should come out.” It did NOT. (Typical of internet suggestions by unqualified basement gun tinkerers) So now it has come in to my shop for repair. 

I soaked the muzzle in Kroil for a day and put all kinds of torque pressure on the tube, shy of hurting the barrel, which seems awful thin walled. So far, no luck. Suggestions?”

Here is a compilation of the suggestions given in response to this question when it was posted in the “Ask the Pro's” forum on the GCA website:

“The Remington factory choke wrench has a 3/8″ drive hole in it. You can use it with a 3/8 drive breaker bar. You could also use an adapter to make it fit 1/2″ drive electric impact wrench if you have one, it might just get it unstuck. But before you try that;

Use some Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster and let that sit overnight, both have been shown to work when Kroil won’t.

Then just before using the breaker bar or the impact driver, add some heat. Just don’t get it too hot. 

Use an electric heat gun on low, or a hair dryer set on High or as a last choice, a propane torch held away from the barrel just running the tip of the flame back and forth to get it hot to the touch. (Don’t burn yourself!)

You need to control the heat without getting the barrel too hot. You want to warm it up, not put in enough heat to change any tempering of the steel,or ruin the finish.

There is always a chance of damaging the barrel depending on how frisky you get with it and how well it’s supported. So be careful and if the barrel has a rib on it, try and clamp the barrel securely so that it doesn’t turn and damage or peel off the rib!

I’ve removed some pretty stubborn chokes that were left in the barrel for a long time in Humidity and the owner not using lube or not removing it and cleaning after a shoot. 

So, moisture, lack of maintenance and no lube all combine to make choke removal a challenge if they are in place too long under those conditions.

There are several “STUCK CHOKE REMOVAL tools” on the market. Most of them will destroy the choke but the Barrel and its threads should remain intact. 

They are a tapered square piece of steel with grooves on the left edges of the metal. You push it into the tube and tap it in to take a “bite” in the choke tube metal then with a wrench on the tool, unscrew it and the choke comes out. I’ve removed a choke badly rusted in place after soaking good with Kroil, the removal tool along with some heat.”

NOTE: Always lubricate the choke tube on installation per the Manufacturers instructions, or use an “Anti-Seize” compound.