H&R 12ga worn out

[snipin101]

I bought an old H&R 12ga topper model at an auction a couple of years ago. I bought the gun for a couple of reasons, I wanted something to fix up and get some practice on wood refinishing, and the church was having a turkey shoot and I don't have a shotgun and it has a 32in full choke. The barrel was eat up a little in the bore but I thought maybe it would shoot good, no. It was putting lead everywhere. Now I have a gun that is no good to me. What are some ideas that I can do for cheap with the gun to make it something that I might enjoy again. Thanks

[Bindernut]

Bob the barrel to 24" and use it as a cottontail gun?
My old IJ champion had suffered a burst barrel at some point before I got it and the PO bobbed it to 24". It had a pretty rough pitted bore too, and the chamber was so pitted up that anything hotter than low-brass bunny/squirrel loads would make the cases stick in the chamber anyway. It would group nearly as tight as my 870 with the Imp Cyl choke tube does. As a kid, I harvested a lot of bunnies with that quick handling little gun!

[jrg]

You can also convert it to a take-down handy carry gun for the field or the vehicle. Bought one so converted - its a handy little guy.



I call it 'Junkyard Dog', because it has a mean bite on both ends (recoil is somewhat strident). But for what goes bump in the night when camping, its of some comfort. And because your gun isn't finely finished, you don't mind getting it a little dinged up anyway.

I've used 'bar-b-que' pit paint for a no maintenance finish on some of my guns, the bottom SB one of them.

[carver]

Originally Posted by snipin101

I bought an old H&R 12ga topper model at an auction a couple of years ago. I bought the gun for a couple of reasons, I wanted something to fix up and get some practice on wood refinishing, and the church was having a turkey shoot and I don't have a shotgun and it has a 32in full choke. The barrel was eat up a little in the bore but I thought maybe it would shoot good, no. It was putting lead everywhere. Now I have a gun that is no good to me. What are some ideas that I can do for cheap with the gun to make it something that I might enjoy again. Thanks

Shot guns are just like pistols, and rifles, in that they usually perfer one brand of ammo over another. Buy several brands of ammo in the same size shot, and try that before you give up. Rember that modern shot shells use a cup for the shot. Pits in the bore should not affect accuracy that much. I had an old Winchester SB once that wouldn't shoot any brand of shell except Remington.