Opening shotgun choke full to imp cy
 

Hi every one I have a question. I have a Browning A5 shotgun barrel that is a full choke, can I convert it to a imp cylinder with out taking it to a gunsmith? This is a Belgium Browning barrel also.
I did a search but maybe I did not word my search correctly because this must have come up before.
Thx for any help

Fixed choke, no - screw in choke, yes.

Take it to a good gunsmith and talk to him. Removing metal from the inside of a barrel is not a job for amatures, you could wind up with a barrel that looks like a flower at the muzzle, or worse.

If it's an old timer with a fixed choke, and that's what it sounds like, I would not mess with trying to have a smith open it up even if they say they could/would. If it's in good shape, it's probably worth some money to leave as is, especially if you know it's history. I would be looking at buying a newer one with the screw-in choke system so you have another gun with plenty of versatility choke wise.

No problem for a competent gunsmith.

Brownells sells an expanding choke reamer and barrel hones, but this would not be a job for the average gun owner.

Many years ago I bought a forcing cone lengthening reamer and a flexible barrel hone from Brownells. I then lengthened the forcing cones in my Browning Citori trap and skeet shotgun, my BT-99 trap shotgun, and one or two other shotguns that I have. The work finished perfectly, and I have since shot over 100,000 shells through each of those Browning shotguns.

My concern is with the thickness of the barrel to begin with, I believe that is a job for a pro. People are free to do what they want but the question was asked. I do agree with Topgun though, I wouln't mess with the barrel of a Belgian Browning and lower the value if it is in good condition

Did this project ever progress?

I don't know but I would whole heartedly agree with Topper and Oldtimr about NOT doing it. That Belgium Browning is worth a pretty penny nowadays. That was when Browning shotguns were unparalleled in quality. Best shotguns a person could own back in those days.

If it is a field gun in shooter grade condition I would not hesitate to open the choke. I would do whatever it took to make the shotgun usable, otherwise it is just a paperweight. There were quite a few Belgium made A5 shotguns so it is not all that rare.

If it is a higher grade and it is in a condition that a collector may be interested in (safe queen with highly figured wood) I would not touch it.

As to the original question - yes it is possible to open it up yourself but you would stand an excellent chance of ruining the barrel. Take it to a gunsmith that has actual experience (not just something they have read about) in opening chokes on older shotguns. Some, maybe most, gunsmiths have no real "hands on" experience with this. Someone at the local skeet range probably knows a good shotgun gunsmith.

Just buy another barrel with screw in chokes, and not ruin a good barrel.
JMHO