When me and my wife first got together she commandeered an old fixed modified New England Firearms Pardner SBI 20ga I'd kept for chasing rabbits. She fell in love with it and so it was hers. When she first started getting into turkey hunting she wanted to use that gun and so I told her that would be fine but she'd be really limited with range and we'd have to get the bird close. First bird she ever had a shot on was really close and she got off the gun and shot over him. At that point we put a rail and a red dot on it, just a Bushnell RXS-100. Worked well on the next turkey and she smashed him, but he was a bit farther out and when we got to cleaning him it looked like he'd stepped on an IED. She decided she didn't like the red dot in the off season for a home defense gun so I wound up buying a second barrel exactly like the first and we turned the original into a dedicated turkey barrel. So this year we took it and I had a buddy cut it off and thread it for Truchoke. It's 24" overall barrel length with choke. Got it sighted in today with a Trulock .575. Threw a nasty pattern at 40 and a good cantaloupe sized pattern at 20 shooting 3" Apex 1 5/8oz of #9s. I think she's ready for another.
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Those field photos are great!
Great pictures
That is super cool with the shorter barrel!
New life to an old gun, that's awesome and you have it dialed in for sure ... Tell her good luck this Spring ....
Love it! I've always wanted to get one cut down to 19".
What is the weight on the gun?
Quote from: Glades on March 08, 2023, 12:51:08 PM
Love it! I've always wanted to get one cut down to 19".
What is the weight on the gun?
also, if it was a 28" barrel curious how much weight 4" of barrel is
Those SBIs are fairly short guns to begin with. Original barrel was 25". He cut off 2.25" and then that with the choke got it to 24" even. I don't really like a gun much shorter than that. Unsure of weight but if I'm down in the barn tomorrow I'll grab some fish scales and find out. It really did turn into a neat little setup. Honestly shoots as good or maybe even slightly better than my 12ga.
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Thanks
I hunt an old single shot 20 with a fixed xxfull and will leave it alone but have been considering getting a 12 cut down and was just curious what several inches of barrel length would weigh.
That is a nice looking setup, congrats on her Gobbler and hope she has a great season this spring.
Nice rig!
I have a single shot 20 just like hers. I sent mine to Sumtoy and had him thread and mount a red dot for me. Shoots really good to 40 with Federal hwy #6 and longbeards. I'm running a XXfull Compnchoke.
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Do you mind me asking the round-about cost to get it drilled, tapped, and threaded for a choke?
Part of me really wants to go this route with a build, part of me feels I should leave this gun alone since it's been passed down through the family.
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Quote from: ETXhunter93 on April 08, 2023, 03:34:11 PM
Do you mind me asking the round-about cost to get it drilled, tapped, and threaded for a choke?
Part of me really wants to go this route with a build, part of me feels I should leave this gun alone since it's been passed down through the family.
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To be honest I'm kind of jealous of her gun at this point which is to say I think it makes for a great project and that thing is shooting nasty patterns at 40. If I were going to do it to a gun that had sentimental value I'd buy a second barrel identical to the first and go from there then you'd always have the original original. When I bought the extra barrel for hers it was about $100. You can typically find them on eBay or GunBroker though most times it will require a bit of smithing to get it to fit perfectly. I think the choke was around $50. The smithing work I don't really have a cost range on because my buddy is a career gunsmith and he did all the work and is bad to not let me pay for things. I gave him a bottle of scotch. I'll ask him what he'd charge and let you know. William at Sumtoy would be another great option and he could certainly give you a quote.
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If I counted anywhere near right, there is a bit over over 360 pellets in that ten. For a 20 gauge, that is lights out. More and more the .575 precision hunter is showing that it is likely as good as any choke out there. I love any kind of single shot gun. I ran all over eastern North Carolina as a kid with a single shot 12 and a single shot .410 and killed enough critters to feed a small town. Used another single shot in those eastern swamps for years with no spring in it and every time you shot it, it jumped open and would usually bump you in the nose, but whose paying attention when you are aiming at a critter. Never had to worry about them jamming or being hard to clean, etc. - And when you pulled the trigger, they always went bang. Your wife is definitely well armed.
My 20 breaks open when shot, or if you bump the stock on the ground. Is the lever loose, and needs replacing, or is it something else?
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Quote from: ETXhunter93 on April 08, 2023, 08:40:54 PM
My 20 breaks open when shot, or if you bump the stock on the ground. Is the lever loose, and needs replacing, or is it something else?
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If I'm guessing I'd say the barrel catch spring and or barrel catch. Likely as simple as replacing that spring. Take it to a gunsmith.
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Nice setup and some great pics. Congrats to your wife.
Quote from: Lone Star Eastern on April 08, 2023, 08:40:54 PM
My 20 breaks open when shot, or if you bump the stock on the ground. Is the lever loose, and needs replacing, or is it something else?
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It's oil on the latch shelf. Wipe it down with alcohol.
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That's a dandy gun .....