To Choke or not to choke. That's a hell of a question.

[Nessmuk]

I recently purchased a gently used CVA 12 ga "Trapper" shotgun. It's a beautiful gun in great condition. It came with a screw-in full choke and that is the problem, I can't get the wads or cards past the choke tube without removing it and to be blunt that is a real pain in the A... um posterior. I bought the wads and cards from TOTW and they're clearly marked 12 GA. Is there a trick I'm unaware of? I confess my BP shotgun experience is nil.

I've patterned it at 40 yards with the choke installed, can I fire it with the choke removed? I used 1 oz of #7 shot with 50grainsof 2FF GOEX.

I can use some help from the TMA think tank.

[Winter Hawk]

You may want to look for a cylinder bore choke tube.  Shooting it without the tube in it could bugger up the screw threads, to my way of thinking.

Can you cant the wads and cards to get them past the choke, then straighten them out with the ramrod when you run them down the barrel?

~Kees~

[dmarsh]

I had a TC New Englander 12 gauge with choke tubes.  Got tired of messing around with it and sold it.   I did toy with cutting off the barrel to remove the choke tube threads but decided against it.  Good luck.

[Nessmuk]

Tried canting them, Kees, no go. Maybe a slight bend? I'll try that next.

[Ironhand]

For overpowder wads.

https://rmcoxyoke.com/product/shotgun-felt-wonder-wads-2/

If you can't get an overshot wad in by tipping it then use a ball of newspaper

Ironhand

[Semisane]

Two squares of toilet paper rolled into a ball between your palms and tamped down on the power work quite well, with a card wad over the shot. You have to be careful though. Sometimes it leaves a ball of smoldering paper on the ground after the shot - a fire hazard I've stamped out more than once.

I've often thought about applying some Lee's Liquid Alox to the paper to see if that eliminates the hazard but have never gotten around to trying that.

[ridjrunr]

A thumbnail size clump of hornet nest over powder and over shot would solve this. And you could still have your tube installed.

[Feltwad]

My question is a screw in choke traditional the answer is no  when we talk about screw in chokes , jug chokes and others  I feel we are moving away from a traditional percussion gun built in the percussion period  .No offence
Feltwad

[Winter Hawk]

My question is a screw in choke traditional the answer is no  when we talk about screw in chokes , jug chokes and others  I feel we are moving away from a traditional percussion gun built in the percussion period  .No offence
Feltwad

True enough, but we are speaking about an existing shotgun with an existing screw in choke and the problems this causes.  A cylinder bore barrel replacement would make it more traditional but that is probably more costly than just getting a cylinder bore choke tube to make it usable.

No offense taken! 
~Kees~

[Nessmuk]

Gentlemen or Rascals (Whichever fits),
    I sincerely thank you for your suggestions. I ended up buying a used Improved choke on Ebay and used a brake cylinder hone to widen it just enough to allow me to use the 1000 wads and cards I'd already purchased on TOTW. Necessity is the mother of invention or jury-rigging, I have trouble remembering how that goes exactly

Thank you all, Nessmuk.   

[Bigsmoke]

And all's well that ends well.
Good thinking about the brake cylinder hone to open up the improved choke tube. 

[Semisane]

 

[Winter Hawk]

Good thinking!

~Kees~