Dear Bruce,

It’s been awhile since I’ve written – job changes and all. Hope things are well.

I attended the Southern Grand American in Florida – they are still pushing those “Gun Club” reloads, however I purchased and shot premium ammunition this year. The Gun Club stuff is bad – I shot on a squad with people using the Gun Club and noted several “bloopers”, consistent with tipped wads, from this factory ammunition. Others observed the same.

Some people from North Carolina were pushing a very good cleaning solution. Dubbed “Top Gun”, this stuff really works on barrels and chokes with plastic buildup. If one purchased their three item kit for $20 US, ( solution, grease, and polish) they cleaned your gun on the spot, and did a fine job. Having previously used Shooter’s Choice plastic remover I was very impressed with this stuff. Of course no clue is provided as to the composition of the solvent, but it does not reek like the SC and does not seem as harsh. In my humble opinion the Top Gun is a better product.

Well, I have to admit to having my 682 barrel set frozen by the people at 300 Below. Service-wise, I have never been treated better. Fast turnaround, invoiced after barrels returned, and I received a follow-up call from them at home about a month after the job. Personally, I will do almost anything within reason to break “one more bird”. As far as the barrel goes, I can detect no difference whatsoever. The piece shoots as it did before, and I still miss a few. We’ll see how it goes in the heat of summer!

Regards,

John

Dear John,

You FROZE your barrels?! Aw, come on. I thought that I was the only one to go off the edge on technical nuances. Well, let me know if there is any difference when it gets warm. My guess is that it is another $65 down the great google hole. I wonder what that freezing does to the solder.

Remington Club ammo is the pits. It patterned the same as my reloads with that hideous Peruvian shot and about 15% more open than STS and Victory. Maybe for skeet it is OK, but definitely choke up one constriction. That said, I never experienced “off sounding” loads when I was testing it.

I really don’t see what the big deal with plastic build up is. A Tornado brush with Hoppes will clean any barrel ever made. If you want to do all the chokes, just chuck a bore brush in a drill, hold the choke tube in an old toilet paper tube and have at it. Wet with Hoppes/anything is faster, but dry also works. It only takes a second. Someone makes a little choke tube cleaning holder (looks sort of like an old clothes pin), but the toilet paper tube works just as well and traps the spray if you run the brush wet. For me, the hardest part of the choke tube to clean is the outside where the carbon gets burned on. An overnight soak in Shooters Choice helps, but what really gets them is 24 hours in the case vibrator with my .45 brass.

As an aside, I have found that the aftermarket Briley screw chokes, long or flush, which replace my Beretta chokes seal better than the Beretta chokes at the skirt. The outsides of the Briley chokes remain much cleaner than the outsides of the Beretta chokes in my particular guns. Briley must run a closer tolerance or thinner skirt. One day I will have to measure.

Best regards,

Bruce Buck
Shotgun Report’s Technoid