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Installing chokes in a 590

S

Spanky

.410
Hello all. I've got a 590 that I've been contemplating taking to my local gunsmith to have tapped for chokes. I've got a few questions though. Primarily, this gun is for pest control (mostly rabbits) but I'm tempted more and more to get into bird hunting, and might possibly take a deer in the future. The cylinder bore has done fine so far but it would be nice to tighten things up a bit, maybe improved cylinder so I can still use slugs safely and effectively. A smaller purpose of the gun is home defense, it's loaded with buckshot at all times but it's not a major concern of mine (living in a rural area, the cars and house are often times not locked).

Anyway, I'm just curious if this is a good idea, if anyone else has done it or has recommendations. My local gunsmith has said he's done quite a few of these and just from the look of his shop, his demeanor and the few times I've dealt with him, he seems very competent. I know I could buy another gun or another barrel but I'd rather just keep the 590 as a jack-of-all-trades type.

Any recommendations for choke brands or thread types? I was looking at the Carlsons Remington-style chokes, they seem pretty popular and there seems to be a lot of chokes available for that thread type.
 
Rose Action Sports can jnstall Mossberg (invector), RemChoke etc. I have 3 barrels in line to be sent in I just haven't followed through with it yet.
 
I had my 590A1 done for exactly the reasons mentioned in the OP. I also wanted an all around gun for hunting and skeet/trap shooting. I'm in central KS and sent the barrel somewhere in NW Kansas to have it done- don't remember the name of the place, but it turned out great. Turnaround was about a week.
 
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Is this the 5 or 7 round magazine?

I'd be all over a 590 threaded for chokes. When it come to accuchoke vs remchoke, the options are nearly the same though there may be a few more for remchoke.

It would definitely give you a few more options and ability to reach out a little farther. The right choke can turn a 25 yard buckshot load into a 40 yard load but it also means experimenting, which is fun anyway.

Also, don't get sucked into hype and claims by manufacturers. Scott Carlson will tell you all day long the coyote choke makes your set up a 70 yard rig. Don't put much stock in that.
 
You made it any farther into the mire with this yet?

I can get as in depth as you want, or at least as much as I have experience with.
 
MikeD said:
Rose Action Sports can jnstall Mossberg (invector), RemChoke etc. I have 3 barrels in line to be sent in I just haven't followed through with it yet.
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I've seen links to them as well as a couple other reputable online businesses. I would go with them but I'd rather support my local gunsmith. It's a skillset that needs to hang around and I'd like to show my support for him, even if it means paying a little bit more. He quoted me $120 a while back and the plus side is that I wouldn't have to ship it.

Rossignol said:
Is this the 5 or 7 round magazine?

I'd be all over a 590 threaded for chokes. When it come to accuchoke vs remchoke, the options are nearly the same though there may be a few more for remchoke.

It would definitely give you a few more options and ability to reach out a little farther. The right choke can turn a 25 yard buckshot load into a 40 yard load but it also means experimenting, which is fun anyway.

Also, don't get sucked into hype and claims by manufacturers. Scott Carlson will tell you all day long the coyote choke makes your set up a 70 yard rig. Don't put much stock in that.
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It's the 50669 "9 shot" 20" barrel 590 with ghost rings, 8+1. Though, with the aftermarket spring & follower, it's a 7+1 for 2 3/4" shells.

I've played around with buckshot a bit and have been very impressed with the special wads they have now. I haven't used Federals Flite Control wad but rather Hornady's wad which I read was the same thing. At 35-40 yards, some regular Remington buckshot put only 1 or 2 pellets on a small pizza box where I think I had 6 or 7 pellets with the Hornady load. I have the Hornady load in my gun at all times, it's very impressive. That said, it would be nice to use non-special wads like cheap birdshot and cheap buckshot when the need arises. I don't want to burn up expensive shells on pests and vermin. Also, I don't expect huge ranges out of a choked gun, just a tighter pattern at typical pest-dispatching ranges. I've had to deal with quite a few rabbits at night and most have been reasonably close. I did have a chance to use a 20GA 500 that had an unknown choke in it (I was learning at the time) and I dropped a rabbit with cheap birdshot at 40-45 yards. THAT is what I'm looking for. I also have a new orchard and there's some nasty groups of birds that come around and start pecking at fruit, not a worry at this time of year but I want to be ready in the spring. Those will typically be further shots as they scatter when they see me. Being quiet and patient with a scope on my .22 might be a better bet with them though.

Rossignol said:
You made it any farther into the mire with this yet?

I can get as in depth as you want, or at least as much as I have experience with.
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I haven't done anything yet and probably won't for a little while. Gun funds have been a bit dry lately. Just doing some research so when I do have the funds, I know what direction I'm going. Go deep if you want :)



Thank you all for the replies thus far.
 
I would say before having it threaded, try the FliteControl. In my experience through the 20" guns, the FliteControl out performs Hornady's VersaTite.

Also, what load would you intend to use to dispatch critters, varmints, and predators? Federal Premium makes a number of FliteControl options these days in different sized shot including 3" loads. If your intended distance is about 40 yards and your gun is capable of delivering payload that far, your dollars may serve you better by simply investing in ammunition and then patterning to see what works best and puts pellets on point of aim.

Also, if FliteControl is working, I'd stay away from any sort of porting.

What sized varmints are you considering having to deal with?
 
I have some links for you. These are ammo reviews, even side by side of Federal and Hornady.

This is my thread;
http://www.mossbergowners.com/forum/index.php?threads/00-buck-reviewed.894/

The video links are old, they need to be reconfigured in the posts but they can be copied and pasted still.

And this one, in the first posts, the text is actually links to other threads. It's a compilation of reviews by myself and other members.
http://www.mossbergowners.com/forum/index.php?threads/ammunition-performance-reviews.2402/
 
Rossignol said:
I would say before having it threaded, try the FliteControl. In my experience through the 20" guns, the FliteControl out performs Hornady's VersaTite.

Also, what load would you intend to use to dispatch critters, varmints, and predators? Federal Premium makes a number of FliteControl options these days in different sized shot including 3" loads. If your intended distance is about 40 yards and your gun is capable of delivering payload that far, your dollars may serve you better by simply investing in ammunition and then patterning to see what works best and puts pellets on point of aim.

Also, if FliteControl is working, I'd stay away from any sort of porting.

What sized varmints are you considering having to deal with?
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There's a couple issues I have with using FliteControl;
- I use 2 3/4" steel shot for the garden/orchard that I got for $9/box. I don't want to contaminate the ground with cheap lead shot. There is steel shot in the FliteControl variety but it's over twice the price.
- Limited loads and limited availability. The sporting goods store near me has a wall of ammo about 1/8th of what Cabelas has. Their prices are high and the selection is low. Living in a rural area, I don't have big-brand stores like Cabelas. The Walmart near me has piss-poor selection as well.
- Outside the garden/orchard and at night, I use low recoil Winchester AA loads to keep noise down. I highly doubt there's a FliteControl low recoil birdshot load.
- I don't really need 3" loads, 2 3/4" has worked plenty well thus far, though I may change my mind about that later.

While porting seems cool, I don't think I'll bother with it. Recoil is fine with me, I'm very happy with the LimbSaver recoil pad. 3" magnum slugs are a breeze now.

As far as varmint size, for now it's just rabbits and small birds like robin & dove size. I've seen some porcupine roam around and with my work in the garden & orchards, that might draw them in more. I don't have a need to go after coyote or anything like that. I've not seen one close enough to shoot with a slug off a shooting bench. If they're that far out, my AR-15 build will take care of that. For close ones, I'm pleased with the Hornady Critical Defense buckshot.


Rossignol said:
I have some links for you. These are ammo reviews, even side by side of Federal and Hornady.

This is my thread;
http://www.mossbergowners.com/forum/index.php?threads/00-buck-reviewed.894/

The video links are old, they need to be reconfigured in the posts but they can be copied and pasted still.

And this one, in the first posts, the text is actually links to other threads. It's a compilation of reviews by myself and other members.
http://www.mossbergowners.com/forum/index.php?threads/ammunition-performance-reviews.2402/
Click to expand...
I think I've seen a few of your videos before. I came across them while researching, even before I bought my shotgun. Good info you put out there.

However, I'm realizing more and more, I most likely won't use buckshot often. I only have a couple boxes just for home defense reasons and as I've said, the Hornady Critical Defense seems to serve well there. Might be nice to get some of the Federal LE low recoil rounds you talked about in your videos in case I gotta blast away indoors. Back to buckshot, I don't have big enough critters to justify patterning and testing a lot of buckshot. If I get into deer hunting, I've been collecting up some nice Federal TruBall slugs and also some 3" mag slugs. Most of the time, I'm going for birdshot, #7-#4 range.


All in all, I'm somewhat set on getting chokes threaded, it will enhance the functionality of the gun and there's no reason it couldn't increase resale value should I ever need to part with it. I should be able to get a turkey choke and hunt turkeys properly. I'm not big into hunting now but if I go down that road, it would be nice to not be limited by the gun.

With all of this said, are there any downsides to putting threads in? Weakening the barrel? Not threading it straight? Less accurate cylinder bore shots? Less accurate slugs? About the only negative I've seen is that the Mossberg warranty would be gone.
 
That info helps.

I wouldn't hesitate to go the way of threading for chokes. It won't hurt the barrel but I don't believe it would help resale unless maybe to an individual.

It will make it more versatile with other loads, slugs can still be fired safely through choke tubes though I believe improved is generally the tightest recommended. There are also chokes suggested on Carlson's site for slugs.

Given you intend to use steel shot, I recommend looking at Carlson's extended steel chokes. They may be ported. I have a catalogue somewhere I look at. Another to consider is Trulock. He/they make both ported and non ported versions of each constriction. The non ported tubes are generally less expensive and could still be used with FliteControl. Some of the turkey chokes on the tight side may work well with the smaller shot you mention, but you definitely have to consider the steel shot which means possibly looking at chokes intended for waterfowl as that's the arena most steel shot is used not by choice but by bureaucracy. I don't use steel for anything. I bought some by accident. I'll shoot it because I can't return it but other than that I have no use for it. I'd like to try waterfowl hunting, but I don't want to spend the extra money on tags for something I'm not that into.

It shouldn't hurt accuracy and from my experience I am the limiting factor there. If I do my job, it shoots point of aim/point of impact. As for proper thread cutting and alignment, that's up the gunsmith.

The only buckshot I'm using now is #4 buck. We don't have anything but a Walmart close and that's 20 miles away. There is a Bass Pro, and a Cabelas just opened, but each are an hour drive and not close to one another. I order most of my ammo. Some expensive ammo is worth the cost, others aren't.
 
@Spanky

I'm looking through the Carlson's catalogue, specifically their extended super steel chokes.

They're available of course for virtually any manufacturer/model of shotgun. The standard choke for Mossberg is interchangeable with Winchester, Browning Invector, and Weatherby. I'm looking at Remchoke too, and there is also a Remington pro bore.

There are slight differences in the exit diameters for some of these, Remington pro bore and Invector plus are a larger diameter than their standard counterparts while Remchoke and Mossbergs accuchoke are the same. The differences are based on nominal bore dimensions of your make and model. I don't know how important it is to you, but going with a thread for a shotgun with a smaller bore may mean being able to use slightly tighter chokes. But generally, going with the accuchoke (Mossberg, Browning Invector, Weatherby) or Remchoke will give you the most variety where as far as I can see, the same options exist for each of those two including a rifled tube for slugs and sabots.
 
I haven't ignored your posts Rossignol, I've just been pondering the idea. Since you mentioned Carlson's catalog, I ordered one because their website is a little confusing.

From the looking around I've done, it seems like there's more variety in Remchoke, just slightly anyway.

I found some measurements about inner bore diameter and outer barrel diameter that dictate if you can ream and cut threads for chokes. I gotta get out my calipers and double-check before I get serious about this.
 
It's cool, I know how it goes.

You have the 590A1, yes? Shouldn't be an issue getting it threaded, the only issue I see is if the ID is different enough from say the remchoke then there could be some fit issues. You and I may be saying the same thing here just in slightly different terms.

Also on accuchoke vs remchoke, take a look at the catalogue, there should be an interchangeability chart I think. Accuchoke is the same as Winchester and Invector too. Maybe one more, I don't remember.

The only other thing is maybe avoiding ported chokes with the Hornady you like, but nothing wrong with experimenting.
 
I actually just have the regular 590 with 20" barrel. I measured the outside diameter and from the values I saw, I have about .045" more than the minimum recommended OD (at about .870"). My ID is a bit more concerning as I'm within .010" of the maximum ID. The calipers I used are cheap chinese ones so I think I'll have my gunsmith measure to be safe. I don't think I'll fuss with the tighter chokes or thinwall chokes. It seems like Rem Choke offers the most options and appears to fit with my barrel size. I feel like I'm overthinking choke types, that it doesn't really matter since I'll likely find whatever choke I need in whatever thread I can possibly pick. Heck, Mossberg just came out with a totally new choke thread for the 930 Pro series.

After my gunsmith confirms, I'll probably just grab a cheap Carlson flush-mount cylinder choke as a beater/placeholder until I figure out what real chokes I want. Leaning towards the extended tubes now with IC & Mod.
 
I believe you may be over-thinking the issue. In your place I'd buy a maverick with the 28" field barrel. It comes with one modified Accu-choke. Add a full and an IC and you can kill birds and deer all day long. Plus, you now have 2 shotguns, not one.
FWIW
YMMV
 
DFBonnett said:
I believe you may be over-thinking the issue. In your place I'd buy a maverick with the 28" field barrel. It comes with one modified Accu-choke. Add a full and an IC and you can kill birds and deer all day long. Plus, you now have 2 shotguns, not one.
FWIW
YMMV
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I would like another shotgun but not for that purpose. My issue with going down that road is that I wouldn't get a Maverick, due to their cheaper build and different function. Even if I did, I'd be looking at $230 which is $100 more than I'd spend threading mine for chokes. I'd want to re-buy the Magpul furniture (which I don't think even works on a Maverick) at another $130. Now we're up to 3x the cost of threading mine for chokes. About the only advantage with going for another shotgun is that I'd get more velocity out of a 28" but that could be argued as negligible.
 
You're right in that the extra velocity is as you said, negligible.

And besides, who doesn't want a threaded 590?! :)
 
I think the velocity difference would be negligible for the distances the average shotgun is used for.

From what I understand, based on a info I've picked up, is that the majority of powder is burned up in the first 24" or less.
 
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