If you don’t maintain the interchangeable choke tubes, they can seize in place creating a big problem. Recently, a customer brought in a stainless steel Browning BT99 trap gun that had a stuck choke tube. In this post, we’ll take a look at one way to remove them.
Before we take a look at how to remove a stuck tube, let’s take a look at the following disclaimer:
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Any modifications made to a firearm should be made by a licensed gunsmith. Failure to do so may void warranties and result in an unsafe firearm and may cause injury or death.
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This BT 99 barrel had its tube stuck in place. It was so tightly fused, that after he soaked the barrel in oil, the owner broke a series of wrenches attempting to remove it. He decided to bring it to me. Good move.
With the fine threads on a choke system, you need to proceed with caution. Too much force and you could potentially strip the threads from the barrel, ruining it. I decided that a judicious application of heat would be the best way to solve this problem. This was a nice gun so a torch was out of the question; so, I reached for my soldering iron. A soldering iron or wood burning tool always comes in handy when you want to apply heat to a very specific area.
Once the choke tube was heated (I spotted some smoke rising from the Kroil burning off of the threads), I used a Briley speed wrench with the handle removed and a cheater pipe to break the tube loose.
With the choke tube out, you can see the problem; water had managed to work its way into the threads and create rust which seized the tube in place.
After cleaning and lubricating both set of threads, the tube was reinstalled. I took the time to remind the owner to periodically lubricate the choke tubes so this doesn’t happen again.
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