Determining the chokes on a used sxs shotgun

[Xbolt7mm]

Picked a nice lanber supreme 232 side by side shotgun at the gun show in thorncliffe yesterday. It was made in 1986 and appears to be unfired as it looks like it still has the shipping grease on the inside and no residue can be found anywhere. Guy at the gun show got it from an estate sale. I know it's a cheap shotgun which was relevant to what I paid. Very sharp looking gun though. Very little info on the net about them tho. Here's the questions, how do I determine what chokes it has (2triggers) and can I shoot steel shot in it.

[catnthehat]

Nothing on the sides of the barrels?
Do you have a vernier?
If so, measure the diameters at the muzzles , that will give you an idea if the restriction .
Cat

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Nothing on the sides of the barrels?
Do you have a vernier?
If so, measure the diameters at the muzzles , that will give you an idea if the restriction .
Cat

On the underside of the barrels, one has a single asterics on it and the other has 3, that's all I can see

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Nothing on the sides of the barrels?
Do you have a vernier?
If so, measure the diameters at the muzzles , that will give you an idea if the restriction .
Cat

Steel shot?

[32-40win]

I would expect those are the choke marks, see if there is a Lanber owners manual posted somewhere in the net. What ever marks they use for that should be in one of those, they'll be standardised amongst all their shotguns.

[elkhunter11]

If you intend to determine the constriction by measuring the muzzle ID, you also need to measure the bore diameter, as the bore diameters do vary. I found a great deal on a nice SxS because someone used a tapered choke gauge on the gun, and then incorrectly assumed that the chokes had been altered. The chokes were marked on the gun, but the person chose to believe the tapered gauge instead of the factory markings. When I patterned the gun, the patterns matched the factory markings.

[bobinthesky]

I'm with the masses and know practically nothing about Lanber guns but from what I've read about them, people seem to be generally happy with them.
Look for stamps on the barrels such as *** which are used on Spanish guns. 1 star is full or 5 stars is cylinder and everything else in between, or you can do it by constriction.
A lot of EU guns have the barrel inside diameter stamped on the barrels in millimeters. Look for a number that is 18 decimal something such as 18.3, if there is one on each barrel then that is the ID. Use an online conversion ap to convert this to inches. Then measure the muzzle ID and subtract the bore ID from it and you will have the points of constriction in thousands of an inch. Cylinder bore will be 0 constriction and full should be somewhere around 30 or so and all the other chokes will be in between these numbers.
The final way to figure this out is to take a box of shells to a pattern board, shoot the gun and measure the patterns.

[Xbolt7mm]

Based on the marks one side is full choke (single asterics) and the other side is modified (3 asterics),,, now the steel shot issue. There is virtually no info on the net about a lanber sxs only semi's and OU'ers

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by bobinthesky

I'm with the masses and know practically nothing about Lanber guns but from what I've read about them, people seem to be generally happy with them.
Look for stamps on the barrels such as *** which are used on Spanish guns. 1 star is full or 5 stars is cylinder and everything else in between, or you can do it by constriction.
A lot of EU guns have the barrel inside diameter stamped on the barrels in millimeters. Look for a number that is 18 decimal something such as 18.3, if there is one on each barrel then that is the ID. Use an online conversion ap to convert this to inches. Then measure the muzzle ID and subtract the bore ID from it and you will have the points of constriction in thousands of an inch. Cylinder bore will be 0 constriction and full should be somewhere around 30 or so and all the other chokes will be in between these numbers.
The final way to figure this out is to take a box of shells to a pattern board, shoot the gun and measure the patterns.

Your right both barrels have 18.5 but the stamped * solved that issue but the steel vs lead is still on the the table, I'd like to use it foe birds but I've heard to never shoot steel shot out of a full choke barrel or the barrel could split

[Dean2]

Given the year it was made and the chokes I would not shoot steel through it. You can use Bisthmus, Tungsten and other soft non-lead shot, though they are expensive. If you want to be able to shoot steel I would get the full choke barrel Bored to Modified or IC and mark the barrel accordingly with the correct number of *s (4), and shoot nothing bigger than BB. Bashaw sports will back bore the barrels forcing cones for you at a reasonable price as well as open up the choke.

[catnthehat]

Looks like f/mod which is about normal
As far as steel gies it is not just the chokes but the forcing cones as well should be delved if you are thinking of using steel
Personally I would not use steel in that gun with tight chokes and unaltered forcing cones .
Cat

[bobinthesky]

You could also get the forcing cones lengthened and the full barrel honed to at least Mod but I'm not sure I'd go to that trouble. Hunt upland birds and/or targets and love it like it is I say. I wouldn't put steel though it the way it is.
Be sure the chokes haven't already be opened up be fore making a decision. It's doubtful since you think the gun is new and hasn't been fired but you never know, measuring or patterning is the only way to determine this.

[wwbirds]

If a Canadian dime would go in the muzzle it was a modified or more open choke but if dime hung up and wouldnt go all the way in it was full choke.
Wouldnt use steel shot in it regardless. Steel usually patterns better in improved cylinder or open chokes

[Pudelpointer]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Given the year it was made and the chokes I would not shoot steel through it. You can use Bisthmus, Tungsten and other soft non-lead shot, though they are expensive. If you want to be able to shoot steel I would get the full choke barrel Bored to Modified or IC and mark the barrel accordingly with the correct number of *s (4), and shoot nothing bigger than BB. Bashaw sports will back bore the barrels forcing cones for you at a reasonable price as well as open up the choke.

Tungsten is harder than steel, by a fair bit..... unless you meant Tungsten-Matrix put out by Kent.

[Xbolt7mm]

I'll just use lead in it

[petew]

Originally Posted by wwbirds

If a Canadian dime would go in the muzzle it was a modified or more open choke but if dime hung up and wouldnt go all the way in it was full choke.
Wouldnt use steel shot in it regardless. Steel usually patterns better in improved cylinder or open chokes

That's old school.

[saskbooknut]

First, the gun was not made to shoot steel shot. Why try to make it something that it is not.
European guns proofed for North American pressure steel shot cartridges have a Fleur de Lis proof mark.
Secondly, the chokes on a Spanish gun are usually marked in tenths of a mm. when compared to the bore diameter marking. A tenth of a mm is about .004 constriction. You can confirm the choke diameter with a micrometer caliper, but you then need to know the bore diameter to calculate the difference.
This should be a great gun for shooting upland and casual clay shooting, but I would not feed it a steady diet of max load North American cartridges. Unless it has the Spanish reinforced proof mark it is not proofed with the same margin of safety as NA guns, due to a discrepancy between European CIP proof standards and SAAMI North American cartridge pressures.
This does not say that the gun is in any way unsafe. It is wise to understand the difference in proof standards between NA and Europe.
I have a number of Spanish guns and respect their design and grace, but treat them with kindness.