Shotgun Chamber Polishing

I use brake cylinder hones from the local auto parts store. You want to make sure that they'll go down below 3/4".

https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-1120-Small-Cylinder/dp/B0035533GU/

If it's a Stoeger, you'll find that the action stiffness is likely not the hinge fit but the extractor shaft sticking in the tunnel in the 'block. Cleaning up the tunnel with a rat tail file will make it open properly and without undo force.

Brownells sells a really small brake cylinder type hone that fits shotgun chambers. Made by the same company that does the one for automobiles (Lisle). I've never found one that small in auto parts stores or online from anyone but Brownells.

If you're polishing.....

Just get a 3.8" dowel,
Notch/split the end for 2"
Insert/wrap 320/400/600 wet/oiled sandpaper
Insert in drill chuck and run at medium speed in/out of chamber.


Out of curiosity, are you you trying to run ElCheapo steel-base hulls?

square stone auto hone worked well for my 870 express, and it was bad. If your chamber is just a little rough a ball hone will work too, though I don't think they're any cheaper. I used a lot of oil. Honing took about 30 seconds, scrubbing the slurry out took about 10 minutes. I don't recommend it unless you actually have a problem.

Don't use cheap steel-based hulls; wood dowel or bore brush with 0000 steel wool and oil chucked in a cordless drill

I use a 1/4" brass rod, split the end, and wrap emery cloth, usually 400 grit, around the rod till it fits the chamber. Then use a drill or die grinder to polish the chamber. I used this method on a friends Stoeger for SASS competition. With AA hulls, the empties would fall out when the gun was tilted. I always found that a hone would leave a little rougher finish than the emery cloth method. As the abrasive breaks down, it leaves a finer than 400 grit finish.

Be careful not to make the chambers too big though

I use a 10 gauge brush with 0000 steel wool wrapped over it, and JB Bore Paste if needed.

I used the split dowel and sandpaper method on my Stoeger when I was doing SASS. It would then, and still does, drop those cheap WalMart steel based hulls right out.

I polished the forcing cones on my shot guns using all the abovementioned methods plus using a mop and polishing compounds, with the split dowel you can use different grits paper and get close to a mirror finish. I use a 5 gal bucket with a small coolant pump to pump coolant/lubricant into barrel and let the muzzle return it to the bucket, run the coolant/lubricant thru a filter and good to go again.

I also used a wooden dowel split with a 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper wedged between it, I also used JB Polishing Compound, after about an hour for each barrel I had all my handloads dropping out without a problem. I also used that method on an old basket case Winchester Model 97, made in 1901 to get the minor pits out of a barrel on a shotgun I restored, however it took me much more that a couple of hours to really make it look really good.

what about using scotchbrite instead of sandpaper?

I have an H&R slug gun that had a rough chamber.
I smoothed it up with a 12ga bronze brush screwed into the last section of cleaning rod. I chucked the rod into a drill and polished the chamber in no time

I wouldn't use a major abrasive if the chambers are chromed

Polishing chambers is rarely necessary unless there are some major machining marks that actually catch hold of the hull. Attempts to spin abrasive papers or bore hones in the chamber produce poor results because the roundness of the chamber is compromised and 2) the chamber dimensions will be increased by unknown amounts. If a Go/NoGo gauge tells you the chamber is not in spec, use a finish reamer. Since the era of steel based ammo, people have learned the hard way that steel does not snap back as much as brass. Lots of "in spec" chambers eject hard because of steel ammo. Shotgun smiths will know how much metal you can remove and still be safe.

Have you tried waxing your shells?

jaguarxk120 said:

Have you tried waxing your shells?

Click to expand...

Do go on....

Have you tried premium brass head ammo - there are only a few still around - Remington STS, Winchester AA, Federal Gold Medal; everything else is steel

If you look back years ago, Federal used to "Seal" their plastic shells with a drop of wax.
Winchester Super X paper shells were sealed with a heavy coating of wax.
Paper shell's were impregnated with wax. The wax water proofed the paper and acted as a
lube for the fiber wads. It also coated the bore/chamber acting as a rust preventive.
A wax coating will help with extraction. I use Johnsons Paste Wax just a light coat.

The OP has said he is shooting CAS, they generally use paper shells since the
paper does not burn through, plastic melts with black powder loadings.
Any added wax will help.

jaguarxk120 said:

If you look back years ago, Federal used to "Seal" their plastic shells with a drop of wax.
Winchester Super X paper shells were sealed with a heavy coating of wax.
Paper shell's were impregnated with wax. The wax water proofed the paper and acted as a
lube for the fiber wads. It also coated the bore/chamber acting as a rust preventive.
A wax coating will help with extraction. I use Johnsons Paste Wax just a light coat.

Click to expand...

On steel rimmed hulls?
Yes I remember well wax-coated paper hulls, and I remember wax in the crimps of both paper and plastic shell, I used to put a dollop on the star crimp of my duck reloads, too. But I'm a bit skeptical about wax on the steel bases of cheap shells helping with extraction, not to mention the wax getting into parts of a shotgun it shouldn't.

Your not dipping shells as in candle making! That small amount of wax is usually
melted when the shell goes off, much is vaporized and goes out the barrel. what stays
behind acts as a lube.