Shotgun Inserts

[earlthegoat2]

So I acquired this Rossi single shot 12 ga turkey shotgun with rifle sights and a threaded for chokes.

I see, here and there, about folks using rifled inserts in these guns for cartridges like 44 Mag and 45-70, among others. I am interested in both 44 Mag and 45-70 hunting and am also interested in upping the utility value of this single shot shotgun.

I know very little about these inserts and want to know what kind of accuracy can be expected out of it and what makers are reputable.

The shotgun comes with a scope mount and I was planning on a red dot if some description.

 

[entropy]

They are at best as accurate as the length of the insert's barrel. At best.

 

[Obturation]

They're not great. You'll find point of impact shift depending on inserts position rotationally . long story short, they're inconsistent. I got a 38 special smooth bore insert I use to shoot bullets I cast from hot glue in a 158 swc mold and use a primer only, that's fun and quiet. I can hit a pop can at 10 yards pretty consistently and that'll go clear through a full can. Beyond that, I wouldn't count on an insert for serious use.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I have a 10" rifled insert in .357 Magnum that's not too bad -- about as accurate as a Foster slug from a smoothbore, provided you use a witness mark to align the insert consistently for each shot.

BTW, there are some Teutonic full-length insert barrels (einstecklauf) that are fastened at both ends and actually very accurate; they also cost about as much as a good used car: https://www.einstecklauf.de/classic.html

 

[25-20 WCF]

…BTW, there are some Teutonic full-length insert barrels (einstecklauf) that are fastened at both ends and actually very accurate; they also cost about as much as a good used car…

While $1500 isn’t the cost of a “good used car” it is enough to but a new rifle which will almost certainly be more accurate. An 18” long adapter in .45-70 costs less than 1/10th that - but I can’t vouch for its accuracy.

https://chaszel.com/product/45-70-shotgun-adapters/






.

 

[jmorris]

I don’t have any experience with the short 3” adapters but I machined a 9” drop of barrel to fit the barrel of one of my savage 24’s and chambered it for 357 Mag. It shoots around 2” groups at 25 yards with cast bullets.

It also is quite slow from shot to shot, worse even than a non ejecting single shot. Almost painful slow if you have to poke the case out of the insert.

I shot it more, testing it, than I have ever since. Probably because it shoots 20ga slugs more accurately.

 

[3cyl]

Couldn't you "clock" the insert to the sights and then install a extractor like the fourtenner?

 

[jmorris]

You can, just not as easy to make or cheap to buy.

These folks do it.

https://www.briley.com/c-465-blaser-ejector-tutorial.aspx

Once you price them, you’ll go buy another rifle though.

FWIW my ~2” groups above were all using the same clocking of the insert I made. It was just a line on the insert I lined up with the extractor before I closed it.

I might have to get it out and see what difference it makes to be clocked differently.

Does make me wonder why they didn’t expand the Four-Tenner concept for other things though.

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

Theres a place in anchorage here that makes them, cant say I have any experience with them though. http://www.mcaceak.com/inserts.html

 

[d2wing]

They are alot more trouble than they are worth in my experience but try it and see.

 

[LoonWulf]

Ill be the odd man out, I really like my 9mm insert in my 20ga. Its an....11" or something like that, and I can keep a 3" spinner going at 50yds with it pretty easy. Ill try shoot some groups at some point, but with open sights, it shoots about as well as I can hold......

I wrap the rear of the insert in metal tape to fit it to the chamber a little tighter, and its got a depression where i can slip a nail under the rim of the cartridge, to pop it out. About every 3 or 4th shot It needs to be rotated back to where I had it, but otherwise pretty easy to use.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Theres a place in anchorage here that makes them, cant say I have any experience with them though. http://www.mcaceak.com/inserts.html

FWIW, I've bought quite a few chamber adapters from Ace, including some customs. He's been square with me and the adapters have worked well -- a bit pricey sometimes, but worth it for me. Haven't tried his rifled inserts.

 

[Dirtybob]

I've been playing a bit with a Chaszel 11" 12ga to .40 insert. I found the insert would rotate a little when fired until I added a second o-ring (muzzle end). Approx. 6 moa accuracy with the bead.
Added some rib mounted sights and went out this morning to zero them.

didn't quite finish zeroing, range was getting busy and I didn't bring a spotting scope but did print one decent 3 shot group at 40 yds. Shotshell in pic for scale.

 

[jmorris]

I would say that is an exceptional group. Nice.

Probably worth a link since the mcace business seems to have closed.

https://chaszel.com/product-category/shotgun-adapters/

 

[DM~]

I have some of about every brand mentioned here and MY experience is, unless it's one of the expensive models made in Europe, (that I own three of) they usually aren't worth buying, unless you just want something that will go, bang.

IF, you are a tinker-er, you will "probably" be able to make one work a bit better.

DM

 

[Dirtybob]

10 shots, 70 yard target, iron sights. There is one in the black. I dumped the ghost ring for a 2 dot rear since I could not hit clay birds with the GR on there. Slugs shoot way low (~14" @ 50 yds).

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I bought of of the Chazsel rifled adapters for my .410 Enfield, but it wont go in far enough to seat fully. They state its only for 3" chambers, and my gun accepts 3" shells just fine.....oh well, it was worth a shot.
If anybody wants a .410/3" to .380 ACP adapter let me know.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I bought of of the Chazsel rifled adapters for my .410 Enfield, but it wont go in far enough to seat fully. They state its only for 3" chambers, and my gun accepts 3" shells just fine.....oh well, it was worth a shot.
If anybody wants a .410/3" to .380 ACP adapter let me know.

Try sooting/rouging the exterior of the insert to see where it is binding -- sometimes you don't need to remove very much material to cure this kind of problem.

It's happened to me several times with chamber converters, and the fix just took a few minutes with a strip of fabric-backed wet-or-dry.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Try sooting/rouging the exterior of the insert to see where it is binding -- sometimes you don't need to remove very much material to cure this kind of problem.

It's happened to me several times with chamber converters, and the fix just took a few minutes with a strip of fabric-backed wet-or-dry.

Cool, its not just me.....
Ill give it a try, thanks!

 

[trekker73]

I could never get any of them to shoot very well and the group above from Dirtybob is about the best I have ever seen reported by others. Their relative rarity probably speaks for itself- if they really could turn a shotgun into a longer range option, everyone would own several inserts just for fun.