I found a person to make the rifled chokes for my Churchill Windsor I SxS in 10 ga. this weekend.

Normal loads are for 1-5/8 to 2-1/2 oz of shot.

How heavy should I make the slug mould for?

Your going to be at a larger diameter than the 700 NE, so.... how about a 1000gn slug? You may want a smaller 600gn for plinking.
What twist will the choke tubes be in and how long? Which 10 ga double? I have 2 Zabalas in 10 ga. They look very heavy duty and have the Greener cross bolt, so I think they should handle more pressure than a standard load. Mine have the fireing pin bushings also.
Are you going to load in plastic hulls or brass cases? 50 BMG cases would be too small at the base, but what if you could do like the 12 gaFH and screw on a base that would give you a rim and also go up the base about .5" and taper down. Kind of like a cup? That would keep the base centered. I don't know if the body would fireform or not. Maybe if you annealed the body and neck?? I wonder if Ed has done any?

The shotgun is a Churchill Windsor I (there are the II and III of more recent vintage) which is a HEAVY hammerless 3-1/2" gun. I have 100 new hulls and will chase down the wads when I get closer to loading up.

I'm looking for a scrap piece of rifled barrel (that eliminates the thinking about rate of twist by using someone else's design) that I can send to the choke maker.

I also picked up 1200 10ga shot cups that will work for 1-5/8 to 2 oz of shot. So I'm toying with buck shot and/or using them for sabots for a slug.

Since I've got the standard 3 or 4 chokes I'll have a second cylinder bore choke made as well.

THEN if it paterns well, I'll have a good gunsmith put iron sights on it.

Tim, did any of those Churchills have a Greener styly cross bolt?

If you need strong brass cases you can screw
rim on the 50cal Russian, but it has
berdan primers so you'd have to bushing
the cases for Boxer primers. You'd have as much money into it as just having Rocky Mtn cartridge make them ready to go with
shotgun primers. And RMC cases are good for over
30,000 psi, that would be more than you'd do
in ten gauge.Ed

Al - I wouldn't have a clue - what should I look for?

Ed - am I reading you right? The weak link is the case & that using an all brass (thick where it needs to be) will safely allow one to increase the pressure? Easy enough to do (since I've got a lathe and mill).

I think I could make this most unpleasant to shoot! (And I LIKE the .458WM)

The Greener cross bolt is a third fastener that looks like an extension of the rib that goes back into the action about 1/2" with a 1/4"ish hole sideways. When the lever is pushed for opening the action, it slides the cross bolt to the left allowing the tab to rotate up and out of the face of the action.

It's purpose when fireing is to keep the barrels snug up against the breach face. The bolt thrust(when fireing) will be trying to push the barrels forward. The hinge pin is below the centerline of the bore and will convert the forward force to a rotateing force. The lugs or lumps keep the rotateing force in check, but without the cross bolt or doll's head the action can experience a bending force that might result in the barrels comeing off face.

Hopefully this pic will make my mud description abit clearer. My Belgian 12 ga with 470NE liner before soldering in place.(still about 90% done)

Another pic of my 10ga action.
The cross bolt should pass through the barrel tab and into the action on the other side. This will keep the cross bolt from becomeing bent and will make that part of the action twice as strong with the bolt being in double shear. I have looked at a couple of shotguns where the cross bolt doesn't engage the other side. It's just something to keep in mind.

With the heavy duty brass cases, it will make the barrels stronger in that area only. Not make the barrels stronger but reduce the force on them at that point. A plastic hull won't take much force to completely form to the chamber wall. The brass case won't do anything for the rest of the barrel though so the thickness and strength of the metal would need to be looked at before going over the regular 10 ga pressure.
Sounds like Ed has a pretty good handle on this area.

Great explanation! Thanks.

No, Windsor I has no doll's head/tab/nor cross bolt.

And, no, although tempting, I think I'll keep to standard loads/weights - just big heavy slugs. There's nothing here that 2-1/2 oz of lead that wouldn't be greatly influenced by. I'm just looking to extend the use of this gun past skeet shooting (which it does well at, albeit a little slow to swing).

Lars, who's 10ga frame is that?

I've looked high and low for one with a cross bolt, but have only seen one and that was a Jana that was looser then snot, I mean it litterly rattled when locked up.

It's a Zabala made in Spain. Both of mine are marked Tradewinds Tacoma WA or something like that. They also made a real nice 12 ga that was about the same.
One of my 10ga doubles has had the barrels cut down so no choke in the end. Regular 3 1/2" 10 ga slugs are a blast to shoot. They really knock out a gallon milk jug filled with water.

never seen a Zabal with a Greener bolt, Mercurys, and Janas, but not a Zabal.

Keep a eye open in your travels if you would.

thanks.

This is the Windsor I. Not as impressive, just basic brute force.

Breech


Markings


One choke


Screw-in chokes

quote:

Originally posted by trk:
This is the Windsor I. Not as impressive, just basic brute force.

Looks great to me. Theses were just the only two I could find locally. The bottom one has been abused abit with the stock finish needing some attention and a piece of the forearm splintered off, but it still locks up tight as a vault.
I wonder if Bauska does 10 ga rifled barrels? I know they do 12 ga.
Their price has gone up to $100 for a rifled blank, but is still a steal.