I am looking at the feasibility of turning a shotgun into a bore gun. I am looking at using one of the Norinco 1887 lever action shotguns and having a rifled, or at least partly rifled, barrel fitted along with some suitable open sights.

Barnes Cartridges of the World mentions that Winchester built a similar, one-off gun for the .70-150 cartridge

I know there are a couple of makers of rifled 12g barrels out there, but don't know who they are.

Can any of the members here suggest some barrel makers who could provide rifled 12g blanks? I understand that the original bore guns only had rifling in the last couple of inches of barrel so this option would be suitable, too.

Any other comments/suggestions on this project would be greatly appreciated.

It's been done by Kirk Merrington here in the US. Do a search for his name and you can come up with his contact info.

For fully rifled barrels,You only have two options. ER Shaw( yuck) and Pac-Nor. The 1887 is a very weak action and I'd be real cautious about what loads you run through it. A better option is a Greener 14 ga action converted to a 12 Ga or even a Encore modified to take a heavier 12 Ga barrel.. -Rob

I've been thinking about converting a BSA 12 ga. double that I have. Rifled choke tubes are available and with the addition of express sights, might make a neat "fake" paradox style gun. I am curious as to how effective and accurate thse types of guns would be with such a short section of rifling. Bwanabob, did you consider going the removable choke tube route?

Bwanabob,

Ernie Stallman who owns Badger Barrels researched the idea of making Paradox style barrels and Holland and Holland's new Paradox guns are based to a major extent on Ernie's research. They even gave him a special memento for assisting them.

You could talk to Ernie or e-mail him through his website - if you need to talk to him on the phone, I have his numbers. He is a wonderful man to talk to, always friendly and hospitable. Even if you don't order a barrel from him, you are certain to enjoy talking to him.

Best wishes,

Mehul

FWIW,

Dakota offered a SxS 12ga with fully rifled barrels and express sights for about a year or so a couple of years ago. Don't know who made the barrels.

JPK

You could always try a Fabarm 'beta' in the Paradox configuration. It doesn't come with a flip up sight though, just a bead.
I have the O/U version as a Paradox, and had a folding sight inletted into the rib. I guess you could do the same with the SxS?

Cheers, Dave.