Camo Paint, Backboring & Forcing Cone work??

[Turk1961]

Has anyone had any work done by Ballistic Specialties of Batesville, AR (angleport.com)?  Thinking about having this done.  What did you think?  Would you do it again?  Is backboring or a longer forcing cone worth it? How long did it take?  Anyone have this done anywhere else?

I have a Beretta 390 with a bright finish and a marked up stock.  Use it for turkeys so a camo finish would help.  Started with the paint job, little more for the forcing cone, then backboring, perhaps polish internal parts and a trigger job.  Now I have spent close to the cost of a another gun.

Where to stop.  Now I think I can stop with the paint.  But I don't know how well their paint will hold up.  Does anyone here know?

Thanks,

[Graybeard]

I've never had any work done by those folks but have had limited dealings with the company. They contacted me a year or more ago when they got into the handgun business wanting to do some advertising here. They led me on with that until I got tired of discussing it and yet never bothered to spend a penny. Kinda turned me off to them in regard their honesty really. Could have just been the particular guy I was dealing with tho and not the company. Dunno.

I do know a local guy who works for them. He is some kinda representative and goes to the big shoots in this area. Dunno if he does work at the shoots or just solicits for the work. The step son of my (now deceased) best friend used to work with this guy and he has had a fair bit of work done on his shotguns by them. He seems pleased with the work.

I do like having shotguns back bored and the forcing cones lengthened. It definitely does reduce recoil and does have some part in improving the patterning of the guns generally. This is especially true if you have a real old gun with nearly no forcing cone and a tight bore. Many of the more modern guns come from the factory already back bored and with a longer forcing cone. Are you sure yours doesn't? Most of the modern O/Us made as target guns do.

What short coming in your gun are you looking to over come?

As to a camo finish I like the looks on hunting guns but I don't really believe it makes any difference in your game taking ability. I have them both ways and honestly have never seen a difference it makes.

GB

[savageT]

GB,
Am I reading you right?  Are you saying that going to the expense and bother of camo taping or painting your gun has made no appreciable difference in game getting?  Turkey, Waterfowl, and Deer no change?

Can you describel to us what backboring and lengthening the forcing cone envolves?  I know Mossberg now offers a 12 gauge with basically a 10 gauge bore.....Is this backboring?

Jim

[Graybeard]

Yup I'm saying I can't tell one whit of difference in my success hunting with a camo gun as opposed to one not camo painted. I like mine and it is purdy but it don't kill no more game than the ones I have that don't have camo.

Back boring and lengthening the forcing cone are both pretty simple operations and can be done at home IF you have the right tools. My old friend Billy Doss used to have a tool to do the jobs and did a many of them before he passed away. To do the back boring as I recall it just requires a variable reamer or I suppose you could use one of fixed size as long that that size was just the diameter you need. You just slowly run it into the barrel with some cutting oil and it removes the amount of metal ya want. In 12 ga. ya normally open them to either .735", .740" or .745" depending on how much ya want to relieve it. With his tool Billy could do any diameter he wanted.

To lengthen the forcing cone you need a tapered reamer that goes from the diameter of the chamber to the diameter of the barrel in about 1.5" usually. Factory forcing cones are usually almost non existent and unless stated as being lengthened are usually maybe 1/8" to at most 1/4".

The effect of both is to reduce pressure and gives a more even pattern if done right.

Any gunsmith what is a GUNSMITH can do it for you.

GB

[RON KONTOWSKY]

With the Beretta I will advise against it ! first they have a chrome lined bore which is ideal for a hunting gun and rust protection, if back bored you loose your chrome plating, not to mention your choke tube system is all messed up, meaning since you just changed the I.D. of your bore your pattern is because of bore diameter, and you will have to have any future chokes fitted to your new bore diameter.

The forceing cone taper is so gentle in the barrels of this make it is almost a crime for me to charge a customer for it.

But for a high end camo factory style finish I can recommend SECOND SKIN CAMO INC. for this service( you`ll have to find the web page)
They offer 12 different patterns and at under $200.00 you get a fantasic finish, down side is on the average 8 to 12 weeks.

RON KONTOWSKY
ACTIONS BY R.A.K.
GUNSMITHING DIV.

[Turk1961]

GB,

Hoping to improve the looks.  The wood had split and been repaired so camo paint would help.  But not if it won't hold up in the field.  Thanks for your help.

Ron,

Trebark.com has a section for "Second Skin Camo".  Is this the same?  Have you used it before?  How does it hold up to normal use?  Would I be better off getting a syn stock?  Who makes one for the Beretta 390?   Also thanks for your info on the barrel.

[RON KONTOWSKY]

I am almost positive that beretta offered that in syn., so try them first.

And yes I have had many guns sent in for custmers by this company, as long as your not in a hurry!

yes it is called TRE-BARK (MY FAULT).

And it holds up as well as any quality factory finish.

RON KONTOWSKY
ACTIONS BY R.A.K.

[Graybeard]

It is the same process as used by Remington for all of it's camo guns. I have a 11-87 turkey gun that was from the first year of production of the camo guns and it is a really tough finish. I like it.

GB

[Turk1961]

Thanks everyone for your help.  Now I have to decide when I can do without the shotgun for 3 or 4 months!!!!  WOW, that is a long time!!!

[Big]

I put a camo synthetic stock and forearm (Ramline; forty something dollars from midsouthshooterssupply.com) on my shiny Remington 11-87 Premier, and a strip of tape along the barrel and each side of the receiver; a quick job that left a lot of shiny metal showing.  Shot a turkey (bearded hen, it turned out) with it two weeks ago; I don't think the shine or the forcing cone or the bore much mattered, but it felt better to drag a synthetic rather the the nice walnut stock through the woods.