My first thought would be to call Choate and see if they can do a custom for you. It might be cheaper as they would be set up for this kind of work.
Otherwise it would seem to be a job for a gunsmith rather than a general machine shop. Most of the $60/hr machinists I've known want to work from a blueprint, not build to fit.
I've recently acquired a Stoeger 2000 semi-auto shotgun, and notice that no one makes a magazine extension for it. It would seem that if I want one I'll have to have it made at a local metal working shop. I know nothing about metal working except that this probably won't be cheap. I can expect to pay about $60 an hour for such work, right? Will it be easier/less expensive to ask that it be milled out from a solid block of metal, or to have them weld a tube (cut from another mag extension) onto an extra (drilled out) end cap? Perhaps some other way? Any other tips, suggestions, warnings or information greatly appreciated.
For those who might not know, a magazine extension is a screw-on tube that replaces the end cap to a shotgun magazine. The tube makes the total length of the shotgun magazine longer so that the shotgun has a higher amunition capacity. Here's a picture of a Choate tube, separate and attached to a shotgun.
- Jon Oblad
Posting trouble, sorry if this is a repeat.
I've recently acquired a Stoeger 2000 semi-auto shotgun, and notice that no one makes a magazine extension for it. It would seem that if I want one I'll have to have it made at a local metal working shop. I know nothing about metal working except that this probably won't be cheap. I can expect to pay about $60 an hour for such work, right? Will it be easier/less expensive to ask that it be milled out from a solid block of metal, or to have them weld a tube (cut from another mag extension) onto an extra (drilled out) end cap? Perhaps some other way? Any other tips, suggestions, warnings or information greatly appreciated.
For those who might not know, a magazine extension is a screw-on tube that replaces the end cap to a shotgun magazine. The tube makes the total length of the shotgun magazine longer so that the shotgun has a higher amunition capacity. Here's a picture of a Choate tube, separate and attached to a shotgun.
- Jon Oblad
That was my first thought, too. Fred Choate told me it wasn't something that they do.
None of the gunsmiths in the Seattle area that I talked to seemed interested in doing this, unfortunately.
This is a completely uninformed opinion, but I was thinking that this might be a feasable way to manufacture this part:
1) Buy a new Stoeger 2000 magazine cap. 2) Buy a new mag extension for another shotgun. 3) Drill a hole through the solid end of the magazine cap, same diameter as i.d. of mag tube of shotgun. 4) Cut tube portion off of magazine extension for another shotgun. 5) Weld 3) to 4).Then it seems that all you'd have to do would be to make sure the bored through mag cap and the tube were parallel and then the inner parts were properly smoothed down. Would that work, and be simple and easy to do?
- Jon Oblad
Its basiclly a Benelli Montefeltro, recoil operated, with the recoil spring around the magazine tube. I think, personally, Id go with the screw on extension and a nice clean coupler that keeps both original and extension tube together with little or no gap between them that the New magazine spring and follower you will need will not hang up in.
All you need is a piece of tubing the same size or a smidge larger than the base tube, a coupler threaded on one end, a thread on the other end fo the tube for a cap and depending on how many extra rounds you plan on extending it to..another magazine tube clamp for out on the end. Thats a lot of leverage hanging out there. Id use steel, not aluminum for the tube and coupler.
Measure the thread on the stock tube, have it duplicated on one end, inside a chunk of steel no bigger in diameter than the original cap, Pick up a magazine tube from Numrich Arms
Making a Tactical rig?
Gunner
"As my father told me long ago, the objective is not to convince someone with your arguments but to provide the arguments with which he later convinces himself." David Friedman
Good idea. Particularly since its gonna be metric
Gunner
"As my father told me long ago, the objective is not to convince someone with your arguments but to provide the arguments with which he later convinces himself." David Friedman
Find a magazine cap that fits, bore out the end and silver braze a chunk of magazine tube to it that fits. Alternative, get a Choate extension, cut off the nut and braze that extension into your cap. Get an extension spring from Chaote or wind one yourself. That said, are you sure that your shell stops are up to the task? Some are just stamped sheet metal and are adequate for three or four shells in the tube but may fail eventually with more in the tube. First contact Choate, your magazine tube threads might be something that matches another gun model that they already have in stock.
Stan
That is truly an excellent idea. How long do you think it will take to make one (thus affecting price)?
Not as such, the only thing I'll add is the mag extension. For it to be tactical you've got to have all sorts of flahslights and holosights and bayonets and pistol grips and compasses and coffee grinders hanging off of it, right? ; )
- Jon Oblad
I would think your gonna need a longer spring too.
Mag springs aren't a problem. A million different companies make them.
- Jon Oblad
No idea. If the shop has a tap with the right thread..an hour or two. If they have to single point it..longer. This might be something one of the lads here might consider doing, for fun and at half price. Shrug
Dont forget the radiation detector and the wind sock
Gunner
"As my father told me long ago, the objective is not to convince someone with your arguments but to provide the arguments with which he later convinces himself." David Friedman
How does one decide on the proper spring, to replace the shorter one? Say if one were going from a three shell tube, to a five or six?
Jim
================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ==================================================
I would think that one would measure the diameter of the wire, and the dimensions of the spring, then make one with twice the number of turns in twice the length. (And you would also need to make the tube enough longer to accept the difference in the fully-compressed length as well.
To be sure -- measure the force needed to compress each at the half-way point between the fully extended and fully compressed lengths, and check that these are similar. Also -- check the force needed to compress one shell's length from the normal empty length on each, and make sure that they are close.
It may be that the springs used are some kind of progressive spring, where as it gets shorter, there are more adjacent turns touching, so it requires more force to compress the next increment, but I doubt it. That would not make sense to me for its function. If there were a way to do the inverse -- so it applied the same force throughout its compression range, that would be better -- but I know of no way to do that with a real spring -- though a gas spring might be set up to do something close to that.
Enjoy, DoN.
Actually you might find it cheaper to buy another shotgun with what you want or that has aftermarket stuff readily available. Something like a Mossberg or Remington. Unless you have your own shop and its a "Labor of Love".
Tony
I once had a 35 round clip for my mini-14 kind of like that. The two springs worked like a tape measure, rolled up in the follower. It had pretty constant tension. This may not have been that good of an idea because of the extra drag of that many cartridges when fully loaded, but it was easy to load and functioned well (plus a lot of fun to unload).
Pete Keillor
The replacement springs that come with mag extension tubes aren't nearly that complicated. Just a longer version of the original is how companies like Choate, TacStar etc. seem to do it.
- Jon Oblad
I've considered that, but this is actually probably the cheapest way to get what I'm looking for.
- Jon Oblad
If anyone is indeed interested in this type of project, I live near Seattle. Contact me here or through email.
I'll be sure to update if anything interesting happens. Thanks to everyone for all of the help and excellent ideas!
- Jon Oblad
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