# Lengthening Forcing Cone?



## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

Has anybody had the forcing cone lenghtened and polished in their shotguns? Ive read some articles on it and its got some pretty good reviews. It sounds like it would greatly improve the pattern but have no first hand knowledge about how much it improves, thats where you guys come in. Benefits worth it or save my money?


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## BIRDSHOOTER (Jul 18, 2005)

You'll probably get a lot of opinions one way or the other. For what it's worth here is mine. I have 2 Beretta autoloaders and both have lengthened forcing cones, 1 from the factory (Xtrema), and 1 I had a custom gunsmithing shop do for me on a (A302). I also have a Browning over/under that came with overbored barrels but still has relatively short forcing cones from the factory. Each gun patterns for the most part very well. The claims on longer cones are from less felt recoil to better, more even patterns. While this theory sounds interesting, there is only one way to prove it and that is to shoot and pattern the gun before and after using identical ammo. With my A302 I feel I have a better patterning gun since I had the cones lengthened, especially with steel shot. Think of the forcing cones as a funnel, when you fire a shell all the pellets are being forced from a larger area (chamber) into the main part of the barrel via forcing cones. By lengthing the cone you are easing that shot gradually over a longer distance, thus less shot deformation and less setback (recoil sharpness). *Note:*According to some experts lengthening the cones more than 3 inches will not gain you anymore advantage than cones of 2-3 inches. Some Gun manufacturers have or used to have short cones 1 inch or less from the factory. Some Browning's are known to have short cones. A qualified gunsmith can help you determine how long the cones are on your existing gun. I think that on break open guns lenghthening the cones can take out some of the sharpness out of the recoil also. Basically for 50-60 bucks per barrel it is not terribly expensive and will give you a small edge. There you have it, that's my opinion.


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

I have a 24" SX2 that I want to have it done too. Most of the things Ive read had to do with lead shot(Im assuming trap shooting) so when you say it improves steel patterns, thats what Im looking for. Ive patterned my gun with several steel and some Hevishot out of differant chokes and found a good pattern, but if I can get better and more uniform then its worth it. I use the gun for geese so I dont want a real tight pattern just more even, and dense. The recoil doesnt bother me much since the gun is gas operated. The place Im thinking of sending it is Angle Porting by Ballistic Specialties out of AR. Any word on how they are good or bad?


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## BIRDSHOOTER (Jul 18, 2005)

Ballistic Specialties is where I had my A302 done. They also opened the gas ports for me slightly so that I could reliably cycle trap loads. They are a first rate operation. Don't expect any huge gains in pattern results, when I said that my 302 seemed to pattern better I was referring to a slightly more even distribution of the pellets in a 30 inch circle. Sometimes different brands of ammo can make more of a difference when it comes to pattern results. I like to test several brands to see what my gun likes best. All in all you really can't go wrong, it certainly won't hurt things and you will probably see a slight advantage.

For some reason steel seemed to pattern a little better after I had it done. Since steel pellets do no deform you would think otherwise, but I actually saw a difference. I think that with all types of shot, anytime you can ease the payload gradually over a longer stretch into the main barrel, the payload as a whole is more stable and generally will give somewhat better results.


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

Thanks for the info., I cant see any down side to doing it and its only $60 plus shipping.


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## JEDJR (Oct 15, 2003)

I agree, Well worth the 60.00 dollars. Had my forcing cone lengthned on my SP-10 and it has improved my pattern. While it still shoots some loads better than others, IMO worth it.


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## pennsyltucky (Oct 30, 2005)

it does make a nice difference in reducing recoil. ive done a few 10's for friends and family, and all have had better patterns afterward. not a lot, but it was more noticable with lead patterns.

make sure it will be polished when u get it done. if it is left rough, u may as well leave it alone.


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