Threading Existing Moss 590 Barrel for Choke: How To? Which Model?

[powell556]

I have a couple Moss 590s that I'd like to have chokes installed for potential bird shot use. What's the best route to go? I assume I could buy a choke "kit" and have a gunsmith install it, but I want to make sure I'm buying the correct one.

Does it matter if I have heavy walled or thin walled 590 barrels?

Which is the best one to buy? Do I actually buy something that a gunsmith threads into my barrel to interface with the chokes? Or is it just a matter of my gunsmith threading out the inside of the barrel to the proper thread/pitch so that the chokes can be screwed in directly into the barrel? (Sort of like the inverted version of a suppressor being threaded onto the outside of a barrel).

My purpose is to take a pair of 590s that have longer barrels and allow them to be useful with birdshot as needed by threaded chokes in. Without me having to buy a dedicated pre-choked shotgun, which I do not have space in my gunsafe for. So even if the gunsmithing cost is on par with a whole new gun, I'd still go the gunsmithing route. Also, I want one of the shotguns to become a 50-state legal travel shotgun so the ability to have it be already configured in a useful defensive manner, but be able to thread in a choke and have it be useful on birds or clay pigeons, is appealing to me in a single gun.

Anything I didn't ask that I should know?

[TCinVA]

A competent smith should be able to cut the threads inside the barrel that will allow it to take screw-in chokes. I would suggest talking to Vang Comp, Briley or Robar about doing that.

I had Wilson Combat cut the barrel on the 870 I sent to them for a rework for RemChokes and that went just fine. I think they only do work on 870 barrels else I would suggest talking to them.

[powell556]

A competent smith should be able to cut the threads inside the barrel that will allow it to take screw-in chokes. I would suggest talking to Vang Comp, Briley or Robar about doing that.

I had Wilson Combat cut the barrel on the 870 I sent to them for a rework for RemChokes and that went just fine. I think they only do work on 870 barrels else I would suggest talking to them.

Hah! I was thinking of Vang Comp, too!

Should I buy the chokes in advance? And if so, which ones do I buy? I think Mossberg only sells 500 chokes. But if the smith is going to thread the barrel to my needs, then maybe it doesn't matter which chokes I get, and if there's a higher quality version, I can go that route?

[Tensaw]

Hah! I was thinking of Vang Comp, too!

Should I buy the chokes in advance? And if so, which ones do I buy? I think Mossberg only sells 500 chokes. But if the smith is going to thread the barrel to my needs, then maybe it doesn't matter which chokes I get, and if there's a higher quality version, I can go that route?

Mossberg chokes use the same thread pitch and design as some others (like Browning's Invector maybe?). Technically though, you could probably have your Mossberg barrel threaded/cut for any choke tube design. I don't have any idea if one design is better than the rest. If you have Vang Comp thread the barrel, I would just ask which design they recommend - and if he/they don't have a preference, I would just stick with the Mossberg pattern (it might cut down on confusion down the road).

PS. You might also contact Briley and see if they know if some pattern is superior to the others in some way.

PPS. If you are told that there is a choke tube design that is better than others, it would be great to post that back here to PF and let us all know what that is and why.

Good luck.

[TCinVA]

The post above is right. I'm sure any of the competent smiths I mentioned can cut your gun for whatever style of choke you want to use.

[03RN]

Just use black cloud or prarie storm

[gringop]

Depending on how much the gunsmith charges you might be better off searching for a new or used barrel already threaded. That's what i did for a 24" and and 18" for my 500 years ago.

Mossberg barrels are not too pricey even new.

This is where I got them but I don't see any 590s on there at the moment.
https://www.havlinsales.com/

Gringop

[willie]

I bought an 835 24 inch turkey barrel for my 590a1. It will fit either the 590 or 590a1 as long as the shotgun is the one shipped with the 18.5 inch barrel.

Screw in choke tubes vary by thickness. Some thinner barrels will require thinner tubes. Verify this statement before acting: Mossberg choke tubes and Browning standard choke tubes are identical and thus interchangeable. This is my recommendation. I would buy Browning tubes. The brand of tubes is not critical but the competence of the installer is.

For the choke tube to be concentric with the bore, the installation should be done on a lathe. Not every installer uses a lathe. In such cases the barrel may or may not shoot where its pointed. Those not using a lathe would say that I'm wrong. I'm not. Prices vary widely.

The cheap way out is buying an 835 barrel. It has a 3.5 inch chamber, but that matters not.

If you fail to find an installer, I can give you the name of an expert(for real)in Massachusetts who will do the job at a most reasonable price. You would benefit by using his recommended tube brand. PM me if you need this information.


Addendum: I reread and paid better attention to your post. You have the longer barrel 590's and 835 barrels will not fit. Hence, your only option for choke tubes is custom installation unless Mossberg is selling 590 barrels with tubes installed. I've never seen Mossberg sell extra 590 or 590a1 barrels. They might, but I never have observed this.

[Tensaw]

Screw in choke tubes vary by thickness. Some thinner barrels will require thinner tubes. Verify this statement before acting: Mossberg choke tubes and Browning standard choke tubes are identical and thus interchangeable. This is my recommendation. I would buy Browning tubes. The brand of tubes is not critical but the competence of the installer is..

I would go with what willie has to say. One point of clarification though. When we say "Browning" choke tubes, we need to specify which style: Invector, Invector Plus, Invector DS. They are not the same. This link: https://www.choketube.com/choke-tube-interchange-guide-R.php should give you some insight into what tubes interchange across what brands. When I said that Mossberg and Browning tubes were the same, I should have said Mossberg 500 and Browning Invector. Note on this chart that the 835 series of shotguns uses a different tube.

Trying to understand all the facets of choke tubes and threads can get a little mind boggling, but it is unnecessary. Serious business, I would hit up willie for his guy in Maine, or go the Vang Comp route, talk with whomever is going to do the barrel threading, and go with their advice.

[willie]

Thank you for the informative chart. I see that the term "standard" has been replaced by the term "invector". It's important to note that "invector plus" tubes have a slightly larger diameter to fit barrels that are ovebored or made larger in diameter to provide better patterns.

Perhaps the better alternative is letting the installer help select tube brand. Few, maybe none, of us could tell the difference in performance from one to the other. Tubes fitting Mossberg 500 barrels are available in box stores and thus are readily available. The standard Browning invector tubes are interchangeable. Both are readily recognizable and are often seen loose in miscellaneous parts boxes.