"Oversized" bore of Mossberg 12 gauge 835...WHY??

S

Southern Shooter

New member
I picked up a Mossberg 12 gauge 835 the other day. Did not really need it...but it was only $100 brand new in the box...could not walk away from it. Anyway, I understand that it is bored to the size of a 10 gauge. Why is that? What are purposes of this? What are the advantages? What are the negatives of the overbored size? I know that slugs CANNOT be used in it...I have rifles if I need to get further down range.

Thanks
 
Mossberg's website it reduces recoil and improves patterns.

I have no idea how it can improve patterns, but it could allow gases to escape around the shot cup to reduce recoil.

Some other article says something about it acting as a long gradual choke tube, but I don't quite understand how that works if the whole damn barrel is bigger than 12 bore.
 
"Backboring" is supposed to improve patterns, though I'm not sure exactly how it does that. Downside of backboring is you don't want to shoot slugs in it - they'd go down the bore like a pinball, to dramatize the point.
 
Conventional wisdom states that a barrel bored oversize but of a diameter that a plastic wad can still obturate in can have less felt recoil, better patterns and holds within it The Meaning Of Life.

According to Roster, backboring (Retroboring a barrel larger) and overboring (Making a barrel for a given gauge larger than standard) do improve patterns by deforming less shot. They do nothing to lower actual recoil but he hints of a placebo effect.

Pattern improvement is best seen with large shot, 4 and up.

Over/back boring oft are combined with long cones and long chokes, both of which do lower felt recoil slightly, Larger barrels oft weigh a bit more, also reducing kick a tiny amount.

The 835 is a good shotgun. $100 is darn near larceny. Enjoy....
 
slugs

its stamped right on the barrel DO NOT USE SLUGS IN THAT BARREL. u can get a different abrrel and shoot slugs through it though
 
You may get some recoil reduction thanks to the larger bore. Essentially you have the shot spread over a wider surface area so you can move it with a lower propellant pressure. How much you can take advantage of this probably depends on propellant burn rates and such.
 
yea wow, i paid three times that for mine a little ways back and i still felt like it was a good deal. 835 is a great pump-action.
 
recoil reduction? i own an 835, have you ever fired a turkey load thru it?:eek: i call it the retina-detacher...with a ported barrel and overboring it still kicks TWICE as hard as my baikal auto
 
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