doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cutts on a 42

OT. How is a Cutts Compensator mounted on the Model 42 Barrel? Is the barrel cut? Can the Cutts be taken off? Where can I buy choke fittings? The one on there is a spreader.
Thanks.

Good question- went to the Madis book on M12- page 67 -ad from Cutts Comp. in June 1939 National Sportsman- shows Cutts for Winchester M 12- Rem. Sportsman- etc. No direct mention of the M42 Win. although the last line of the ad installation arranged by sporting goods dealers for 12 through .410 gauges. pages 52 and 53 give more detail- so I will Ass-U-Me that Winchester used the same proceedure(s) for the little M42 as they did for the M12; If factory ordered on Model 12- the Cutts would have a step at the rear-the OAL barrel length would usually be 28" (again, I assume to the front of the choke "cage" as a Full choke tube was way longer than a spreader tube-and there would be NO choke marked on the barrel at the receiver end, as on a std. M12 w/0 choke device- After market-some guys sent their M12's (and possibly M42's as well) back to Winchester for installation- still the step when the barrel was cut, and then the Cutts installed- but whatever original choke was in the barrel when mfg.'d still was stamped on the barrel and NOT obliterated by the Custom Shop-I believe the M42 first came out around 1933- partly developed by Bill Roehmer (one of the designers of the great Model 21) so by 1939 I would GUESS-Cutts was making their Compensators for that Model- Best of luck- the M42 is a "cutie"-never owned one- I like big birds and 12 gauges-but I read that "Ike" used a Model 42 for quail-not too shabby!!!RWTF

Schwing's M42 book makes no mention of how the Cutts was attached. He claims that the factory Cutts were initially put on Vent Rib skeet guns - a very rare bird. It was never calaloged as an option on plain or matt rib guns, but Schwing says "..there is no reason to think that this option could not be ordered on plain or solid rib barrels as well"

My large Winchester catalogue with a cover letter dated October 13, 1952, offers a .410-bore Cutts on the Model 42. I have a Model 42 with two barrel and magazine assemblies. One is 26-inch Skeet and the other was just a bit longer with a Cutts. The boss was screwed onto the barrel, not a forged with the barrel boss like on the 12-gauge Model 12 Skeet Guns. Along about 1972, Dan Dwyer, the gunsmith up on West Washington in San Diego, happened to have a 28-inch modified Model 42 barrel and I had him install it in place of the Cutts barrel. I sold the Cutts barrel to someone in Iowa. I don't remember now if it had choke markings or not.

Thanks guys. Interesting. This gun has a solid rib and is stamped MOD so I assume it was not factory. It's a great little skeet gun. Thanks again.

Many Gunsmiths were set up to install Cutts as well as a gun could be sent to "Cutts". My guess would be that if it did not come "Factory New" with it installed the odds are far greater it was installed outside the Win plant than inside.

Way to go, Miller. The statements made by gun book authors about choke devices being installed at the factory after the fact are just a dream in someone's mind. Every corner gunsmith was installing Cutts Compensators and Poly Chokes free of charge if you bought the device from them. I can't imagine that anyone sent their gun back to Winchester to have a Cutts installed.

Did you notice that only Winchesters seem to have these devices attached. It's weired but one almost never sees: Ithaca, Remington,....with them. Is it because those brands were not used in sport shooting like skeet?

There are a lot of Ithacas with choke devices although more have Poly Chokes. Probably because of field use. Ithaca's pumps were not real popular for target games. I will try to find my M-37 RD with a Flex-Choke. You wind it up and it tightens choke with each shot, eg. IC to Mod to Full. Will post a photo if I can locate it. Well, in the meantime, here is a scan of the ad.

Thanks Walt- you have a great "Library". I recall somewhat that type of choke-fellow I once worked with had one on a Remington 31 12 gauge. heavy as all get-out- and half the time it locked up on Full-just right for grouse, etc. Thing I don't "get" is the ad copy- sorta makes me thing the Flex-Boys figure most shooters will miss the first 2 shots- and then get in the "Money Shot" at 40 yards with that Full-Flex-Feeling--As I habitually shot 12 full choke guns, I save the first and second shorter yardage shots on pheasants (mainly in Montana and South Dakota) and then "cut 'em a dusty" with the Full choke- I just bought my first "choke deviced" pumpgun- a 1924 M12 12 gauge nickle steel Solid Rib- with a deluxe Poly vented- the solid rib makes, to my eyes anyway, that bulge at the muzzle less "bulky" and I ran a full box of AA Trap loads through it- the patterns were even no matter at what setting I took. RWTF