Author Topic: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction  (Read 6796 times)

Offline rbertalotto

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Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« on: March 04, 2012, 07:30:31 AM »
Well.........Couldn't help myself! I got up early this morning to take the Stoeger Uplander to the range to try it out.

Last night I deactivated the auto safety. It still works but in a manual mode. I cut 1.5 coils off the locking lever spring. Took the whole action apart and smoothed everything over with Cratex stones. Barrels now drop open VERY easily and stay open.

But as I was looking at the shotgun, it just didn't look "Cowboy"........28" barrels need a jacket with patches on the elbows, a Tweed hat and some kind of yellow or brown dog. I have none of the above!

The barrels needed to be shorter. But how short? Twenty inches seemed Too shot and  28" was too long. Whenever I confronted with decisions like this I alway take a moderate approach and go half way. So I decided to cut them to 24".



I uses a set of old calipers set at 4" and scribed a line around the two barrels. Using a 24T hack saw I cut about a 1/6" proud of this line. Then I did some measuring and found that the top rib is perfectly parallel with the bores so I could easily lay the barrels down in the milling machine, upside-down and mill the ends perfectly square.
 This I did and then verified with a machinists square......Perfect!



I filled the void with Brownells Steel Bed and filed everything smooth and cold blued



I took an 1/8 piece of brass rod and chucked it up in the lathe. I proceeded to turn a nice big Brass bead with a tapered shaft for the front sight. Drilled a hole in the center of the rib on the milling machine and taped it in.





I still think my 1897 will be the "Go To' shotgun, but it will be fun to try something diofferent every now and then and certainly for some fun with the poppers.
Roy B
South of Boston
www.rvbprecision.com
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Offline Tuolumne Lawman

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2012, 07:17:16 PM »
My next shotgun will be a Steven 311, which I plan on shortening to 18.5 inches.  Makes a great house gun, too.  I have an older Steven (not 311, but something with sideplates) and the stock is shot.  I would love to get a stock and re-hab it, but replacement stocks are non-existent.
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Offline Sir Charles deMouton-Black

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2012, 07:21:29 PM »
My next shotgun will be a Steven 311, which I plan on shortening to 18.5 inches.  Makes a great house gun, too.  I have an older Steven (not 311, but something with sideplates) and the stock is shot.  I would love to get a stock and re-hab it, but replacement stocks are non-existent.

I thought I heard that Stevens 311s were not that fast or easy to use for CAS.  With all those 311s that were chopped to bits in the early days of SASS there aren't that many left. You would chop a diminishing resource?
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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #3 on: Today at 11:13:38 AM »

Offline rickk

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2012, 06:01:55 AM »
Tuolumne Lawman

  Check http://gunsnparts.com/    for Savage parts (like stocks).

right off his web site " Savage parts, I have parts for the 15, 87, 99,  340,  110,   311,  67,  24,   94,  944,  440,  444,  etc. etc."

You will have to call him.

If he don't have it, probably no one does. but he has lots and lots and lots of parts for old guns.

I walked in there once looking for a stock bolt for a 100 year old single shot break-open. I put the old one on the counter. He looked at it, turned around and pulled out a drawer that was full of that exact screw. Amazing.

Rick

Offline Tuolumne Lawman

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2012, 07:09:54 AM »
Outstanding! Thanks, I will give him  try.
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Offline Big T

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2012, 09:36:06 AM »
My next shotgun will be a Steven 311, which I plan on shortening to 18.5 inches.  Makes a great house gun, too.  I have an older Steven (not 311, but something with sideplates) and the stock is shot.  I would love to get a stock and re-hab it, but replacement stocks are non-existent.

I just bought one off gun broker from Numrich arms for 75. shipped , around the 20th of feb , t
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Offline Stu Kettle

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2012, 11:22:39 AM »
I really want one like this:



One of my neighbors is making them for sale, but the $1000 price tag & the $200 transfer fee make it unlikely I will ever own one.

Offline Camille Eonich

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2012, 02:04:19 PM »
I think that mine is 18".  We shoot through a lot of windows and doors around here and the shorter barrel length saves a little time there.  As someone stated in another thread the shorter guns are just better when there is a lot of action and really can make a big difference in moving around and not getting knocked about on props.
“Extremism is so easy. You've got your position, and that's it. It doesn't take much thought. And when you go far enough to the right you meet the same idiots coming around from the left.”
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Offline Sir Charles deMouton-Black

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #8 on: March 05, 2012, 03:48:14 PM »
I think that mine is 18".  We shoot through a lot of windows and doors around here and the shorter barrel length saves a little time there.  As someone stated in another thread the shorter guns are just better when there is a lot of action and really can make a big difference in moving around and not getting knocked about on props.

Camille;  My point is not to discourage Pards & Pardettes from using short shotguns.  What I am trying to disourage is CUTTING the barrels.  If you cut then you lose sighting geometry and choke.  As well, resale value may drop.

If you purchase a factory made "coachgun" most of the drawbacks have been hopefully corrected, with a higher rib, chokes, and  balanced springs.
NCOWS #1154, SCORRS, STORM, BROW, 1860 Henry, Dirty Rat 502, CHINOOK COUNTRY
THE SUBLYME & HOLY ORDER OF THE SOOT (SHOTS)
Those who are no longer ignorant of History may relive it,
without the Blood, Sweat, and Tears.
With apologies to George Santayana & W. S. Churchill

"As Mark Twain once put it, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”

Offline Camille Eonich

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #9 on: March 05, 2012, 04:22:10 PM »
Camille;  My point is not to discourage Pards & Pardettes from using short shotguns.  What I am trying to disourage is CUTTING the barrels.  If you cut then you lose sighting geometry and choke.  As well, resale value may drop.

If you purchase a factory made "coachgun" most of the drawbacks have been hopefully corrected, with a higher rib, chokes, and  balanced springs.


I made no mention of if he should or should not cut the barrel of his gun.  I don't have an opinion on that for him one way or the other.  It it were my choice it would be on a gun to gun basis.  Some guns you may actually gain value on by cutting if the gun is to be used for CAS and has little or no worth otherwise.  Myself I would prefer to buy a gun already at the length that I need or want it but if it were a '97 that was 28" inches long and only in fair to middlin' condition I wouldn't hesitate to cut it down to the length I needed.

In SASS, I can't comment about NCOWs, it doesn't usually take so much to put a target down or bust a bird that the amount of choke that you would lose would hurt you.

I also don't shoot a double in SASS, those things are the devil and I hate to practice so my comments are directed at '97s and clones of '97s only.   ;D
“Extremism is so easy. You've got your position, and that's it. It doesn't take much thought. And when you go far enough to the right you meet the same idiots coming around from the left.”
― Clint Eastwood

Offline rbertalotto

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2012, 07:12:36 PM »
Here is a photo of a target shot at 30 feet with each barrel shooting twice. Four shots total. Don't think I'll have much problem with the knock downs.....

Roy B
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Offline Camille Eonich

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2012, 08:40:54 AM »
Here is a photo of a target shot at 30 feet with each barrel shooting twice. Four shots total. Don't think I'll have much problem with the knock downs.....




 ;D  No I don't expect that you will.
“Extremism is so easy. You've got your position, and that's it. It doesn't take much thought. And when you go far enough to the right you meet the same idiots coming around from the left.”
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Offline NCRanger

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #12 on: March 08, 2012, 06:10:21 PM »
I did the same thing with a Stevens 311. I swapped a hunting rifle for it at my local gun shop. I haven't cut any  coils off the locking lever spring yet. I did deactivate the auto safety (yes the safety still works) and polish the chambers.
The shotgun barrels were already cut down to 20" and it had a bead, but the barrels were rough on the end. I dressed'em up bout the same as you did and it looks factory. The nice thing about the 311 I found is that it has a case hardened receiver which goes nice with my '73.
Also it is an American made firearm although they stopped making them in 1989. I have already used it in one cowboy match. I was a little fumbly in the first couple of stages, but by the end of the day it was becoming natural.

I will probably refinish the wood and stone all the contact surfaces. I find I like the 20" length. They was getting on me for using my 1897 with its 30" full choke barrel. My friend has the pump right now to ream the chambers. The chambers were originally cut for roll crimp shells and a chamber gage would not seat to the 2 3/4" mark. I wondered why it kicked so hard  :o.
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Offline Tuolumne Lawman

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Re: Shot Gun Barrel Reduction
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2012, 09:10:53 PM »
I am going to get a double.  At the moment, I am using an 1897 from EMF that I got in 2006 for a Cowboy Chronicle article.  I liked it, and bought it when I was done with the article.  I continued to use a double as a main match shotgun, though, until I took my hiatus from matches in about 2008/9 and sold the double.  Have restarted being active in matches, I just started using the 1897 as my main match shotgun.  The last time I regularly used an 1897 as a main match shotgun was about 1998!  I have begun to get my "97 single loading rhythm" back, but still miss the double! 

I have a chance to get one of two: One a nice Stevens Ranger and the other a Charles Daly double.  Both have about 28" barrels.  I am torn between leaving them "original," and cutting them to 18.5 inches and making it a street howitzer.  I like an original with full/modified, but really LOVE the street howitzer look.  I haven't handled the Charles Daly yet, so if I do get it and it is as nice as the guy says, I will probably leave it long to preserve its value.  If I do get the Ranger is nothing special, though, and I will probably cut it
TUOLUMNE LAWMAN
CO. F, 12th Illinois Cavalry  SASS # 6127 Life * Spencer Shooting Society #43 * Motherlode Shootist Society #1 * River City Regulators

 

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