200Apples
Mojave Lever Crew
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I have mixed feelings about having cut such a neat, old, long barrel, but:
I cut down the 34" barrel on this old H&R single-shot, break-action 12 gauge shotgun, because the gun was neither rare nor expensive. I wanted something simple, akin to a coach gun, or an old-fashioned 'camp defender'. I do own and shoot several different pump shotguns, one of which with it's 30" full choke vent rib is as long as this H&R was before I lopped it short... so I still have a bird and trap gun.
Thanks to Macchina's thread where I first asked about chopping the barrel on this used $100 single shot, there were several replies.
Original length:
mio had some humorous and sage advice that I could not ultimately follow.
I originally purchased this nice old H&R with the thought of chopping it down to a 20" length but the super-long original barrel gave the gun a fine vintage appeal. I did agonize over cutting what might be an uncommon 34" barrel length (typically, the longest might have been 32") so I had a tough time deciding what to do. The following replies, the original purchase price and the original folly were finally considered.
Alrightythen!
Thanks to a friend that has some serious metalworking tools in a small shop I have worked in before, I was able to pull this off. I used a bandsaw to cut almost 14", then a disc sander that had a perpendicular fence... careful not to get the barrel too hot, I used water to cool it after each brief pass, turning the barrel once per pass. I chamfered the outside diameter by hand on a small belt sander. I used a small swivel reamer on the i.d. I might have used some sandpaper too, but didn't... then when I got the barrel home to my garage, I applied some cold blue in two doses to the bare metal on the new muzzle.
The original bead was reinstalled using a .700 twist drill held in a good drill press and the barrel in a machinist's vice, then I cut new threads using a 2-64 tap in a pin vise... working slowly and carefully, the job was successful. It might not be perfect, but as they say, "it's good enough for the girls I go out with...".
Haven't shot it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I expect it to kick hard. I'll report back when I do!
Thanks for looking! and I appreciate any and all replies.
I have mixed feelings about having cut such a neat, old, long barrel, but:
I cut down the 34" barrel on this old H&R single-shot, break-action 12 gauge shotgun, because the gun was neither rare nor expensive. I wanted something simple, akin to a coach gun, or an old-fashioned 'camp defender'. I do own and shoot several different pump shotguns, one of which with it's 30" full choke vent rib is as long as this H&R was before I lopped it short... so I still have a bird and trap gun.
Thanks to Macchina's thread where I first asked about chopping the barrel on this used $100 single shot, there were several replies.
Original length:
mio had some humorous and sage advice that I could not ultimately follow.
I originally purchased this nice old H&R with the thought of chopping it down to a 20" length but the super-long original barrel gave the gun a fine vintage appeal. I did agonize over cutting what might be an uncommon 34" barrel length (typically, the longest might have been 32") so I had a tough time deciding what to do. The following replies, the original purchase price and the original folly were finally considered.
Alrightythen!
Thanks to a friend that has some serious metalworking tools in a small shop I have worked in before, I was able to pull this off. I used a bandsaw to cut almost 14", then a disc sander that had a perpendicular fence... careful not to get the barrel too hot, I used water to cool it after each brief pass, turning the barrel once per pass. I chamfered the outside diameter by hand on a small belt sander. I used a small swivel reamer on the i.d. I might have used some sandpaper too, but didn't... then when I got the barrel home to my garage, I applied some cold blue in two doses to the bare metal on the new muzzle.
The original bead was reinstalled using a .700 twist drill held in a good drill press and the barrel in a machinist's vice, then I cut new threads using a 2-64 tap in a pin vise... working slowly and carefully, the job was successful. It might not be perfect, but as they say, "it's good enough for the girls I go out with...".
Haven't shot it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I expect it to kick hard. I'll report back when I do!
Thanks for looking! and I appreciate any and all replies.
