Old shotgun help

[zx12rider]

I have an old beatup ithaca 37 12gauge that I want to refinsh with guncote and make into an updated HD gun. I was thinking about removing the barrel and cuting it "away" from the gun to 16-17" and sodering or welding on a breacher end to make a legal over 18" shotgun barrel. Does anyone know where I can buy a 1-2" breacher end that I can permently attach to the end of said barrel?

Oh and an attachment with some type of choke would be nice.

 

[zx12rider]

Side note

This is bye far my first shotgun build. But the first time ever I am going to cut a shotgun barrel. The barrel is 26" with a poly choke.

 

[ArmedBear]

 

[Fred Fuller]

Free advice FWIW- cut it to a bit over 18" (measured from muzzle to bolt face on a closed bolt) and make it legal to start with...

lpl

 

[blkbrd666]

+1...cut it to 18.25" and forget the breacher.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Update your gun by trimming to 18.5" and adding some wear marks. After a few hundred rounds, you'll know better what it and you need, if anything.

Personally, I'd have a good smith cut the thing right behind the Polychoke and have it threaded for choke tubes. Lethal in the right hands for anything from partridge to perps. Up to you to be the right hands.

 

[sm]

<Resident Rebel >

I'd leave it as it is- bone stock.
Buy ammo and pattern the gun,find what it likes and then become one with the gun.

</off>

 

[zx12rider]

Dave

My intent when buying the gun was to cut the barrel and have it threaded for internal chokes, and use it for hunting. A few gunsmiths told me that Ithaca barrels are too thin to have this done. I won the gun from an auction, and when it came in I realized it has a lot wrong with it. The wood stocks don't match, finish is well worn, and I dislike the poly choke. The cost to bring it back to 100% is too high. It has been sitting in the closet for 2 years now and I got the idea to restock it with a cheaper choate pistol grip, cut the barrel and gunkote it. It would cost maybe $100 compared to $400 to reblue and keep it origional. It's a shame because it is an early model 37 and I wanted a match to my 40's 20gauge feather weight.

Back to cutting the barrel. If I removed the barrel from the gun and cut it away from the gun, welded on the breacher before returning it to the gun, would that be breaking the law?

 

[ArmedBear]

If I removed the barrel from the gun and cut it away from the gun, welded on the breacher before returning it to the gun, would that be breaking the law?

Unfortunately, yes.

Technically, if you have the barrel and the receiver, and the barrel is under 18" long, you have the components to build a SBS (ATF's doctrine of "constructive possession" which I don't think is written anywhere in the law, but is enforced nevertheless).

Now you could have a 'smith do it, if he has the right licenses, but then it's no longer so much cheaper than restoring the gun or just buying another barrel for it.

Will you be raided by the ATF while doing the work? Probably not.

Is the barrel illegal once it's welded? No.

If you were caught with the barrel before you're done welding, though, it could be a serious Federal crime.

Randy Weaver's family members were killed because of a shotgun barrel that was a tad under 18".

 

[Zipperhead]

zx12rider:
Is your early M37 pre-WWII?

Zip

 

[zx12rider]

Um-yep

Zipperhead yeah I think it is. Which means the barrel was hand fitted and makes buying a replacement hard.

 

[ArmedBear]

http://www.diamondgunsmithing.com/

 

[TAB]

I would be willing to bet that you could sell or trade that gun for something that is already what you want.