Repalcing a barrel on an uncommon shotgun

[LoneCoon]

So I've got this Savage 775a 16ga Semi auto shotgun that I've bought. It shoots fine and both the wife and I like it well enough to use it for home defense. It's got a 26" barrel which is a bit unwieldy for that purpose, so i went looking for a new barrel.

Unsurprisingly, I can't find one for that exact model.

So, basicly I've got three questions:

1. Since it's based off the Browning A5, can I use the barrel from a 16ga A5, or some other semi auto shotgun?

2. Should I just cut the barrel down to 19"? I don't use it for hunting or trap, so no lose there.

3. Am I better off getting an entirely different semi auto shotgun?

 

[LoneCoon]

Photos of the barrel:

 

[Black Knight]

Have you checked Numrich Arms? They have parts for many different makes and models of old as well as new guns.

 

[Fred Fuller]

That's a long-recoil operated gun, right? Taking a lot of length off the barrel is going to lighten it up a good bit, and increase its velocity as it recoils. I don't know a lot about that system, but I'd be careful to find out what long term effects on reliability and overall life that might have. A higher recoil velocity in the barrel might batter the gun and shorten its life- I don't know. The 'slug' barrels I've seen on Brownings generally run a bit longer than 19" as I recall.

Talk to someone who knows long-recoil guns well before you cut it, would be my advice. See if there are other considerations than just overall length.

fwiw,

lpl

 

[erudite]

That looks very similar to the barrel of a 16ga A5, but the devil is in the details. In the pics, I can't see if your barrel has a sliding retainer on the left hand side of the chamber like mine does - it appears not to, but I'm not sure. Newer 16ga A5 barrels may be different than mine. The batteries in my camera are dead or I'd take some pictures for comparison. The rest of the chamber looks identical and just eyeballing it, the dimensions seem about the same. You could probably make it work if you really wanted to.

As far as shortening is concerned, I've never personally cut a barrel, but I can speak for the difference between a 32" ribbed (possibly the heaviest stock unit) and a 22" rifled barrel on an A5 12ga - and it's honestly pretty negligible. The shorter barrel does kick harder but it's nothing worth mentioning with the loads I run. I mostly use 3" 1oz sabot slugs through the rifled barrel and 3" 1 3/4oz #4 birdshot through the 32" barrel.

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[navyretired 1]

There is a guy in Arkansas the puts add's in Shotgun News for bying and selling obsolite barrels. He can be found on internet and he might have one already shortened. If not I don't think I'd saw it off, they aint gona make no more. If you can'tfind one maybe try a modern Home defence gun. Love those 16 gages.