Sawn off

[nekwah]

I have a Remm 870 with the pistol grip stock and everything but it still has the 28" barrel on it. Its not practical as its long, clumsy, and very unbalanced. I really want te 18.5" barrel but they cost alot so i was wondering would it be practical to just by another 28 inch and cut it down since the other 18 inch barrels are just improved cylinder and doesnt seem like they are threaded for chokes (why is that?) this seems the way to go. Of course it wouldnt have a sight and i dont have a solution for that but i dont it will be a big problem. Is there a problem with doing this, the barrel isnt gonna split or anything?

 

[Pete409]

nekwaH,

Nothing wrong with cutting off a barrel to 18" or greater if that's what you want. It will have a Cylinder choke when you are done.

904eteP

 

[Dimis]

and to fix the sight you can tap the top of the barrel (or haver a smith do it) and use the brass dot from the part you cut off and if you really wanna go the extra distance you can even have the barrel tapped for a choke (but thats not needed)

 

[MrCleanOK]

Yes, you can hack saw a barrel. Just be very careful when you do it, and remember that ATF measures with a dowel rod slid down the barrel, from closed bolt face to muzzle.

Use a file to clean up the metal when you're done, and hit the bare metal with some cold blue solution. You'll have a cylinder bore, which sounds like it will be just fine for you.

If your stock is a pistol grip only, you may want to think about putting a normal butt stock or pistol grip butt stock on it. I know the super short thing is cool, but being able to shoot it from the shoulder quickly and accurately is much more useful.

 

[rjsixgun]

Just use a pipe cutter and cut that barrel square&true in one shot!

 

[Fred Fuller]

The country fairly bristles with 18-20" factory produced Remington barrels, at prices from $70 or so for used ones to just over $100 for brand new ones straight from Remington. There's no real need to hacksaw a perfectly serviceable barrel. Sell it or trade it and get a short barrel, but leave the hacksaws and pipe cutters to plumbers.

JMNSHO, YMMV,

lpl

 

[Max]

That pipe cutter idea is great, I never though of that. However what if the barrel to be cut is ribbed, huh?? Anyway I never liked that questionable wood stick thing for measuring the barrels length. Try removing the barrel from the weapon and using a measuring tape from the longest part of the breech to the 18" mark on the tape.

 

[GRIZ22]

Just use a pipe cutter and cut that barrel square&true in one shot

Every "pipe cutter" job I've seen has a bit of a "choke" due to trying to do the job with pressure instead of letting the cutter cut. While it may be possible to cut a barrel with a pipe cutter I've never seen one.

 

[highorder]

Anyway I never liked that questionable wood stick thing for measuring the barrels length. Try removing the barrel from the weapon and using a measuring tape from the longest part of the breech to the 18" mark on the tape.

Thats not great advice.

Use the official, accepted method. Get a dowel rod.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Anyway I never liked that questionable wood stick thing for measuring the barrels length.

What's to question? It's contacting the breech face, and you mark the length where it exits the muzzle. How can you get any more accurate than that? If the barrel is out of the gun, you don't know where the breech face will be - not all are headspaced exactly the same. The "stick" method is what BATF uses, so it's also what they'll use to hang you if you're wrong... use the same tools and you'll get the same results. And keep that last quarter inch over 18 just to be on the safe side.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Sell or keep the original barrel. Buy a new barrel.

Dont be hacksawing stuff, you have alot to consider.

The 870 marine Magnum with the 18+ inches of barrel and full buttstock is a gun designed for that. It's pricey yes. But worth every penny as far as Im concerned.

If you must cut the barrel because the idea has taken hold into your head, ask a gunsmith how much he will charge you to have it properly (And legally) done "RIGHT" and then compare the cost of a retail new barrel from the factory.

When I see a sawn off shottie, I see in mind a person who was not willing to:

A: get a barrel
B: Spend money on a new gun with shorter barrel
C: Gun may not be legally owned
D: Sterotype of a sawn barrel

I must also tell you today's shotgun loads pack a great deal of energy. There is a real risk to the shooter.

Ive said enough. Get a new barrel or a new gun, or have a gunsmith do it properly for you.

 

[rcmodel]

Just use a pipe cutter and cut that barrel square&true in one shot!

It don't work so well in practice as it does in theory.

Unlike a pipe, a shotgun barrel has a slight amount of taper.

That makes the pipe cutter want to "walk" and cut threads instead of cutting in one place.

The other major problem was mentioned by GRIZ22 in post #8.

A pipe cutter wheel leaves a big honk'n bur thrown up on the inside of the cut. On a pipe, you use a tapered pipe reamer to cut it out if you want too.
But if you use a tapered reamer on a shotgun barrel, it becomes a little blunderbuss funnel.

The prefered method is to cut them off in a lathe.

The next best method is to saw them off straight with a hacksaw, and then finish the end with a disk sander or fine-cut file.

But using a pipe-cutter is the very worst way there is to do it.

rc

 

[lipadj46]

That pipe cutter idea is great,

That is what all bubbas all think, easier the better

Like others said bad idea, use a saw, a band saw if you can find one. I bought a Savage 645 (copy of browning A5) for $30 that my buddies' father cut down with a pipe cutter. It left a big old ridge in the muzzle and was throwing slugs every which way. I went at it with some files for a couple hours and got it pretty decent. I will see next time I shoot it, but I may need to cut it again with a hacksaw and refinish it.

 

[inSight-NEO]

The country fairly bristles with 18-20" factory produced Remington barrels, at prices from $70 or so for used ones to just over $100 for brand new ones straight from Remington. There's no real need to hacksaw a perfectly serviceable barrel. Sell it or trade it and get a short barrel, but leave the hacksaws and pipe cutters to plumbers.

This, along with several other posts, is good advice and frankly, something I happen to agree with. I also agree with an earlier post regarding the possibility of using a full stock or at least a full stock w/pg. This will most likely help with the balance issue you seem to be having, particularly when dealing with a 28" barrel such as yours.

Either way, I say keep the 28" (you never know when it may prove useful) and leave it as is or simply sell it if you must. There are just too many 18-20" 870 barrels out there, at good prices and good quality, to justify going through the problems and/or cost surrounding a "home modified" barrel. Just my added 2 cents.

 

[mgkdrgn]

You =can= hack off the bbl, or you can get a shorter one for less than $100.

http://www.havlinsales.com/

Left hand side of the page, close out bbls, then 1/2 way or so down that page. Remington bbls by Mossberg.

If the bbl you have has a vent rib, it's going to be just that much harder to cut correctly w/o butchering it. If you keep it, you'll be able to use the 870 for multiple purposes, not just as a strictly HD weapon.

I have multiple bbls for the 870's I own ... so I get a HD gun, trap gun, skeet gun, slug gun just by changing bbls. Takes all of 5 minutes.

 

[jmr40]

Actually the vent rib makes it easier. You may not be able to get the exact length you want. I've done several and they are easy to do and finish with professional looking results.

Cut right through the post that attaches the rib. On most Remingtons I have worked with this means lengths of 19", 21", or 23" depending on where you cut. Shotgun barrel steel is pretty soft and a sharp hacksaw blade will go through it pretty fast.

Use a square and a file to get the end of the barrel square and finish up with some cold blueing. With a vent rib you can use a fiberoptic sight that attaches to the vent rib.

This is a 10-15 min. job that can save you a bit of money.

I would only advise doing this if you are absoletely sure you do not want the longer barell for hunting. It would probably be easier and cheaper to find a short barrel than a longer barrel later if you change your mind.

 

[748]

I use a hack saw and a fine cut file, but thats just me.

 

[zx12rider]

Did it yesterday

With a sawall and fine metal blade. I couldn't believe it cut in 2 seconds. I figured the metal was stronger. I hit the end with a ginder and file. Looks way better than the 28" plus polychoke I had before. Nice handy package now.

 

[Bud Tugly]

I've never used a pipe cutter on a shotgun barrel, but have used one many times on copper and iron pipe. The secret to avoiding the big indentation inside the pipe is to tighten the cutter very gradually and go slow.

You only get the big inside ridge if you try to go too fast.