frjeff,
Nothing wrong with shortening a shotgun to fit a need, IF it isn't better at something else in its original condition. The old Cutts and equivalent compensators usually diminish resale values a lot in this "enlightened" age. A couple of the local dealers have taken to shortening every old pumpgun that's been sitting around for a long time to 18.5- 20" barrels- and they sell like hotcakes in their new abbreviated condition.
The old High Standard/JC Higgins Model 20 pumps are solid frame fixed barrel (non-takedown) designs, except for a few of the later HS guns as far as I know. You can't easily change barrels on them, so whatever tube they wear is what you're stuck with unless you want to resort to an action vise and barrel wrench. As long as you allowed an extra little bit to keep Federal barrel measurers happy, I see nothing wrong with making this old sidekick fit a new need better.
The only real downside to shortening a longer barrel is that you wind up with absolutely zero choke. A number of factory made 'CYL' barrels still have just a touch of choke, a few points, to help even out their patterns. You may wind up with a real scattergun out of the deal- but a few pattern tests will show you what it does. If it's throwing uneven patterns, then you might want to think about 'jug' choking* as a possibility. I doubt you want to spend the money to have choke tubes installed on an oldster like this one.
I'd suggest trying a variety of buckshot, to find one that might work better than other brands/loads. I've had good luck getting tight patterns out of anything with a FliteControl wad- Federal Premium and LE loads, or Hornady TAP buckshot.
I really like the old JC Higgins Model 20s. They're as slick a pumpgun design as was ever manufactured. I bought a stripped receiver with attached barrel not long ago for basically pocket change, and am in the process of building it back up into a working gun from parts. It's a good way to 'learn' the gun. I've gotten a couple of 'parts' guns for not much money, and look forward to getting this one back on duty.
Good luck with your new, old companion. May you enjoy many years of peaceful practice with no intrusions to fend off.
lpl
* "...The practice of jug choking is older than dirt. It is simply this: Barrels are often cut off and
shortened by one person. The individual likes the short barrels, but now notes that he has also cut
off the chokes. He wants some chokes added back in to his now cylinder bore barrels. In the days
before screw chokes, the gunsmith would simply hone in a circular recess about an inch back
from the muzzle. The depth of the recess would depend on the thickness of the barrel steel at that
point. The recess or "jug" might be over an inch long.
This would, in effect, give the gun back some of its lost choke. The shot would travel down the
cylinder bore barrel, enter the relieved jug area and expand to fill the jug. The shot load would
then continue forward and be squeezed down back to the original cylinder bore dimension just
before it exited. This practice could add up to one degree of choke to the gun. ..." --
http://www.shotgunreport.com/TechTech/TechnoidArchive/23-Jan-09.pdf
My old gunsmith at home in Selma, AL- Ralph Walker- was a shotgun man of the first water. His book
Shotgun Gunsmithing from Gun Digest is a great reference on the subject. He'd do a jug choke in a cut-down shotgun in a heartbeat, and helped pioneer the use of interchangeable choke tubes.
Nice.
