When making a sawed off shotgun, why do you file the inside of the barrel

[drobs]

I had this one chopped.

 

[jmorris]

• I was inspired to ask this question after watching this scene from the movie No Country for Old Men.
• While I can under l stand filing the outside of the end of the shotgun barrel in order to even and smooth it out after sawing it, I don’t understand why you would need to file the inside of the barrel as well.

He was a retired welder, leave burrs like that inside two pipes you weld together and the weld will fail X-ray, force of habit.…

 

[Bob529]

I cut off the barrel a Winchester model 97 12 Ga. The action is warn pretty bad and I didn't want it to get embedded in my forehead.
I used a hacksaw and filed the inside and outside just because I didn't like the burr that was left.
Then I had to modify the stock and make a 1/4-24 bolt to mount the short stock to the frame. Perhaps fine thread/course thread wasn't a standard in 1897.

 

[Riomouse911]

I had a 28” Lefever Nitro Special 16 ga SxS cut down to 20” because there was a bad blob of rust and pitting at the end of the barrels. The ‘smith did a good job, filling the gap between the barrels nicely and adding a new bead sight.

It isn’t the greatest coach gun out there, but I did get about ten boxes of Federal No. 1 Buck for potential defensive use, that was on the advice of Tired, Old Uncle Joe in Washington.

Stay safe.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Just handled an H&R 10 gauge goose gun, with a 3' barrel; weighed a ton.
I've whacked a couple other H&Rs; made sure they had 18" barrels. I seem to recall using a pipe cutter to scribe for the cut, and then used a hacksaw to actually make the cut. Cleaned up the cut with a fine file and sandpaper.
Whacking that goose gun to 18" would have made a real alley cleaner!
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

I had this one chopped.

View attachment 1164694

View attachment 1164695

That looks a lot like my takedown '97. Mine came with that shorter barrel; it is marked full, but the 41-42 serial number seems to indicate Winchester whacked a bunch of hunting barrels down to riot length. These were issued to domestic security people, at mills and factories. Back then, they apparently trusted security people to be armed.
BTW, mine is in pretty nice shape, but the LOP was too long; saved the original wood, and shortened a replacement by 1 1/2". Feels much better; much closer to Winnie lever guns.
Moon

 

[Armybrat]

My H&R Topper turned out ok.

 

[Ranger99]

JMO- the last one I did I left at 20"
so there wasn't any room for argument
if a LEO checking me was having a
bad day for whatever reason.
Anywhere close to 18" just makes
for a point of dispute with a surly
official
I've found that a taller front sight or
bead is needed for any serious use.
The last one I silver soldered a ramp
from Brownell's that was perfectly
suitable

 

[Armybrat]

JMO- the last one I did I left at 20"
so there wasn't any room for argument
if a LEO checking me was having a
bad day for whatever reason.
Anywhere close to 18" just makes
for a point of dispute with a surly
official
I've found that a taller front sight or
bead is needed for any serious use.
The last one I silver soldered a ramp
from Brownell's that was perfectly
suitable

My H&R Topper is 19”.
It has a bead front sight, but doesn’t show in the photo.

 

[Ranger99]

My H&R Topper is 19”.
It has a bead front sight, but doesn’t show in the photo.

Wouldn't do any less than that anymore
myself
I've had 2 GW's semi argue about length
"NO it's 18 inches. . "
"NO it's 18 and a half inches. . "
" NO it's 18 inches. . "

Uh . . when yall decide, let me know
so I can head towards home. .

 

[Pete D.]

any shotgun barrel under 18" is illegal unless registered as a NFA item.

Black powder shoguns/muzzleloaders are exempt.

 

[AlexanderA]

"Sawed off" shotgun has a pejorative connotation. In my mind, a "sawed off" shotgun is one that comes within the purview of the NFA, e.g., one with a barrel less than 18".

Merely shortening a barrel to any length longer than 18" is no big deal, and doesn't make it "sawed off."

 

[Riomouse911]

Just handled an H&R 10 gauge goose gun, with a 3' barrel; weighed a ton.
I've whacked a couple other H&Rs; made sure they had 18" barrels. I seem to recall using a pipe cutter to scribe for the cut, and then used a hacksaw to actually make the cut. Cleaned up the cut with a fine file and sandpaper.
Whacking that goose gun to 18" would have made a real alley cleaner!
Moon

10 gauge? Ouch! I couldn’t imagine swinging a long-barreled 10 gauge after a fast crossing duck, that would be like trying to swing a brass foot rail from a bar after one.

I remember handling an Ithaca Roadblocker 10 gauge with a 20” barrel once. Even with the riot gun barrel I think that hog weighed 10 pounds loaded, it was a brute for sure.

Stay safe.

 

[driz]

I cut off the barrel a Winchester model 97 12 Ga. The action is warn pretty bad and I didn't want it to get embedded in my forehead.
I used a hacksaw and filed the inside and outside just because I didn't like the burr that was left.
Then I had to modify the stock and make a 1/4-24 bolt to mount the short stock to the frame. Perhaps fine thread/course thread wasn't a standard in 1897.

I cut an old Iver Johnson back in the 70s as a grouse gun. I used a pipe cutter that I borrowed from my buddy’s grandfather. I cut it at 20” and left the inner ring effect. Two shots later I saw the crack starting so I hack sawed it to 18.5 sanded out the inner roughness and it was fine. Lesson learned even at age 16…….

 

[Space Ghost]

It's no more destructive than any other shotgun. It is done mainly to have a shorter, more compact gun. You do remove any choke and will get wider patterns. Those wider patterns make hits up close easier but will also reduce effective range unless you thread it to use choke tubes.

If someone has a hunting shotgun laying around with a 26"-30" they aren't using and they want a more compact SD gun this is a cheap and viable option.

This was me not long ago. My hammer coach is cool as hell, but it's sometimes a pita to extract shells from.
I don't don't birds anymore, so had my gunsmith cut down a 28" that had ejectors.
He filed the inside of the barrels. Don't think it would matter for a close range defensive weapon, but it's nicer...

 

[Hillbilly Hydrographics]

I bought a winchester model 37 red letter 12 gauge several years back. The guy i got it from said it was his dads truck gun for around the farm back in the day. And the guys dad had hacked off about 4 inches of barrel. And it looked like it was done with a dull saw out in the field cause it was crooked as it could be and an angled cut. And very jagged. It took me 3 years to track down a replacement 30 inch barrel like it had on it. Now im in the process of completely rebuilding and refinishing the old girl to bring her back to her former glory.

 

[12Bravo20]

@Hillbilly Hydrographics good for you for restoring that Model 37. The Winchester Model 37 Red Letter models do command a higher price among Winchester collectors.

 

[PapaG]

Why is this still posted? Remove burrs from the saw cuts. Duh!