altering barrel

[joe poteat]

After reading posts on home defense and pistol grips a thought came to mind. What if the end of a short 18 inch barrel that had already been cut and made useless for anything else was heated and sqeezed slightly to make it shoot a spread. Something like an oval shape. Wouldn't that make a good home defense gun that would be almost a point and shoot?

 

[Dfariswheel]

Nice idea.
Doesn't work, at least not for long.

"Squashing" the muzzle to give an oval-shaped pattern will work, BUT the impact of the shot pounding into the muzzle will quickly "hammer" the barrel round again, often cracking it in the process.

There was a special muzzle device that would do this, and it was first used by the US Navy SEALs in Vietnam.
This was the famous "duckbill" attachment mounted on a Ithaca Model 37.

These guns were used with #4 buckshot, and fired a long oval-shaped pattern that was very effective in the fast shooting surprise ambushes the SEAL's ran.

After the war, the situation changed and the devices were never replaced after they finally wore out.

For a time, a copy was made by a commercial company, but they seem to be out of business.

 

[joe poteat]

well so much for that million dollar idea!