Crazy thought ?

[Green Lantern]

Ok this might be crazy but.....

We have heard about sawed off shotguns. What about sawed off handguns?

Has that been done?

 

[WC145]

As in handguns with shortened barrels? If that's what you mean then, yes, handguns have been being cut down to shorter/smaller packages since the first person that decided they needed something easier to carry and/or conceal.

 

[Green Lantern]

For example. Cut five inches off the ten inch Ruger Charger.


http://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/wp-...01/Ruger-22-Charger-Pistol-4917-R-Profile.jpg

 

[TXAZ]

It's called a snub nose.

Cutting a semi auto down is more problematic, as there's a critical balance between the recoil, gun mass and spring constants.

 

[WC145]

Here are some cut down handguns I own...

S&W M28-2 .41mag 3" - Originally a 6" .357mag, I had it converted to .41mag with a titanium cylinder and used a 4" M58 barrel and had it cut to 3", it was also round butted

S&W M28-2 .45ACP 4" - Originally a 6" .357mag, converted to .45ACP using an M25 cyl and 6" barrel which was cut to 4"

1909 Colt Police Positive Special .38spl 2" - This was originally a 4" barrel gun, it was cut down to 2" sometime in the last 108 years

I don't own these anymore but they are also good examples...

S&W 25-2 Austin Behlert custom - barrel cut down from 6" to 2.5", square butt grip frame cut to round butt

S&W M29 .44mag Mag-na-port Custom 'Combat Mini' - Originally a 4" square butt it was cut to 2.5" and round butted

Colt Series 70 Gov't Model Austin Behlert custom "Bob-Cat" - Originally a full size 5" Colt Gov't this pistol was cut down to 4" and the grip frame was cut a little more than .5", the work was done back before small 1911s were available from the factories.

 

[GarandTd]

WC145, what is the cutout in the top of the barrel of the 2nd pictured revolver? Is it for opening bottles?

 

[JJ45]

Elmer Keith, in his book "SIXGUNS" IIRC, writes of a revolver that had been customized with NO barrel, just a cylinder...I'm not sure of the details exactly, I'll have to dig it up.

 

[Bob Wright]

^^^^^ Skeeter Skelton pictured a similar gun ~ a Colt SAA with the barrel removed.

Bob Wright

 

[kozak6]

It's difficult to trim the barrel on most semiautomatics since you'd have to trim the slide as well. That makes such a project difficult and expensive.

One of the few exceptions is for the Walther P38 or P1. It wasn't unknown to trim the barrel and add a front sight to the slide, resulting in a pistol that resembles the P38K.

Some people also shorten the grip on their Glocks, much like the 1911 above.

 

[arquebus357]

Yes...that is indeed CRAZY.

 

[fredvon4]

Man the S&W M29 .44mag Mag-na-port Custom 'Combat Mini' sure is eye candy
Very damned good looking piece...like it a lot

 

[carguychris]

...what is the cutout in the top of the barrel of the 2nd pictured revolver? Is it for opening bottles?

I'm not WC145, but it's clearly a recoil compensator, a fairly common feature on a lot of cut-down Smith N frames I've seen.

On the topic of Smiths, one thing that you have to look out for is that the under-barrel locking lug was often removed from older 4" to 6-1/2" models that were cut down on the cheap. This generally results in only so-so accuracy. This is common with WWII K-frame Victory or British Service models that were sold as surplus, along with sketchy nickel plating and awful plastic faux stag or ivory grips.

 

[GarandTd]

Thanks for filling me in, carguychris. I've never seen a barrel cut out like that before.

 

[Slopemeno]

I've shot one of the 2.5" N-frames in .45 colt and that' s a nice shooting revolver.

 

[WC145]

WC145, what is the cutout in the top of the barrel of the 2nd pictured revolver? Is it for opening bottles?

I'm not WC145, but it's clearly a recoil compensator, a fairly common feature on a lot of cut-down Smith N frames I've seen.

Yes, it's a compensator port. When that gun was customized back in the '80s big comps were all the rage among pin shooters to reduce recoil and muzzle rise, they were very common on 1911s built for competition. Mag-na-port style porting was and is much more common on revolvers. The Crowbar is not a competition revolver, it's built for self defense use. You don't see too many comp'd carry guns but there are some. Wilson offers a comp'd 1911 carry gun, S&W has the 586 L-Comp and has made other comp'd carry revolvers, Springfield used to offer a comp'd 1911 built for carry as well.

Yes, they can be used to open bottles, also.

 

[GarandTd]

Very informative, WC145. Thank you. I guess I've seen ported barrels with holes drilled in them and the compensators with the slots, but I had never before seen one with such a large cut out. I should have googled "crowbar", but assumed(my bad) it was something 1-off custom. "Crowbar" also had me thinking of prying off bottle tops.

 

[WC145]

Very informative, WC145. Thank you. I guess I've seen ported barrels with holes drilled in them and the compensators with the slots, but I had never before seen one with such a large cut out. I should have googled "crowbar", but assumed(my bad) it was something 1-off custom. "Crowbar" also had me thinking of prying off bottle tops.

That gun is a one off custom, it was built by Marc Krebs back around '87 for an Illiniois police officer (who named it the Crowbar), and, to the best of my knowledge, it's the only full custom revolver build he's done. Mark went on to be a top competition 1911 builder in the '90s then got out of 1911s to focus on AK47s and variants. Today Krebs Custom is known for building some of the best quality AKs anywhere.

 

[James K]

A fairly common "treasure" found among turn-ins or confiscated guns is the revolver with they cylinder totally removed. Not cut off, just unscrewed, so the only "barrel" is the cylinder. Often the ejector rod is also cut off, since the user had no intention of reloading.

Jim

(Actually, most revolvers don't need an ejector rod - rapping the butt on a hard surface will eject the fired cases.)

JK

 

[badbot]

jAMES, I keep trying that with my ruger SA I never get more than 1 to come out

 

[reddog81]

A fairly common "treasure" found among turn-ins or confiscated guns is the revolver with they cylinder totally removed.
JK

I think you meant to say "barrel totally removed". LOL. It'd be hard accomplish much with the cylinder missing. I do wonder how much accuracy you'd get without a barrel... would that be considered a smooth-bore since there is no rifling in the throat?