Cut down barrel - need to 'crown' it ?

[RH]

If I cut down my barrel from 27" down to about 20", for home defense and maybe some clays once in a while, do I need to have it crowned ? Other than looking better, what effect will it have on performance with bird/buck/slug ? Local gunshop will do the whole job for $30, which is probably money well spent, I'm just wondering what it gets me that 15 minutes with a hacksaw won't.

 

[Al Thompson]

Hi RH,

Keeping the cut at a right angle to the bore line is pretty critical. Much deviation will cause the shot cup to tip on it's way out. Probably result in a more open or patchy pattern. With slugs you may see some poorer grouping than would be the norm.

Buddy of mine did a good job on his, but he took longer than 15 minutes.

Does the gunshop include a new front sight?

Giz

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"Hear the voices in my head, swear to God it sounds like
they're snoring." -Harvey Danger, "Flagpole Sitta

 

[RH]

It's a bead on a vent rib right now, I'm sure for a few extra bucks he could tap a hole and move the bead back. As discussed in another thread, I'm toying with the idea of one of those "glo-tube" type front sights, which is a DIY job. This particular gun is an old High Standard, with an adjustable choke. I'm wondering if a smith could reinstall that choke on the shortened barrel. Really give me the best of both worlds - an agile home gun that can be choked if need be for sporting puposes. Maybe I'll ask the Smithy forum if this is possible.