Home Depot cart a Mossberg 500 barrel cut job?

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wild cat mccane

New member
Hi,

Could I get some help getting the right tools from someone knowledgeable with cutting a shotgun barrel? I will be cutting a Mossberg 500 28" VR barrel to 20" or shorter depending on where the rib support lands. The 20" VR Mossberg barrel is their most expensive replacement barrel (168 at buds) and has ports-yuck. My 28" doesn't excite me and I have two.

What I think I need from Home Depot or Amazon Prime...
-deburring tool? (http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-Deburring-Tool-HDX090/204218603)
-small tooth hacksaw blade...which one?
-file to smooth and square the hacksaw cut...which set?
-masking tape for protection and cutting straight line (good there)
-bluing from amazon? (https://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Ca...F8&qid=1499344257&sr=8-3&keywords=cold+bluing)

I also have a chop saw.

Any help or other such advice? Thanks!
 
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Do yourself a favor and take it to a gunsmith and have it done correctly. I can't imagine it costing more than a couple hours of labor.
 
Bear in mind that not all shotgun barrels are perfectly straight, especially for the entire length.
As long as the muzzle end lines up with the chamber, some manufacturers are happy.
The one barrel I shortened didn't shoot nearly as well as it did before.
While the muzzle for a shotgun isn't as important as for a rifle, it still matters.
The pattern can be quite different after being cut down.
Just a thought.
 
I would get it professionally done. I just had a bbl cut down by a gunsmith and it was a top job, $45 is all to have it done RIGHT and not be in terrible straits if you screw the pooch on it.
 
Issue is the rib. Not all of 'em are metal or connected to the barrel over the whole length. Otherwise, they have to be cut at one of the 'joints'. Preferably right at the end of one. Gives you more material to drill and tap for a bead sight.
Mind you, if you know where the thing shoots after being cut, you don't need a sight. Shot my plain 870 for years without sights after cutting it to 18.375. (Plain barrels are cut with a pipe cutter.) Sat the target on the curve of the muzzle and fired.
A mitre saw with an abrasive wheel will do nicely. Assuming you can hold the barrel securely for the cut. No hacksaws, they don't cut square. Even in a mitre box. Filing a barrel square is possible if you have the experience, but avoid that at all costs. Deburr with a fine round file. Any cold bluing will do.
18" is the minimum barrel length with an OAL of 26". Any shorter and you're making an evil SBS.
However, Cabela's will be happy to sell you an 18.5" slug barrel made for an M500 for $109.99. Cutting a 28" barrel will result in a cylinder bore anyway.
$205.99 for a 20" ribbed, changeable choke, barrel from Midway. Currently on Back Order though. Expected 26 July.
 
(Plain barrels are cut with a pipe cutter.)
Click to expand...

No, they aren't as this will cause the muzzle diameter to decrease resulting in a choke that may be too tight..

Personally, I agree with the others to have a smith do it - by the time you buy the stuff, you could already have it done by your smith AND - if he screws it up, you get anew barrel on him.......And if you want something more than C, you'll need to have it threaded to accept choke tubes.
 
By the time you buy all the tools you need and the bluing or whatever and replace the front sight, a Smith would be less expensive. I suspect?
 
Before you Chop

Before you chop'em off, look at the following options:

Bud's Gun Shop - Mossberg#90015 18.5 inch plain barrel cyl choke blue $88.00

CDNN Sports - Mossberg Barrel - TARMOS1 20 inch barrel w/ chokes $69.00
This barrel takes the old style Win / H&R style choke, which I believe is the same as the current chokes in your Mossberg.

I bought the Mossberg barrel from Buds a few years ago wanting a more compact shotgun.

I have never put the 28" barrel back on my shotgun.
 
I already have the 18" barrel-I bought the wood field/security 500.

However, I want a vent rib on the shorter barrel. Getting a VR shorter barrel is simply ridiculous. A brand new Mossberg Maverick 88 combo (12 gauge with 18 and 28 inch barrels) currently costs a few dollars more than a factory Mossberg 20" barrel with vent ribs-barrel alone. Materials to cut should be under 25 dollars total. Looking online, the 18" and 28" are the cheapest Mossberg barrels. If I screw up the 28", no big loss. I can basically screw up two 28" barrels before hitting the cost of a factory 20" VR.

I see no one will bite and tell me what hacksaw blade to look for...

I am mechanically inclined. In my online searching, people seem to be concerned with getting a good/new hacksaw blade.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...ducts_id/46296/Mossberg+500XBL+12g+20"+VR+ACC
 
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The CDNN barrel is China made (TARMOS1) and doesn't have the vent rib.

Nothing wrong with the China made, just can't confirm gloss, quality, match, etc.
 
people seem to be concerned with getting a good/new hacksaw blade.
Click to expand...
That is a given; fine teeth

The issue is is that the barrel is tapered so you need some form of jig to hold it properly to actually get a square cut
 
As the barrel is tapered, would it work to place the barrel "upside down" on the vent rib? Isn't the vent rib essentially a level plane?

Thank you
 
If you are going to cut, at least use some type of tape or marking to try to get

a semi-straight edge. I would use a good hacksaw with a good fine tooth

blade as FITASC recommended. Go as close to the nearest support on the rib

and start the cut there. Finish the cut area with a file and square the new

muzzle as best you can. Finish up with fine grit sandpaper. Touch up with a

gun blue pen.

You will still have a cylinder choke, if that suits your needs.

I have no other words of wisdom. :)
 
FITASC said:
That is a given; fine teeth

The issue is is that the barrel is tapered so you need some form of jig to hold it properly to actually get a square cut
Click to expand...
No matter how fine the teeth on a saw or whatever jig can be made, using a saw will never make a square edge. He'd be better off using the saw and making it a bit big and squaring up the muzzle with a large file.
 
This ain't rocket science. I've done several. Cut with hacksaw. Use square and file to get things square. It is a 10 minute job start to finish the 1st time you do it. About 5 minutes after you've done one.
 
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