Shortening 870 vent rib barrel.

B

BrianF-Jax

New member
Got a remington 870 supermag (3 1/2") 12 gauge, with a 26" vent-rib barrel.

I'd like to shorten the barrel for home defense use, it will be the guns only duty.

I'd really like to do this at home -- is this something an amateur like myself can do? Whats the best way to go about it? Tips? Send it to a pro?

Thanks!

-Brian
 
Just a few tips:

1) don't go below 18.5". Most home defense shotguns I've seen have 18.5" barrels (even though GCA '68 lets you have 18" barrels) because it gives it would be horrible to go to prison for an error of 0.001".

2) *supposedly* the way the barrel length is measured by the BATF is by sticking a wooden dowel down the barrel and measuring the dowel. I'd suggest contacting the BATF, in writing, for details before doing any cutting.
 
Brian, cut at the front of the rib support closest to the desired length. The only concern is getting the muzzle square. Brownells sells a tool just for that but you can do it by hand with a file. The problem there is that if you start with a legal (measured from the closed bolt face to the muzzle)length barrel and start filing you can quickly become illegal. George
 
Looks like brownell's tool will cost me a good $60 for something I'll probably never use again. I think I'll take my chances with the file. I guess the best thing to do is get it as square as possible from the get-go.

Anyone have a factory 18.5" barrel for an 870 they can take off and measure end-to-end? If I don't go smaller than that I'll be ok legally...

Thanks,

-Brian
 
Cutting the barrel

Lets say i have a muzzle facing device to square the muzzle. What would you cut the barrel with in the first place?
At home, i mean.
thx,
Carl
 
If you have a hacksaw and a miter box, you can do this. The miter boxes are dirt cheap... under $10 here at the hardware store. Make sure the hacksaw is sharp and hold the barrel tight. This will give you a square cut.

As for the filing, I'd suggest you go very carefully and only remove to the bottom of the hacksaw cuts. Take a fine round file and remove any burrs on the inside and outside of the barrel. Careful here. Finish by taking the barrel and rolling it between your palms with the barrel burried against some sandpaper on the floor. Make sure the sandpaper doesn't roll around and scratch the sides of the barrel. This will remove small burrs and leave a fairly square muzzle. Good enough for shotgun work.

As for the rib, it would depend on the type of rib you have on the gun.

That all being said, if you aren't fairly good at metal working, you might just want to take it to a competent gunsmith. Going rates should run about $40 for the cut and crown and perhaps $10 for the beat mounting... That's $40 to $70 bucks for the job depending on how much your particular gunsmith charges. The best part about using a gunsmith is that if they mess it up, you can recover your invested money.
 
Navaho: factory 18" barrels are 18" from closed breech. This _IS_ how it is measured.

I recommend 19". No question that way, and an inch won't get in the way. Actually, mine's 20" and holds an 8th round that way.

My method: hacksaw, mitrebox, light filing, buffing wheel to smooth outside of cut, fine chainsaw file on inside, then use buffing wheel against the concave to crown it. Works great.
 
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