Shortening the barrel on a shotgun.

M

mellow_c

New member
I have a couple older shotguns, both of them I bought used, both of them have been refinished or modified by previous owners. I was thinking I would like to have the barrels on both of them shortened to just over 18 inches. I would like the beads on both of them to be re-used.

Does anyone know a reputable place I could have this done?

One is a Winchester 1897

The other is a Browsing A5 light

I don't expect any problems with function by shortening the A5 barrel. Would any of you suspect I might have a reason to be concerned about taking some length and weight off the barrel?

Thanks:)
 
When was the 1897 made ? That should be carefully checked . There are many that have seen better days.Especially check the safety !!
 
There are many reputable folks; just make sure you are using an actual gunsmith and not some "parts changer"
Mike Orlen is good, as are Carlson's, Trulock etc, if you are wanting it threaded for choke tubes.
 
When was the 1897 made ? That should be carefully checked . There are many that have seen better days.Especially check the safety !!
Click to expand...

By "safety" do you mean the half cock notch on the hammer?
 
The 1897 is perfectly functional and in pretty good shape! I thinking about leaving it alone.

The A5 has been reblued and had the butstock shortened by an inch or so. I'm thinking the are 3 ways I could go with it. Leave the barrel at 28.5" but add a really long magazine extension, like a +6 for a total of 10+1. Shorten the barrel to 18.5" and add a +2 magazine extension for 6+1 or shorten the barrel to just an inch longer than the stock mag tube and have myself an SBS.
 
I wouldn't butcher either one

If you want something tactical, just buy one and sell the others
It will be much easier
 
It's not so much that I want something tactical. I just like the look of the A5 in its military configuration. Even if I were to leave off a mag extension, the gun has a certain appeal and cool factor with the shorter 18" barrel, just look at some pictures of them and see what you think. Just about every a5 you run into has some sort of long barrel, I think it would be nice to have something different one way or another.
 
mellow c.... These 2 guns were projects.... They were really not useable til now.... The Winchester shotgun had a long full choke barrel and the buttplate was missing plus the stock was badly cracked.... I had the barrel cut down to 18.5 inches and put a new stock on it with a new decelerator pad.... The J.Stevens had a long barrel with tight chokes and a big dent..out toward the end of one of the barrels.... It also had an old cracked butt pad..from back in the day.... I had the barrels cut down to 18.5 inches and had a new decelerator pad installed.... I think they turned out pretty good....
They are actually pretty fun to shoot....
 

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No way I could do that to a gun, especially the Winchester. Buy a short barreled one, don't butcher an existing one.
 
Sniper. I was considering going that route.

Keg, those two look great!!

Jaguar. You make a good point. My Winchester is from 1909 I believe, and even though it's already been refinished, I'm not sure I could cut the barrel on it, although like I said, Keg's looks amazing with the 18.5"

My A5 is from 1956 if I remember. The longer barrel is really growing on me. So maybe I should buy an extra to cut down, although extra barrels are not cheap!!! I picked up the A5 for $475 out the door. It's been refinished, the stock has been cut about an inch shorter, it's in great mechanical shape, the friction system was set up correctly for light loads, and it's a Belgium.
 
Barrels shouldn't be TOO cheap; most cost half the price of the gun a they are half the gun to begin with.
 
In the good old days? When we lived in Toronto, I had a 870 Remington, with a full pistol grip stock, a 14" factory barrel! Fastest shotgun I ever owned!

Moved to Florida, barrel stayed in Canada. Looking back, I wouldn't have minded paying the SBS tax, except when I arrived, I had no status.

But now I do have a tricked out (folding Ace Stock) AK47, and a Steyr AUG.
And carry a Glock 19 every day! Love Florida.
 
Thank you guy's that butcher the older guns.

Now the guns that have not been altered or chopped are now worth more!!
Click to expand...
No way I could do that to a gun, especially the Winchester. Buy a short barreled one, don't butcher an existing one.
Click to expand...
The smartest way to do it would be to buy an extra barrel to cut, and keep the originals as they are
Click to expand...

This is hilarious....He said the guns had been refinished..so they are classified as shooters only..same with my 2....The last gun show I went to..there were about a dozen 97's..ranging from $400-$800.... I promise..the work done to mine did'nt make the price of any of these guns go up in price...haha... I do guarantee..that if I walked around the gun show..with it over my shoulder..it would get much more positive attention than if they were still in the condition I found them....(til now..there's been only positive feedback)

mellow c....thanks! Don't worry bout what a few say.... I think they they would be great projects....
 
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Seems you missed my point. On a typical new gun, the barrel is usually priced at a bout half of what the gun costs as it is half the gun to begin with; don't know why you found that to be so hilarious or necessitating a snarky condescending reply from you.
Have a nice day.............:rolleyes:
 
FITASC....sorry..that was not meant to be directed toward U sir.... I fixed it(wrong quote).... I agree with your statement....
 
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