how much can I hack off.....

[coosbaycreep]

of the barrel on my 12ga NEF Pardner? I know the legal limit for a rifle is 16", but I haven't seen any shotguns online anywhere that had a barrel length of less than 18", with the exception of the ones that require ATF stamps or whatever.

Also, are you allowed to cut part of the stock off if you want? Does a shotgun have to be a certain minimum length overall?

I'll probably keep the full stock regardless of the legalities, for functional purposes. I've already got a mossy 500 12ga PGO, and it's a real brute with buckshot and slugs. Since I don't shoot my old single shot as much anymore since I got the new 500, I figured I'd cut it down and put a sling on it and use it as a lightweight hiking gun that I'm not worried about getting banged up since they're so cheap.

What about the bead? It looks like it's just threaded. Can I unscrew it and drill and retap another hole after I cut the barrel down, and then just make sure it's flush with the inside of the barrel?

How much of a difference will this make in recoil? How much of a difference does it make in shot pattern? Is it even legal to cut the barrel shorter to begin with?

thanks

 

[PTK]

The 1934 NFA make it illegal to have a shotgun with a barrel less than 18" and/or less than 26" overall length. With a tax stamp, these no longer apply.

For the bead, you can just unscrew it, drill/tap a new hole, etc. The hard part is centering the bead on the barrel.

How much of a difference will this make in recoil? How much of a difference does it make in shot pattern? Is it even legal to cut the barrel shorter to begin with?

It depends, it depends, and generally yes.

 

[rcmodel]

18"+ for the barrel.
26"+ overall.

Don't cut it exactly to 18" & 26" in case your measuring device is .001" shorter then the ATF's!

Mark the center-line of the barrel for the new bead location before you cut off the old one.

rcmodel

 

[mnrivrat]

And just to remind you that the beas is a special thread size unlikely to be available at the local hardware store.
As well as what was already said which is 18 inch minimum barrel length measured from the rear of the chamber to the muzzle and 26 inch overall length of the weapon is required to meet legal standards without NFA paperwork.

 

[Sunray]

"...make in recoil..." Little, but the muzzle blast and noise will be a bit more.
"...in shot pattern?..." You'll be cutting off the choke so the pattern will expand. You'll have to shoot it after cutting to know how it patterns.
"...drill and retap another hole..." Yep. As mentioned getting the hole exactly top dead centre isn't easy though.
"...cut it down..." Use a pipe cutter. A hacksaw usually doesn't give a straight cut. The muzzle must be flat. A pipe cutter will be a great deal closer to flat.
"...part of the stock off..." The most useless thing on Earth is a shotgun with no stock.

 

[coosbaycreep]

excellent advice

I'm fixing to get off the 'puter and get to hacking. I'll post some pics as soon as I've bubba'd my cherished shotgun into the most hideous, useless, and unpleasant gun to shoot on the planet.

 

[rcmodel]

If you use a pipe cutter it will leave a swaged "rim" or heavy burr inside the barrel where the cutter wheel squeezes through the metal.
Then, you have to figure out how to get rid of that.
(Not to mention a pipe-cutter won't cut straight on a tapered shotgun barrel. It'll cut nice threads as it walks down the taper though.)

Best to wrap a wrap of masking tape straight around the barrel where you want it to end up, saw it off just a frog-hair past that, then dress it down square to the tape line with a fine-cut file.

rcmodel

 

[mek42]

If I was doing this myself, I'd add a 1/2" to the ATF measurements to leave room for error, chamfering, etc.

 

[rcmodel]

+1
Some cop may use his wifes old cloth sewing tape to measure it with!

rcmodel

 

[coosbaycreep]

I cut it just a hair over 18 3/4". I used a chop/cutoff saw with a thin grinding wheel, so I wanted to make sure I didn't cut too much.

The saw has a vise, so it came out pretty even. I used a flat file to file down the outside of the barrel, and a round file to grind off the burr on the inside.

I just put 4 shells through it; 1 3" #2 birdshot, 1 3" 00 buck, and 2 2 3/4" 00 buck. I was about 12 yards away, and this is the target I shot at all 4 times:



I aimed a little high each time, and one round of buckshot was still in the wad I think (the big hole on the center right), but it still seems tight enough to mess up someone's day at the kind of ranges it would be used at in self defense anyway.

Hopefully I'll get the chance to take it to a better spot to shoot next week and practice with it a little more and see how it patterns with birdshot.

For now, I don't think I'll even bother with trying to put a sight on it. It's still easy enough to hit someone center mass at close enough ranges for the spread of buckshot to be effective, and that's the main thing I was worried about.

I took the slip on recoil pad off of it too, which is the first time I've shot it without the pad in about 10 years. I had a death grip on it each time because I was seriously anticipating the recoil, and it honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be.

I was a kid when I got this gun, and I shot it twice from the shoulder with buckshot before I had had my fill. That memory's still fairly fresh in my mind, as I've always had a healthy respect for lightweight 12ga shotguns. The recoil pad will probably stay off, because it covers the part of the stock that I'll eventually install the swing stud at, but I'll still plink with it from time to time. I just won't be going through a couple of boxes at a time with it anymore.

It is much, much louder now. Before, I never used to wear earplugs while shooting this gun (I know I should anyway), and it didn't bother me. After the first shell my ears were ringing like a bastard though, so it'll be earplugs from here on out with it unless it's an emergency situation.

The way it handles now is excellent. It's like night and day compared to the stock length. Lopping 9 inches off the end of it turned it from being an awkward old grandpa gun, to an asskicking, not quite as useful, much cooler to look at and pretend to shoot gun. It reminds me of the gun Bruce Campbell uses in "Army of Darkness". It's my single barrel boomstick now.

How do you pull the rear stock off one of these? I think I'm going to paint the metal with some of that heavy duty flat black paint that they sell for painting barbecue grills. It would be easier to paint with the furniture off, but if it's a hassle, then I won't mess with it and just tape it off. These rust easy, the blueing on mine isn't great to begin with, and I don't want the end of the barrel where I cut it at to start rusting real bad.

I'll probably refinish the wood on it, or maybe get an aftermarket stock for it. It seems like midway or someone use to have a cheap stock for these. It was kinda stupid looking though, and as much as I like the tacticool mall ninja crap, even I would have some moral complications with having a single shot tactical shotgun.

My mossy has an 18 1/2 barrel, and after seeing how well my NEF handles, I might get a small stock for that one too so it's more useful.

 

[rcmodel]

Take the butt-plate off and look down the hole.

Should be a draw-bolt with some kind of head in there.
Might be slotted, or hex, or who knows.

rcmodel

 

[buck460XVR]

sounds like you did good......enjoy.

 

[icebones]

it would be pretty cool if you could saw and sand the stock into a pistol grip, and cut the barrel off to about 7''. but of corse that would be illegal... but it would make one handy anti-snake weapon.

and it would ruin a perfectly good hunting shotgun. still cool though, and i could imagine it would make some nasty recoil

 

[rcmodel]

A buddy of mine in High School did exactly that with an old Single-Shot 12 GA of his dads.

The first shot put the top-lever clear through the web of his hand between thumb & finger.

Far as I know, that sawed-off is still in the bottom of a creek east of town where he threw it when he got un-stuck from it!

Reported it as a "farm accident" when he checked into the emergancy room 20 miles away.

Turns out, they aren't near as "cool" as folks think they might be!

rcmodel

 

[PTK]

icebones

That's not illegal as long as the maker first obtains a $200 NFA tax stamp. I have two shotguns just like what you describe, one double barrel, one single shot.

 

[Bud Tugly]

I did exactly the sane thing to an H&R 12 gauge many years ago. It made for an excellent gun for hunting heavy brush. Kicked like a demon with high-brass shells, though.