Single shot truck gun project

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Kingcreek

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I've got an old "Hercules" Montgomery ward mfg by Stevens 12g single
No cracks, no rust, no bluing and no front sight. Kicks like a mule due to stock angle and hard butt plate. I've kept it around because I figured it was worth 50-75 bucks in a private sale or gun buy back but it's been taking up space for 2 long.
I got to thinking about:
1.Cutting the barrel to about 20"
2.Bead blasting and parkerising or some kind of durable rattle can coating- whatever is cheapest.
3.adding a front sight, recoil pad, and sling mounts (front should be a barrel band vs fore stock)
I could do everything but parkerising myself.
How cheap could this be done?
Start down this road or just sell and be rid of it? I don't have a real need for it, just playing around with it.
 
Mac66 will be along here any minute now to show you how it's done...
 
If you will get enjoyment out of the project, go for it. Otherwise, you are taking a $75 gun, putting $100 into it, and still having a $75 gun when you are done. Keep in mind that shortening the barrel will reduce the weight, making the recoil even worse. The shape of the stock, and the light weight having more influence on the perceived recoil than the lack of a pad.
If you sell the gun, and save the money you were going to put in it, you are 2/3 of the way to a new Mossberg 500 or Remington 870.
 
Prep it good and spray it with some decent rattle can paint. Cut 1-2" off of the stock and put a $15 rubber recoil pad on it. Cut the barrel, properly. I personally wouldnt even worry about a sling. you can get a 50ft piece of paracord at Wal Mart for about $3, keep it spooled up in your truck and if a sling ever becomes necessary it's easy to fashion a quick one. I wouldnt worry much about a sight either since it'll have a short barrel and no choke, it won't be a real precision gun at that point. It'll still be worth money if you ever want to take it to a gun "buy back" but it may have possible use to you until then.

Like rule303 said, there's no point in putting much money into it. I can find NIB 18" barreled shotguns for under $250, all day everyday. For another $30 I could throw a folding stock on it and have a compact truck gun. If you stick with rattle can paint, a cheap rubber butt pad, and para cord, you're only into it for about $30, if that. And you CAN get a durable, decent looking finish with spray paint if you prep the metal properly..... at least good enough for a truck gun.
 
If it is what you've got, what you want to do and can live with the results...go for it. Life is too short for second guessing. Seems you've thought it over. Not like you're cutting down a model 21 Pigeon grade.
 
Did someone call my name? :D

I have a couple single shotguns I use as truck guns. Mine is a H&R but anything will do.

I cut the barrel to 18.25", Throw on a clamp on fiber optic front sight (Truglo), add sling studs, and a stock pouch to hold ammo and am good to go. That front sight is $12-15, a cheap nylon sling with swivels is $10-15, studs are $6-10

If I had a beater gun with bad finish I would spray it with Duracoat Engine paint which I have done with a couple old beater shotguns. Duracoat actually makes a gun enamel kit but the engine paint is ceramic, can be baked on or not and once cured is very tough. It is also about $6/can. Just paint the whole thing. Add $6-7 for the paint.

My suggestion for the stock is if you add a recoil pad cut the stock down equal to the width of the pad so it will be at least the same length with the pad as it was without. Personally I cut most of my compact guns two inches shorter then add a 1" thick pad which makes the OAL 1" shorter. Too short is better than too long. Recoil pad, not sure where you can get a $15 one as someone suggested, maybe off of ebay but a Limbsaver or Pachmayr grind to fit one will cost you $30 minimum.

So here is my truck gun...The nice thing about the H&R is you can buy other barrels for it.

100_9938_zps3a7776ee.jpg


105_9678_zpse73abf85.jpg
 
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Dura coat???why use something so expensive. Truck bed liner. $7 at Walmart will do 4-6 guns. Gives good grip and is very durable. I did just such with a beater savage 410 that came home with me for $10 with...
#1 No trigger guard. Used a galvanized pipe clamp-$2
#2 broken buttstock- cut it off and drilled a 1" hole parallel to bore, did same on a block of 2x4 and connected one to the other with a 1" dowel rod. Perfect fit to shoulder. Pulls apart easily and stores like no other. Scrap lumber, dowel was $2
#3 a bent barrel. Used a hacksaw to cut it, then a pipe cutter with a dull blade to choke it to improved cylinder-ish. Had saw and pipe cutter. Free.
Total investment was $14 to get it functional including purchase price.

Then truck bed liner was leftover from touching up my bed liner. It then got a para cord sling which was $10 worth of material, sling mount screws and kwickee sling mounts. Had I bought those bits about $15 but I had them as leftovers from other projects. So, my total investment was 24 bucks. A guy came to me at the range one day and asked about it. He took it home for $125. I miss it and want another. I keep passing up 12 and 20ga waiting for a 410. I will dig for a pic but I think they would be on an old phone.
 
Mac, knew you'd be along. I liked your setup so much, I decided to do the same to my Springfield Model1929 20 gauge over this past holiday.

20gaugespringfield1.jpg

(my pic is not nearly as good - was a terribly sunny day, especially with all the snow and reflections)

This was the first gun Dad ever bought me when I was about 11 or 12 - cost, $45 from the local flea market. It came with the 20" barrel already.

Slip-on butt pad - probably less than $10 (honestly don't remember)
Tru-Glo snap-on fiber optic sight - $12.99 from Bass Pro
repro GI 1" sling - $13 from Amazon
barrel sling swivels - $15 from Amazon
stock ammo pouch - $14 from Amazon

so, about $65 give or take for the add-ons. I like it though. Wish I could find additional barrels for mine. A 9mm or .22 insert would be fun.
 
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Please educate me. Is truck gun an expression with another meaning which eludes me, or is it just a gun to leave in a truck in case you need it? In any case, what would be the common characteristics of such guns? Size seems to be of importance as most seem to prefer them smaller, rust resistance also, for obvious reasons, and a low price too. Am I missing anything? Is there a reason for shotgun preference over rifle or handgun for instance? Thank you gents.
 
Got a Wards Hercules 12g myself. Apparently my wife's grandfather traded it to my dad before I was born for $3 and some scrap iron.

There was a bulge at 20" so I cut it to 19 and reinstalled the bead. The metal sports a high dollar finish I call Rustoleum satin black. The butt cuff is full of 00 and it'll make an 8" pattern at 7 paces. The stock is so short I just shoot it from the hip. Someday I need to install a recoil pad.
 
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Please educate me. Is truck gun an expression with another meaning which eludes me, or is it just a gun to leave in a truck in case you need it? In any case, what would be the common characteristics of such guns? Size seems to be of importance as most seem to prefer them smaller, rust resistance also, for obvious reasons, and a low price too. Am I missing anything? Is there a reason for shotgun preference over rifle or handgun for instance? Thank you gents.
__________________
I like deer, it beats paper every time.
Click to expand...

You figured out "truck gun" pretty much dead on. For most, it is exactly as you describe, a cheap, small gun you have no emotional attachment to that can take a serious thrashing and still work. Some people use handgun, others small rifles. Most use shotguns for their versatility. Basically people look at it as a cheap insurance policy. If you get stuck in the backcountry and it takes 3 days to walk out, what is it that you can have and be reasonably sure you can defend yourself from the big predators in the area and put food in your belly. This means you are relying on it as a last ditch effort. Consider you will be carrying it, and using it so you need a handful of ammo and it needs to work when you need it.

I personally go for 410 because ammo is small, light, and doesn't destroy meat. Before I built my 410 I used a single shot wards 22 mag with iron sights and a homemade folding buttstock. My next will be a 17hmr, probably a cricket or rascal if I can find one in 17hmr. It is easy to build a good survival type stock for it to shrink the gun further than it already is.
 
Thanks! I'm going to do it but I'm going to keep it cheap.
I think I have a can of flat black stove paint might be ceramic? We bought a new fireplace insert that had a scuff and the manufacturer supplied us with a can. I might give it a shot of that after cutting the barrel, add a front sight and a recoil pad and call it done!
 
mac66 you are a genius that gun is awsome looking are those other 2 barrels shotgun barrels or rifle i have that same gun and kinda want a 45-70 barrel for it but dont know if i can do it
 
cammogunner
"mac66 you are a genius that gun is awsome looking are those other 2 barrels shotgun barrels or rifle i have that same gun and kinda want a 45-70 barrel for it but dont know if i can do it"

I bought that gun at a garage sale. It had a 12 ga bbl. It is shown with the 20 ga bbl I bought off of ebay. I cut both barrels to 18" The other shorter barrel below it is a 357 mag bbl I picked up from a friend. He got it from a guy who cut it down too short. My friend welded a cut down AR flash suppressor on it to bring back up to legal length and added the sights.

The old case hardened frame shotgun frames are cast iron. They will take handgun caliber and low pressure rifle caliber barrels. The 45-70 is a low pressure round as are 30-30, 35 Rem, 444 Marlin etc.

So a 45-70 bbl would work but you would have to fit it to your frame which is not too hard. You would also have to buy it used since H&R will not sell or fit any rifle bbls for the cast iron frames.
 
WestKentucky said:
You figured out "truck gun" pretty much dead on. For most, it is exactly as you describe, a cheap, small gun you have no emotional attachment to that can take a serious thrashing and still work. Some people use handgun, others small rifles. Most use shotguns for their versatility. Basically people look at it as a cheap insurance policy. If you get stuck in the backcountry and it takes 3 days to walk out, what is it that you can have and be reasonably sure you can defend yourself from the big predators in the area and put food in your belly. This means you are relying on it as a last ditch effort. Consider you will be carrying it, and using it so you need a handful of ammo and it needs to work when you need it.

I personally go for 410 because ammo is small, light, and doesn't destroy meat. Before I built my 410 I used a single shot wards 22 mag with iron sights and a homemade folding buttstock. My next will be a 17hmr, probably a cricket or rascal if I can find one in 17hmr. It is easy to build a good survival type stock for it to shrink the gun further than it already is.
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Thank you very much for clarifying this for me. Your explanation makes a lot of sense.
 
I think one of the advantages of a single shot truck gun is that there are a lot of single shot guns around at decent prices. Not too many people use single shots anymore, particularly with long barrels. Most people look at old single shot guns with long barrels as obsolete. Making them into a "truck gun" or whatever you want to call it is a way to re-purpose the gun and get some use out of it without spending much money.

Cut it down, paint it or refinish it, add some accessories and pretty soon that old obsolete gun is kind of cool again.
 
I think one of the advantages of a single shot truck gun is that there are a lot of single shot guns around at decent prices. Not too many people use single shots anymore, particularly with long barrels. Most people look at old single shot guns with long barrels as obsolete. Making them into a "truck gun" or whatever you want to call it is a way to re-purpose the gun and get some use out of it without spending much money.
Click to expand...

Well, I have a Wards/Hercules 16 gauge with 30" barrel full choked. Too much sentimental value (Uncle gave it to me about 1968 to hunt geese with) to chop it up and I have other truck guns that I didn't have to chop up. But, a pawn shop project makes ultimate sense if there's a need for such or even if there isn't as the guns are usually under 100 bucks. Even new ones ain't much more.

As for being unpopular, not too sure about that. I don't see many in the field, for sure, but there are outfits that sell tons of single shots. H&R is still going strong. There's the Baikals and the Rossis. They're all good guns. Single shots are so simple, they're hard to screw up. :D I hunt geese now days with a 24" barrel interchangeable choke H&R 10 gauge. I do get some comments, generally positive, from goose guides. :D
 
For an ultra inexpensive recoil pad check out el-cheapo flip flops. They sell for $2-$3 a pair (Wal-Mart, Dollar stores, etc.). They are ~1/4" thick and easily stacked/glued to get the thickness you want. Easy to shape with sandpaper.
 
You guys have inspired me. I'm heading to the LGS tomorrow to see if I can find an old beat up single shot shotgun to cut down and rebuild for a project.
 
Slug guns have had a transformation into more rifle-like fully rifled, optics-ready, devoted deer guns.
You can now find the old-school slug barrels for 870s 1100s and others for cheap. The ones I'm thinking of are already short, with factory rifle sights. Some are even smoothbores designed for Foster style slugs.
 
Not all 'truck guns' need to be a single shot. I use a single shot 20 gauge as my yard gun, blasting various semi-subterranean critters, but my truck gun is a Remington Sportsman 48 12 gauge with the plug removed. 28" barrel with poly choke, fits perfectly behind the bench seat of my old Dakota.
 
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