- I was inspired to ask this question after watching this scene from the movie No Country for Old Men.
- While I can under l stand filing the outside of the end of the shotgun barrel in order to even and smooth it out after sawing it, I don’t understand why you would need to file the inside of the barrel as well.
That looks a lot like my takedown '97. Mine came with that shorter barrel; it is marked full, but the 41-42 serial number seems to indicate Winchester whacked a bunch of hunting barrels down to riot length. These were issued to domestic security people, at mills and factories. Back then, they apparently trusted security people to be armed.
My H&R Topper is 19”.JMO- the last one I did I left at 20"
so there wasn't any room for argument
if a LEO checking me was having a
bad day for whatever reason.
Anywhere close to 18" just makes
for a point of dispute with a surly
official
I've found that a taller front sight or
bead is needed for any serious use.
The last one I silver soldered a ramp
from Brownell's that was perfectly
suitable
Wouldn't do any less than that anymoreMy H&R Topper is 19”.
It has a bead front sight, but doesn’t show in the photo.
any shotgun barrel under 18" is illegal unless registered as a NFA item.
Black powder shoguns/muzzleloaders are exempt.
10 gauge? Ouch! I couldn’t imagine swinging a long-barreled 10 gauge after a fast crossing duck, that would be like trying to swing a brass foot rail from a bar after one.Just handled an H&R 10 gauge goose gun, with a 3' barrel; weighed a ton.
I've whacked a couple other H&Rs; made sure they had 18" barrels. I seem to recall using a pipe cutter to scribe for the cut, and then used a hacksaw to actually make the cut. Cleaned up the cut with a fine file and sandpaper.
Whacking that goose gun to 18" would have made a real alley cleaner!
Moon
I cut an old Iver Johnson back in the 70s as a grouse gun. I used a pipe cutter that I borrowed from my buddy’s grandfather. I cut it at 20” and left the inner ring effect. Two shots later I saw the crack starting so I hack sawed it to 18.5 sanded out the inner roughness and it was fine. Lesson learned even at age 16…….I cut off the barrel a Winchester model 97 12 Ga. The action is warn pretty bad and I didn't want it to get embedded in my forehead.
I used a hacksaw and filed the inside and outside just because I didn't like the burr that was left.
Then I had to modify the stock and make a 1/4-24 bolt to mount the short stock to the frame. Perhaps fine thread/course thread wasn't a standard in 1897.
It's no more destructive than any other shotgun. It is done mainly to have a shorter, more compact gun. You do remove any choke and will get wider patterns. Those wider patterns make hits up close easier but will also reduce effective range unless you thread it to use choke tubes.
If someone has a hunting shotgun laying around with a 26"-30" they aren't using and they want a more compact SD gun this is a cheap and viable option.