UPDATE: Now that I have a +2 magazine extension, the sawing-off process would only save
maybe 6 inches, bringing the OAL to a mere 42 inches.
Almost makes me think I should just leave it as is so I don't lose the choke threads. Or should I switch to a folding stock?
Hmmm.
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How should I go about cutting a 28" barrel down to 18.5"? Measuring the length properly isn't an issue; I already have a dowel and yardstick.
But what about the actual cutting?
A pipe/tubing cutter? Hacksaw? Dremel?
Are these reasonable instructions?
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-164648.html
Here's my instructions on how to do a good at-home barrel cut:
Unload the gun, close the bolt, and insert a cleaning rod down the bore.
Make SURE you have the rod all the way down to the bolt face.
Use a marker to mark the rod even with the muzzle.
Remove the rod, and measure off a MINIMUM of 18 1/2 inches, which is the minimum Federal length.
Lay the rod on the barrel with the first mark even with the muzzle, then mark the barrel at the second mark. This is the cut line.
STOP.
Do the entire measuring process AT LEAST two or three more times to be 100% SURE you've got it done right.
Measure and cut too short and you've violated Federal law and ruined a barrel.
Wrap a piece of tape around the barrel BELOW the cut mark, or use a tubing cutter to score a line around the barrel.
The tape or cutter will give you a square cut line around the barrel.
Use a fine-tooth hacksaw to make two or three shallow cuts on the line.
Rotate the barrel and make several more.
Continue to make shallow cuts and rotate the barrel until you have a line cut all the way around the barrel.
Then, just continue making shallow cuts and rotating the barrel until it's cut all the way through.
This insures that you get a nice square cut, without the saw drifting off at an angle.
This greatly reduces the chances of the muzzle not being square and having to do a lot of filing to square it.
After the barrel is cut off, use a fine-cut file to lightly break the sharp outer edges of the muzzle.
Use fine sand cloth over the ball of your thumb to lightly break the sharp inner edges of the muzzle, and to remove the saw marks from the front edge.
Tough up with cold blue.
New front sights are a little more complicated, and are probably best left to a gunsmith who can drill and tap the barrel for a new bead.
For an inside the home, home defense gun, no front sight is really needed.
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Cross-platform
gun database/electronic bound book (v1.3.2) (and the
original thread).
«
nolite confidere in principibus, in filiis hominum quibus non est salus»