Anything stopping me from shortening a Kibler?

[Sparkitoff]

For what I want to do the Kibler Colonial is just too long. I have it in kit form. Anything that I need to know before shortening the barrel and stock to my liking (somewhere in the mid to upper 30-in range.

 

[JBird]

A bit shorter than what your planning but here is a "Canoe" Colonial It's not a canoe gun......it's a Kibler Colonial, kinda.

 

[ord sgt]

I had a barrel shortened for my last project. But, I had the work done by a professional machinist. He cut the barrel at the breech and rethreaded the barrel for the breech plug, which was also fitted by the same person. 42" barrel, cut back to 32", to save weight for a half stock build.

 

[bubba.50]

You.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
No reason not to shorten it. Just remember the locations of barrel lugs and ramrod pipes are already determined so you have to consider that if you shorten the barrel. Moreover, you may not be able to move the rear pipe back to give the gun with shorter barrel good proportions. You also need to flatten and crown the muzzle.

dave

 

[Siringo]

All Kibler barrels are swamped.

 

[William Lincoln]

Wouldn't it be better to sell or trade it? Or consult with Kibler about what you want.
Maybe get a carbine type or shorter barrel purpose made for your project?

 

[necchi]

For what I want to do the Kibler Colonial is just too long. I have it in kit form. Anything that I need to know before shortening the barrel and stock to my liking (somewhere in the mid to upper 30-in range.

It's your "kit", do what you want. It's actually that simple.
I wouldn't recommend a hack saw,,
But I am looking foreword to future "Modified Kimbler kit" posts,,
Good luck friend,

 

[tenngun]

Oh humanity!!!!!
Ok, at the risk of being driven from camp beaten with ramrods I would point out a little positive about this idea( you can see the Devil smile at the thought) guns were shortened in the old days and they didn’t reset the ramrod pipes. There is no reason your altered gun shouldn’t look altered.
I might suggest Sitting Fox to provide you with a kit in your crime against nature. SF is not as finished off as well as Kibler but provides good quality parts.
Pecotonic and Track of the wolf can also provide you with parts.

 

[Vaino]

Personally, I like the longer bbled rifles...after all, they are called "long rifles". But, as said previously, it's your gun so do whatever you will. A beautiful LR that after the bbl is shortened, will always look "sawed off". Why not buy another, shorter bbled gun?.....Fred

 

[Loyalist Dave]

For what I want to do the Kibler Colonial is just too long. I have it in kit form. Anything that I need to know before shortening the barrel and stock to my liking (somewhere in the mid to upper 30-in range.

Sure, for one, you're going to need to be very precise and get a 90° angle on the barrel at the muzzle, and they are swamped barrels.
Then you're going to need to find a front sight post tall enough to compensate for the fact that you're now mounting that front sight lower in relation to the rear sight due to the swamping.
Plus, shortening that much means you may be getting into problems with having a thick enough barrel to dovetail the front sight, or you're going to need to solder it. Each of the above is not impossible to do, but more of a pain than getting a kit intended to be that small. However, your building skill and experience may be such that none of the above is more than a simple problem to be solved.

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

Sure, for one, you're going to need to be very precise and get a 90° angle on the barrel at the muzzle, and they are swamped barrels.
Then you're going to need to find a front sight post tall enough to compensate for the fact that you're now mounting that front sight lower in relation to the rear sight due to the swamping.
Plus, shortening that much means you may be getting into problems with having a thick enough barrel to dovetail the front sight, or you're going to need to solder it. Each of the above is not impossible to do, but more of a pain than getting a kit intended to be that small. However, your building skill and experience may be such that none of the above is more than a simple problem to be solved.

LD

Yep. Worth repeating. Plus, read Dave Person response. That swamped barrel will make the final result problematic. Proceed with caution.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Start chopping! It’s just a thousand dollar kit gun that can be made into something else.

 

[Elkhorse]

My only recommendation is don't cut it off with a coal chisel and a hammer.

 

[stikshooter]

For what I want to do the Kibler Colonial is just too long. I have it in kit form. Anything that I need to know before shortening the barrel and stock to my liking (somewhere in the mid to upper 30-in range.

YUP common sense !!!/Ed

 

[user 34300]

The barrel is swamped. The barrel wall at the muzzle will be very thin. This may make dove tailing the front sight a problem . The front sight wil have to be very tall to zero it. The balance will be messed up. The entry pipe will be to far foreword to look right with the shorter barrel. It will definitely look goofie. Doing that to a $1200 kit that finishes into a a rifle worth a lot more would be a pity. You'd half the value, at least. I would not do it. The Colonial is a big rifle, it is supposed to be. It is pretty perfect as is.

IF you are after a lightweight rifle with amazing balance get a KIbler SMR in 45 cal. The new version is 44" barrel vs 46" for the older one. The 2" makes a big difference.

IF you want a shorter barrel rifle consider something else?

 

[Flintandsteel]

Just remember, for every inch you remove, you also remove about $100 in value.
of course, it can be done, but it sure seems like a waste of a really nicely designed rifle.
Sell it, and buy a Hawken or similar.