Cutting barrel down?

[rodwha]

And then there are those officers out there that likely don't know that it doesn't apply to BP arms and may likely create an issue for you to deal with. Since BP tends to be more efficient with more barrel it seems a good idea to abide by those lengths anyway. And 16" of muzzleloader is still pretty short and handy.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Likely the only time or place it might come in to play is with a blunderbuss, or maybe a grenade launcher such as advertised by TRS. But then again, there are those scaled cannons too.

I've had LEO's question me on firearms before (he thought class 3 stuff was illegal in my state) and I made him make a call to the state office to check it out before he got the hand cuffs out. After that he was as nice as could be.

 

[bubba.50]

I cut a. Cheap smooth bore down to 18 inches it had shot good before and stayed that way. I didn't hunt with it, but it looked good with my Tandy dearskin mountiney man out fit. It was fun to shoot, but useless and I gave it to a friend.

That brings up an interesting point. Since in the eyes of the feds, BP firearms are not firearms, do the rules of 18" minimum barrel length for shotguns, and 16" for rifles apply? I tend to think not, but it could be that some states have their own rules that might.

Pedersoli sells a copy of the Confederate cavalry double-barrel shotgun with 12 inch barrels.

 

[Bill from NJ]

I am was thinking I'd like to try a shorter version of the cva Hawkins rifle , in 50 or 54 , I'd like to cut the barrel down to 18" to 20". Has anyone ever done this?

Where I live it is very tight and dense here in the woods.

Where most deer are shot within 25 yards or less.

I love using my short barrel rifles.
I use a Scout Carbine, and a very short 20" barrel T/C .56 cal SB.

If you want to shorten yours, please have a professional cut, crown, re-cut front sight dovetail, and re-fit your rifle barrel lugs.
it gets a little complicated and you can get in over your head in a hurry.

Then again you can always purchase a T/C White Mountain Carbine, or a T/C Scout Carbine.

There are plenty of options available.

Have some fun.

 

[nkbj]

I cut a. Cheap smooth bore down to 18 inches it had shot good before and stayed that way. I didn't hunt with it, but it looked good with my Tandy dearskin mountiney man out fit. It was fun to shoot, but useless and I gave it to a friend.

That brings up an interesting point. Since in the eyes of the feds, BP firearms are not firearms, do the rules of 18" minimum barrel length for shotguns, and 16" for rifles apply? I tend to think not, but it could be that some states have their own rules that might.

Pedersoli sells a copy of the Confederate cavalry double-barrel shotgun with 12 inch barrels.

What a "brush gun"!

 

[Walks with fire]

My TC Pa Hunter carbine .50 1/66 twist has a 21" barrel and it does fine with 80 grains of 2f out to about 50 yards. My .54 Lyman Deerstalker has a 24" barrel with 1/48 twist and it does about the same grouping with 90 grains of 3f at 50 yards. They are both pretty handy in the thick woods.

Cutting a longer existing barrel down to those sizes would require a good bit of work and expense that I couldn't justify. My personal favorite length for a barrel is around 28-30" for an all around ball shooter. For me they balance and point well and quick enough in the brush. I shoot them better off hand than the shorter length barrels and don't find that length less handy than a 24" barrel. I have a few GM drop-in's at the 32" length that are ok as well.

The barrels I have are all 15/16" so they are a bit lighter than a 1" barrel. A lot of the weight is really in the stock and it's design. A .54 at 28" with 80-100 grains is all the thump a gun needs inside 100 yards for the whitetail deer I hunt.

I know I will never purchase another barrel in the 26" or less again. I also have had much easier load development with 28" and longer barrels. It seems to me that just 4" of barrel makes a big difference. My 21-24" barrels have taken their fair share of deer though so don't think they won't get it done.

 

[boker]

Thanks for the info, I have really been met with a lot of negativity on other forums concerning cutting Down the hawkens barrel. I guess I'll leave it as is and look for another gun already with the shorter barrel.

 

[hanshi]

Probably a good idea, too. I had a .50 with a 24" barrel that I owned for nearly 27 years. I eventually used it as part of a trade (plus a little $). What I got was a little custom kid's rifle in .45 with a 25" barrel. The barrel is 15/16" and rather heavy. But since it's so short it has perfect balance; I use it for postal shoots and informal targets. It was built by Mike Lange and I just had to have one. Since I'm quite small, a kid's gun fits me just right. In fact, another custom I had built (.50) has an lop of 12.5" and I love it.