Diy shotgun

[Seanriley]

Hi all , I am wondering if I can take a 50 barrel and have it turned to make it a 12 gauge. I have always wanted a muzzle loader 12 gauge. But the prices are more than I can spend or want to spend for what it is!

 

[sheriff john]

Probably. Depends on what barrel you start with and how much you wish to spend.

 

[russellshaffer]

If you look around there are some barrels available. Not from muzzleloaders, but you can cut off the chamber end and fit a breechplug. I found a 12 gage barrel blank a while back and built a matchlock. Look at places that sell parts for more modern guns.

 

[Sam squanch]

Keep looking on the interweb, a few come up for sale reasonably priced, but you got to act fast!

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

How BIG across the flats (ATF) is your existing barrel? I know Bobby Hoyt will rifle a TC 1” ATF 56-cal smoothbore to be a 58-cal rifle.

He might be able ream one smooth to be a 20-gauge (62-cal), which is a superb all-around shotgun bore.

 

[necchi]

I am wondering if I can take a 50 barrel and have it turned to make it a 12 gauge.

A 50 cal from what barrel/maker?
A 15/16 50 cal "rifle" to 12ga? Nope.
A 1", 50 cal "rifle" to 12ga? Never seen one. they may have been done.
Truth is,, it's about what your starting with. The biggest problem is the depth of factory holes drilled for sights and underlugs.
At issue is the safety factor of wall thickness.
1" 12ga exist. But they don't have sight mount holes drilled .125 deep. That is why they are rare.

 

[IronHand]

Www.gunpartscorp.com usually has a good selection of barrels that can be modified. I once built a 10 gauge BP trap gun with a Marlin barrel I got from them.

IronHand

 

[Rob M.]

There are a bunch of shotgun barrels floating around out there ! Used and new , old , unused barrels ... Not tryin to sound like a smart @$$ but .... If you have the skills or have a friend with skills lls to help ya , SURE ! You can get ya a barrel and a chunk of wood and a lock and make ya a shotgun , I love doin it . You can get a good short barrel 26" for about $30 bucks but ... Stock , 50 to free , lock 200-300 ( flint) , breech plug 15 ... you can do it but ain't easy if its yer first one ... Not impossible though !! My N.W. trade guns , number 3,4,5 were made with inexpensive short 100 yr. old Belgium barrels ...see if I can find pics . Ah !! Found em !! One I'm shooting was my third flintlock I built . Short 20 ga. N.W. gun ... I had $190 in it , what the lock and barrel cost me , made everything else ... Fun little versatile guns smoothbores are

 

[Seanriley]

A 50 cal from what barrel/maker?
A 15/16 50 cal "rifle" to 12ga? Nope.
A 1", 50 cal "rifle" to 12ga? Never seen one. they may have been done.
Truth is,, it's about what your starting with. The biggest problem is the depth of factory holes drilled for sights and underlugs.
At issue is the safety factor of wall thickness.
1" 12ga exist. But they don't have sight mount holes drilled .125 deep. That is why they are rare.

Awesome info! Thank you very much for your time and help. In all honesty aside from the learning aspect of it I would be better buying a store bought one! They are spendy and aren't exactly what I want that is why the inquiry.

 

[centershot]

Bobby Hoyt bored out an old Renegade barrel (1" ATF) for me to .58 caliber smoothbore (24 gauge). He told me he had bored them as big as .62 caliber (20 ga.) depending on the depth of the screw holes and dovetails, as necchi had mentioned above. A 12 ga. bore is .732", measure the diameter of your barrel and the depth of any screw holes and dovetails. Remember, screw hole and dovetail depth TIMES TWO, and subtract from the barrel diameter. I'm thinking if it's a it's a .50 caliber, it'll be too small for a 12 ga. barrel.

 

[Seanriley]

Bobby Hoyt bored out an old Renegade barrel (1" ATF) for me to .58 caliber smoothbore (24 gauge). He told me he had bored them as big as .62 caliber (20 ga.) depending on the depth of the screw holes and dovetails, as necchi had mentioned above. A 12 ga. bore is .732", measure the diameter of your barrel and the depth of any screw holes and dovetails. Remember, screw hole and dovetail depth TIMES TWO, and subtract from the barrel diameter. I'm thinking if it's a it's a .50 caliber, it'll be too small for a 12 ga. barrel.

That's what I was thinking after I read the first reply. A 50to 20 would be doable. Heavy. Muzzle loader shotgun barrels start around what I saw 300 and up. Other vendors or options are appreciated. Thank you for your replies.

 

[54ball]

Hi all , I am wondering if I can take a 50 barrel and have it turned to make it a 12 gauge. I have always wanted a muzzle loader 12 gauge. But the prices are more than I can spend or want to spend for what it is!

The solution is easy but you won’t like it.
Save your money or sell stuff and get a real 12 gauge shotgun, Fowler....whatever.

There’s no free pass unless a rich uncle kicks the bucket.

You’ll wind up spending more money and wasting more time trying to convert a so-so rifle into a miserable shotgun.

I see this a lot in lot of things. People want something but they don’t want to pay.
A bored out TC will never be a fine fowling gun or double barrel. It just won’t.

Example....

A 1960 Falcon will never be a 57 Chevy.

If you like Falcons, that’s OK....

But I know a fellow who always wanted a 57 so he fixed up a Falcon.
He said this......
In the end he said, I could have bought a couple of nice 57 Chevies for what I have in that Falcon. Try as I might, it’s still a Falcon.

 

[Seanriley]

The solution is easy but you won’t like it.
Save your money or sell stuff and get a real 12 gauge shotgun, Fowler....whatever.

There’s no free pass unless a rich uncle kicks the bucket.

You’ll wind up spending more money and wasting more time trying to convert a so-so rifle into a miserable shotgun.

I see this a lot in lot of things. People want something but they don’t want to pay.
A bored out TC will never be a fine fowling gun or double barrel. It just won’t.

Example....

A 1960 Falcon will never be a 57 Chevy.

If you like Falcons, that’s OK....

But I know a fellow who always wanted a 57 so he fixed up a Falcon.
He said this......
In the end he said, I could have bought a couple of nice 57 Chevies for what I have in that Falcon. Try as I might, it’s still a Falcon.

It's not that I'm against buying one at all I simply think the challenge and learning to build it would be the best part. I can buy everything to custom build one and waste a lot of money that way then as you say buy the pedersoli.you are right by the way.

 

[R Ellis]

If you don't want to spend the money like you said then don't .As suggested get a 12 gauge barrel and make your own barrel to fit your stock . The satisfaction of doing it yourself is priceless. Get some help if you need it but don't let the naysayers discourage you

 

[IronHand]

Here's the one I made.

Is it tradional? No
Is it ugly? Yes
That's why it's called the Junk Yard Dog.

It started life as a CVA Blazer rifle. After considerable modifications it's now an inline 10 gauge trap gun.

Pretty is as pretty does. The dog will powder any clay within 40 yards.

Why did I make it so ugly? Because the sight of it blows the other guys concentration.

Shooting is a mental game.
IronHand

 

[Seanriley]

Here's the one I made.View attachment 284479

Is it tradional? No
Is it ugly? Yes
That's why it's called the Junk Yard Dog.

It started life as a CVA Blazer rifle. After considerable modifications it's now an inline 10 gauge trap gun.

Pretty is as pretty does. The dog will powder any clay within 40 yards.

Why did I make it so ugly? Because the sight of it blows the other guys concentration.

Shooting is a mental game.
IronHand

Ooohhh!!! Baby!!! Man that is exactly what I have
pictured in my mind. Just plain simple muzzle loader shotgun. 10 gauge huh? I have to start sourcing parts I guess! Thank you for your time. Your work is an inspiration.

 

[IronHand]

Ooohhh!!! Baby!!! Man that is exactly what I have
pictured in my mind. Just plain simple muzzle loader shotgun. 10 gauge huh? I have to start sourcing parts I guess! Thank you for your time. Your work is an inspiration.

PM me if you want the details on the build.

IronHand

 

[necchi]

If you don't want to spend the money like you said then don't .As suggested get a 12 gauge barrel and make your own barrel to fit your stock . The satisfaction of doing it yourself is priceless. Get some help if you need it but don't let the naysayers discourage you

I'm not, nay-saying, at all, but
What do you mean? You say;
"get a 12ga barrel and make your own to fit your stock,,,".(?)
Is the barrel supposed to be made to fit the stock, or is the stock supposed to be made to fit the barrel?
Wanna know what is really "priceless"? Yourself, your family, your friends,,,, all enjoying a long and healthy life. Not coming up short because of Bubba and his works.

 

[Seanriley]

I'm not, nay-saying, at all, but
What do you mean? You say;
"get a 12ga barrel and make your own to fit your stock,,,".(?)
Is the barrel supposed to be made to fit the stock, or is the stock supposed to be made to fit the barrel?
Wanna know what is really "priceless"? Yourself, your family, your friends,,,, all enjoying a long and healthy life. Not coming up short because of Bubba and his works.

Buddy, you sure are right about that. I see the folly in boring a rifle barrel to a 12 gage. There are the diy kits already out there that must be safe as all the ML stuff can be!! Thank you for your time and input. I really do appreciate it.

 

[Seanriley]

I'm not, nay-saying, at all, but
What do you mean? You say;
"get a 12ga barrel and make your own to fit your stock,,,".(?)
Is the barrel supposed to be made to fit the stock, or is the stock supposed to be made to fit the barrel?
Wanna know what is really "priceless"? Yourself, your family, your friends,,,, all enjoying a long and healthy life. Not coming up short because of Bubba and his works.

In reality, how you hold on to the trigger and breech components ,as long as it's done sensibly and on an effective platform is the easiest safest part of the project!