shorten a barrel?

I have a Dixie/Pedersoli .50 caliber flintlock Pennsylvania Rifle that's getting hard for me to hold up due to declining health. I was thinking about cutting off the barrel a few inches to make it easier to handle. I was wondering if this is a "big" job or is it probably something I could do. I have tools and I am kind of handy. In what areas would I need to pay close attention? Any ideas?

 

[hounddog]

Oldmantom, Its not hard to shorten the bbl, a hacksaw with a new blade works fine, looks like your gun is a straight bbl oct, thats good. the bbl must be squared up after cutting, a good try square works fine(perfectly square in all directions on end of bbl) you will need to recrown also. Believe it or not shortning the wood will present a more major challenge than the bbl. It is most definately doable, Seeing how that is a kentucky Myself I would not cut the bbl any shorter than 36 inches. Shorter than that just ruins the looks of a kentucky in my opnion. I have cut numerous bbls and stocks in my 40 years gunsmithing. If you are handy as you say, it is definately dooable. Please think the situation thru and know what you want to do Before doing any work period yours hounddog

 

[cutshurt]

Well it can be done and has been ... I would be real carfull to keep the end of the barrel square and crowning it can be done with a lag bolt chucked in a drill, and some grinding compound and then finer grits of polishing compounds. the trick is to not keep the drill in a strait line with the barrel, but keep it moveing side to side.

Darrel

 

Maybe I should take it to a gunsmith or trade it! I sure would hate to screw it up.

 

[Birddog6]

Shortening it will be obvious & could require refinishing the stock. Also when you cut it off the RR pipe spacing will not be the same & it will be obvious it was cut down. Nosecap has to be removed & put back or a new one installed. Barrel cut off & crowned.

Were it me, I would consider selling or trading it & get something with a 38" swamped barrel. TREMEMDOUS difference in balance compared to a 42" straight barrel. However, anything you find with a swamped barrel is most likely going to cost considerably more than what you have.

Keith Lisle

 

That would be nice but I really couldn't afford it. I might give it a try. Cutting the dovetail for the front sight might be tricky.

 

[Stophel]

A handy little gun could be made by cutting it down to just ahead of the second ramrod pipe...which would then become the front one. Nothing has to be moved but the front sight. :wink:

 

[Birddog6]

Cutting the dovetail for the front sight will be the easiest part of modifying the rifle.

Keith Lisle

 

[ohio ramrod]

Another and simplier solution would be to remove the butt plate, drill some holes and add lead to counterbalance the barrel and replace the butt plate. I do this on many guns for youth as well as for target rifles with longer barrels.It helps balance the gun and adds stability as well. It requires no special tools and does not alter apearance. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[cutshurt]

Heck Ya thats a great idea ... easyer then cutting the barrel and all that gos with it.

 

[larry wv]

Except for the extra weight. :nono: I would shorten it like Stophel said. :thumbsup: Don't worry about the looks it's your gun. :grin: Larry

 

[44-henry]

I typed this response to a posters inquiry about how this work was done in earlier times. The post seems to have been removed, but here is my response in any event.

By the mid 19th century I think metal lathes were fairly common and they certainly existed in larger shops much earlier than that. A shop that did any quantity of barrel work would have had jigs to help with keeping things aligned and the smaller shops would have had tricks that worked for them-people haven't become any smarter over time, we just have better technology.

I have also seen breeching tools that were sort of hand operated mills. These instruments referenced off the bore and were used to square off the breech and muzzle. The cutting ed resembled the face of a modern end mill. A similar tool was used to bore out the barrel in preparation for threading and there was still yet another tool the cut the threads again referencing off the bore. Thus, with nothing more complicated than a hand saw and brace a backwoods gunsmith could easily breech a barrel with a good bit of precision.

It is also worth noting that I have examined a number of original rifles that were done by people who obviously did not have such specialized equipment and the breech was badly off center and out of alignment with the bore. Though I would not want to turn out work like this, none of these guns appeared to have failed as a result of these misdeeds.

 

[tg]

As a multiple phased shoulder condition made shooting more and more diffiocult I had to change (slightly) the way I carried a gun and hold it up as well and worked on exercises to help beef up some problem areas it hurt but helped, nothing is as it was but it is better, you might consider whether any exercise routine might give added strength to the problem areas, just a longshot but worth thinking about