I have an old (1845) 35 cal 1/2 stock rifle with a 39" barrel. the last 4 or so inches from the muzzle are badly pitted with rust, but the rest of the bore looks pretty good using my bore scope. I would like to cut the barrel down to about 32". I would thumb lap the new muzzle end, and cut a new dovetail for the front sight. Is there any thing else I should be aware of , or do, to make this modification?
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Shortening a barrel
- Thread starter Grimord
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I cannot answer your question directly. I am having a barrel shortened professionally. The 37" long 1" diameter octagon barrel is just too long and too heavy for what I want to do. I am having 5" cut off. My gunsmith, Pitchford Custom Gunmaking in Waller, TX mentioned using a heat-sink while cutting, re-crowning with a certain angle and re-bluing the muzzle. He is also going to cut a dovetail and replace the front sight, but may adjust the height of the blade based on the new distance between sights. Cryo-treating is another option. I am going to let someone else do this job for me, but I am interested in what others may say.
I would be reluctant to cut down a barrel that is nearly 175 years old to get to a bore that ‘looks pretty good’ without exploring the option of putting a liner in it first. While I haven’t gotta a price myself, I have heard some say that Bobby Hoyt will reline a barrel for around $200. Not much to keep a gun as original as possible and in shooting condition.
Or you could have it rebored to a .40
Re-lining is a possibility, but like Sparkitoff, I find the barrel length a little unwieldy and very muzzle heavy. I would like to keep the original caliber, Shortening the barrel would make the gun handle so much better. I guess I need to know if this is a project I can do myself, or should I send it out to a gunsmith, or maybe Bobby Hoyt?
Any machine shop with a lathe and a four jaw chuck could make short work of your project. Based on your hesitation of making it a diy project I suggest you go that route. I see you are in Connecticut. Plenty of local machine shops to choose from. Could also have cut the dovetail slot while they have it.
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Hi,
I agree that many of those percussion era rifles were barrel heavy and unbalanced. However, keep in mind that you will compromise what value the gun has as an antique if you shorten the barrel.
dave
I agree that many of those percussion era rifles were barrel heavy and unbalanced. However, keep in mind that you will compromise what value the gun has as an antique if you shorten the barrel.
dave
Fifty Four
32 Cal
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Not trying to say that a person can't do as he wishes with his own property, but lopping 7" off the barrel of a 175 year old rifle seems like a bad idea. At the very least, it hurts $ value. But more importantly, it irreparably damages a historical artifact.
Would re-lining the barrel compromise the value of the gun. It is in really fine shape for its age except for the barrel rust in the last 4". I don't know how it got like that. I cannot think of a situation that would cause the rust in only that part of the barrel.
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Hi Grimord,
Altering it in any way other than a light cleaning and stabilizing the rust in the bore likely would reduce its value. A liner would have the least effect of your options for fixing the bore and liners can be removed putting the gun back to original condition. It would be nice to see photos of the gun because if in good condition it may have some value.
dave
Altering it in any way other than a light cleaning and stabilizing the rust in the bore likely would reduce its value. A liner would have the least effect of your options for fixing the bore and liners can be removed putting the gun back to original condition. It would be nice to see photos of the gun because if in good condition it may have some value.
dave
To cut 6 inches of a original 175 year old gun is to me only classed has butchery people that resort to this practice is just has bad has reconverting a percussion back to flint . If it is the last 6 inches that are the problem then it is just has good to have the barrel lapped out thus retaining the guns heritage for future generations , so my advice is think again for the guns future.
Feltwad
Feltwad
I am going to look at some other ways to remove the rust from the end of the barrel. Maybe try "Evaporust". I hear it works good to remove rust. If it does I don't think the accuracy of the gun is going to be too good as the lands are probably ruined due to the rust. What if I had the last 4" of the bore reamed out? It would be kinda like an extended T/C QLA barrel.
I disagree with those who discourage shortening the barrel because antique value might be lessened. Owners of firearms modified to suit their needs. Shortening would only be one part in the life of that rifle. Unless it is something really special, I say suit yerself. However boring out to a large caliber seems a more practical approach to me.
Thanks all for you input on this topic. It has given me pause as to what course of action to take.
Newtire
32 Cal.
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If you have the time, you might try fleshing out the rifling. I made a cutter out of a section of a file and embedded it into a dowel. I made it so it cut on the way out and shimmed it with pieces of paper. I made it just as wide as the rifling groove. This was on my grandpa's old .40 caliber target rifle. Noone would ever know. It loads real smooth now and accuracy is much improved. Interesting is the fact that I did nothing to the lands.
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Hi Frank,
Shortening the barrel will almost certainly reduce the gun's value as an antique. A knowledgeable buyer or collector will use that fact to drop the price he or she is willing to pay. Certainly, the owner can do whatever he wants and shortening the barrel as much as the OP suggests will lighten it a lot and it will be part of the gun's history. However, that does not change the fact that as a historical object, the value will be compromised. It would be nice to see the rifle and identify it if possible before it is altered in any way.
dave
The gun has its stands is part of its heritage and should be left and I am disappointed in your reply from a person with your knowledge .[ WE HOLD THEM IN TRUST]
Feltwad
I will try to upload some pictures of this rifle. Their are no markings on the gun itself. The lock is stamped "Warrantied", and the underside barrel flat is stamped "Pennebakr". It is my understanding that Pennebaker made barrels for gunsmiths to put together. Stay tuned for the pictures. It may be a few days as I am going to camp for a few days of deer hunting.
cositrike
40 Cal.
I have an iron rifle barrel, that I believe has been shortened twice in its lifetime so far. (Looking at the sight placements barrel staples etc) by looking at the rifling, I believe it’s already been freshed out. If I want to shorten it again, isn’t that just another part of its history? People get so precious about antiques.
In this day and age to shorten the barrel of an original is not part of the history of the gun it is plain butchery which need not be done especially when there are plenty of repro rubbish on the market
Feltwad
