Hi all,

If I shorten the length of my 602's barrel from 25" to 22" the muzzle diameter will be slightly greater.

Can the original front sight be re-used or will an aftermarket sight be be needed?

No, it won't fit, obviously but, you might be able to take a taper reamer and ream it out so that it will fit. The barrel band sights that Brownell's sell, they tell you if it is undersize that you can pean the band while trying to push it higher on the barrel. I found that worked like trying to stuff hot butter up a wild cats backside. A real reach would be to split the ring on the underside and TIG weld it to the barrel at the split and fill it in with weld and then file it smooth.

safari_hunter - remove the front sight ramp - and clean off all solder. Now, wrap the last 2-3 inches of the original 25" barrel with one layer of emory cloth (220 grit). You may need to glue it on the barrel to help hold it in place.

The degree of taper should be the same from the point at which the band was originally fitted (at 23-25") as where the band will be at the new finished length of 20-22".

That means that you can increase the inside diameter of the front band (with the emory cloth) until it fits the diameter at the new shortened 20-22" mark.

You can check this in advance (roughly) by wrapping the end of the barrel (at the 25" mark) in emory cloth and measuring the diameter of the emory cloth wrapped around the barrel - it should be smaller in diameter (or the same diameter) as the barrel at the length you want to cut it to (22").

Just go slow as you remove metal and check it regularly by sliding the band up to the 22" mark and checking for fit.

If you remove too much from inside the band, then it will obviously slide past the 22" mark - so go slowly!

Thanks for the replies. I plan for my gunsmith to do the work and just wanted to know what my options are.

safari_hunter