I have a S&W 500 with the 8 3/8ths barrel. How much of a chore is it to get the barrel shortened to 6 1/2 inches? The front sight is part of the barrel and machined as a solid unit.

I think if you look closely you will see that S&W now uses 2 piece barrels, much like the old Dan Wesson, except they are "permanently" installed. The front sight is actually part of the barrel shroud and not the actual barrel itself. At this time you might contact the factory, but I doubt they will do this kind of custom work. There are smiths who will do it, but probably at a "price is of no concern" attitude. You might check over on the Smith and Wesson forum. They have some great answers over there. http://www.smith-wessonforum.com

Thank you for the tip. I went over there and joined and posted the question. I appreciate it.

I had my 586 L frame shortened from 6 inches to 3 inches & my gunsmith did this by shortening from the chamber end.
Much because like your 500 my 586 has a 4 posi adjustable front sight.

Hope this helps
Morton

I have had Ahlman's Gun Shop in Morristown, MN, shorten a couple of S&W barrels for me. They did great work at a fair price. If you have S&W do it, make sure they insure your handgun when they ship it back to you. Their normal policy used to be that they didn't insure handguns that they were returning, they would repair them if they were damaged, or they woudl replace them out of current production if they were lost/stolen. I had an engraved 624 lost by UPS on its way back from S&W and I had a heck of a time getting them to settle. I never got a good settlement, but after several months, it was only slightly better than nothing.

Jeff