How short can a shotgun barrel be chopped and be plenty legel?
I have a friend with a 24in.single shot barrel shotgun that wants to chop it down to around 18 1/2 or 20inches..what should he use to do it ..will a pipe cutter work?or is a bandsaw recommened?Thanks for any help....

18 inchs for the barrel I normally cut them to 18.125 just to be on the safe side. The whole gun has to be at least 26 inchs over all. I have cut them with a lathe, hack saw ect.

What I have done with the hacksaw is use a pipe cutter to score the barrel all the way around then use the hacksaw to finsh.

To cut all the way through with the pipe cutter you well have to clean it up with a file or something as there well be a small ridge on the inside of the barrel cause by the pipe cutter. Also do not take to big of cut with the pipe cutter you don't want to crush the barrel.

The lathe works well but the combo of pipe cutter and hack saw works also just take your time.

I would not use a pipe cutter.

I did one the exact same way, pipecutter to score, finish w/ hacksaw, worked well.

I have used a tube cutter with good results

I would suggest you check your state laws b/4 cutting the barrel. The Fed regs say the overall length must be at least 26 inches, but says nothing a/b the barrel length. TX state law says the barrel must be 18". Two different sets of laws.

Chopsaw, then clean it up with a file.

Takes about 2 min total.

SSR

aliveincc The federal gun control act of 1934 says the barrel lenght of a shot gun has to be at least 18 inchs with the over all lenght of the gun has to be at least 26 inchs

As far as being legal there are two ways to do it. Minimum barrel length and oal or do a Form 1 and register it as an SBS (short barrel shotgun) to whatever length your heart desires.

Check your state law on overall length. Michigan, and a few others have overall length at 30". Anything under that must be registered as a handgun.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
aliveincc The federal gun control act of 1934 says the barrel lenght of a shot gun has to be at least 18 inchs with the over all lenght of the gun has to be at least 26 inchs

And a rifle shall have a barrel at least 16" long

If you want to destroy the gun use a pipe or tubing cutter. use a lathe it is the proper way to do this anything else is a "bubba"fication of the firearm. Pipe and tubing cutters will cause a slight "choking" of the barrel that could lead to unsafe pressures when shooting larger non-maleable shot or slugs. A lathe removes metal, a tubing cutter moves metal by stretching it until you get seperation. 18.25 and 26.25 are the minimum that I go when someone asks me to do this.

Personally I would not cut it under 19".
This gives you a little extra to square up the muzzle.

Don't cut it too short. Randy Weaver cut one a half inch short for a BATF entrapment team, they ended up shooting Randy's 12 year old son in the back and then agent Ron Horushu (SP) shot his wife as she stood in the doorway of her home while holding an infant in her arms. (The "black suited, jack booted" govies said they felt threated.) Loosing two of your family members and having to fight for your own life in court afterwards due to over-zellous govies is no joke. (Randy did eventually win and was set free, the govie agents were virbally chastised by the judge but I think they were then promoted by the Janet Reno/Clinton "justice" department.)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
The length on rifle barrels used to be 18" as well, till the DCM wanted to sell the .30 cal M1 Carbine. Then it was changed to 16"...

The law since the National Firearms Act of 1934 has been 16" for rifle barrels. The M-1 Carbine didn't even exist back then, and it also has a 18" barrel, so I am not sure what is meant by your statement about the DCM and selling the M-1
Carbine and that is when the law changed.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim C. <><:
Randy Weaver cut one a half inch short for a BATF entrapment team

I believe the gun in question was not actually illegal. The ATF tried to change the method of measuring the barrel length in order to entrap Weaver. IIRC they measured from the muzzle to the front end of the chamber instead of measuring from the muzzle to the face of the bolt as the law states.

But I often mis-remember...

The key to measuring barrel length for Gov't purposes is from the muzzle to the breech face/ bolt face. Do NOT measure it from the muzzle to the front of the receiver.

quote:

Originally posted by congomike:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
The length on rifle barrels used to be 18" as well, till the DCM wanted to sell the .30 cal M1 Carbine. Then it was changed to 16"...

The law since the National Firearms Act of 1934 has been 16" for rifle barrels. The M-1 Carbine didn't even exist back then, and it also has a 18" barrel, so I am not sure what is meant by your statement about the DCM and selling the M-1
Carbine and that is when the law changed.

Thanks post changed, I do not know where I got that info???

But actually the origingal length for both rifles and shotguns was 18" It was first changed to 16" for 22LR rifles and by 1960 for centerfire rifles as well.

The post that it used to be 18" length for rifle barrels too is correct.

In fact, a lot of gunsmiths made a fair amount of money by welding/soldering, etc., various things to the muzzles of a lot of military carbines (including a lot of "swede M96 carbines') to bring the overall length to 18". I was one of them.

I don't recall exactly when 16" became the accepted legal length, but it was at least 20+ years after 1934.