Can a shotgun barrel be safely cut down and still be legal?

[VM 2]

My dad was hunting in the woods, and when he went to lower his gun off the stand, it fell barrel first into the dirt/mud. I'm always the one cleaning his guns off and stuff, so he just took his keys and dug as much mud as he could out.

Then, his reckoning was to load in a shell to clear out the remaining crud in the barrel. Well it did clean it out, but it also cracked the end of the barrel and the choke about 1" to 1.5" from the end.

The gun is a winchester 1300 20ga pump, and i've been having a hard time finding a cheap replacement barrel around here, so my question is, can the crack be safely cut off? And if so how much would a gunsmith charge to drill the sight back into the barrel (ballpark figure)

 

[spanky]

As long as the barrel length is over 18" it's perfectly legal, afaik.

 

[Richard in LA]

Im going to assume it is around a 26-28" bbl since he was using it for hunting. If so, yes you can cut off any amount you want as long as the bbl length stays over 18" as Spanky stated. The Problem that I see, is that now you have cut off the choke, and are going to have a cylinder bore barrel, which is not very effective for hunting purposes. A good 'smith can cut it and refinish the bore to accept thin wall briley choke tubes, but its expensive. I dont know exactly how much, but I am pretty sure it will be more than a replacement barrel.

 

[CajunTim]

Where must one measure the barrel from where it starts or where the end of the bullet would be?

 

[#1bambam]

A dowel rod down the throat of the bbl with the bolt closed.Mark the length pull it out mesure and thats the bbl length.So thats where the bbl starts at CT.

 

[CajunTim]

Not to high jack the thread; but I had a shotgun seized by the St. John Parish Police Department that was proper length that they said was illegal because I did it and not a gunsmith and that you measure from where the round stops. This was Mother's Day Eve 1995, then they hauled me off for disturbing the peace, at my Father's request(Thanks Dad). When I asked if I could get my gun back they told me to take it up with ATF and I never did. I do not have the numbers on the gun but I would imagine it was in the report when I was arrested. It was a .410 I called her my Snake Charmer (not Cop Bashing just stating the fact) I was charged with disturbing the peace with a firearm and the gun was not fired that day. I have spoken with the arresting officer several times since then and he has told me that he didn't see a reason to arrest me; but my father kept on insisting. It was payday I had cash in my pocket so I bailed myself out immediately for $108 that I got back a few days later. A field trip that cost me a little time.

 

[#1bambam]

Im not a cop but if you mesure all ak's like that(only the rifled part of the bbl)then they all are short of the required 16 inches.

 

[LACamper]

Tim, that gun is probably in some cop's vault by now. On paper it was probably destroyed. I'd go request a copy of the report and track it down just for the hell of it.

VM, I wouldn't think it would be much at all to have the front sight tapped. Most gunsmiths charge $10 per hole for scope mounts. I can't see where it would be any different.

 

[Richard in LA]

You could also get one of the tru glo front beads
http://www.truglosights.com/content/products/firearm/wing_clay/category.asp

 

[scubasteve]

Take it to a 'smith and have him cut it and thread it for screw in chokes. I'd assune it would run ya around $50, more or less. Also, you may want to consider having a Polychoke installed.Try Rynerson's or Rich's.
Also, a cylinder bore 20 is one mean rabbit gun!!!

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=91686181

 

[fflincher]

New kid here, and my first post.

Your 1300 will also accept 20 gauge barrels marked "1200". Don't try to feed shells longer than your action was designed to take, or longer than whatever barrel you have on it is designed to take, or you'll have even more trouble.

Yes, the range rod system is what BATFE is using, and has used for decades.

Overall length of rifle/shotgun must not be less than 26 inches.

Barrel length of rifles must not be less than 16 inches.

Barrel length of shotguns must not be less than 18 inches.

No, there is no reason for these rules. They are arbitrary. In the same manner, IRS can tell you to the penny how much you owe for the year.

You've been given several workable solutions, and I'd like to think that I've added one more. Good luck.

fflincher

 

[LACamper]

fflincher, welcome to the site! Go post and intro...

The 1300 and the 1200 are interchangeable. The 1300 was built to be distributed in Canada while the 1200 was for the US. My dad has a 1300 with an extra long barrel and a super full choke for shooting geese... nice gun, and definately worth repairing.