From time to time, we get a shotgun brought into the shop that the owner wants to have the barrel shortened on. There are different reasons for having this done. shortening a shotgun barrel certainly makes a shotgun easier to manage in tight places and is preferable if a defensive shotgun is what you need. Shortening a shotgun barrel is not advisable for most hunting applications because the choke is at the muzzle end of the barrel and will be cut off. Cutting the barrel leaves the gun with a true cylinder choke. This is fine for a defensive shotgun or a gun which is going to be used for some shooting sports.

Cutting the Barrel

Shotgun barrels can be cut with an ordinary hacksaw, a chop saw, or a lathe. The biggest issue with shortening a shotgun barrel is making sure that you end up with a barrel that is not shorter than the legal length. The barrel must be at least 18 inches from the breech face to the muzzle. Possessing a shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18 inches long is a serious offense and needs to be avoided at all cost. So, after the barrel is carefully measured and marked it can be cut off to the desired length. At this point you have a shorter barrel with a muzzle that needs finished and no sight bead or choke. To finish the muzzle, a reamer and bushing is used to square and finish the muzzle.

The reamer is used with the appropriate size bushing for the gauge of the shotgun barrel. As the reamer is turned it squares the muzzle and gives it a smooth finish.

Installing the Sight Bead

The most time-consuming part of installing a bead is getting the barrel level, centered, and straight. The barrel must be squared up with the drill or the bead will be off center. Just a little bit off will be noticeable once the hole is drilled and the bead installed. You can’t un-drill a hole.

Once the hole is drilled, the correct tap for the bead threads is selected and the threads are cut. The threaded stem of the bead is most likely going to protrude into barrel. Painting the protruding threads with dye chem will mark them so that when the bead is removed there is a reference as to how much of the stem needs to be removed. This is still a trial-and-error process so it may take several times to get the stem of the bead perfectly flush with the bore. Once the bead is perfectly fit with the bore, it is taken out one last time and a bit of blue lock tite is applied to the thread and the bead is screwed back in.

For your shotgun barrel shortening needs, talk to Craig at Craig’s Outdoor Sports. He has the tools and expertise to get the job done right. On certain shotguns he can shorten the barrel and install choke tubes as well.