Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Chopped/cut down barrel big bored

Has anyone cut down a big bore rifle to make a shorter brush buster for in close recovery and hunting?

Yes

What gun?
What length ?

Pics? Specs

I haven't done it, I only know that it's been done, so I answered your original question.

Yes

20" 348 Norma Mag

19" 458 Mag

Much handier in the think stuff!

IMHO,,,Jim

Pics

.375 H&H AI lopped to 21"





.338 WM cut to 22"



.375 RUM cut from 26" to 23"

Not mine, but here's a 20" 458Lott:

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=253375&an=0&page=0#Post253375

20� 375 H&H M70 lightweight. The 375 H&H is very efficeint in a 20� barrel.

My 376 is factory 20", buddy has a 19".
I had a Sako 375 that was 18" factory.
I don't think big bores nessasarily require long barrels.
Long barrels are a by-product of the semi- buckhown sight. Moving the rear sight to mid barrel shortened the sight radius dramaticly thus requiring a longer barrel to move the front and rear apart again.
The actual velocity gain/ loss from a short/ long barrel is in direct corolation to the caliber. The larger the caliber the less velocity loss per inch compared to small caliber.
In closing...scoped?...chop it.
But keep ear plugs close.

I cut my Whitworth .375 Holland down to 22", from the factory 24".

It's a bit handier now, and I almost wish I'd taken it down to 20".

Here is my 470 NE William Douglass DR with factory 23" barrels.

I cut my 602ZKK 375H&H and my CZ550 416Rigby to 21" and have been perfectly pleased with them. Very handy. I also have a 458WinMag on an 03A3 action that was built with a 16 1/2" barrel. It is the quickest handiest of all. Wish I could have used it in Africa.

I also have a 20" M70 in .375 H&H. What load do you shoot, and what sort of velocities are you getting? I'm running a 260 grain Partition at just under 2,600 fps with very good accuracy. I'm at book max of RL-15 per Nosler.

Couldn't find a full length pic of my old/retired 375HH bear rifle I build off a Mauser, But this is the end of the barrel after I further shortened the barrel from around 22-inches down to around 20-inches, and had the gun hard coated. Never was quite satisfied with overall balance, and never quite pinned down a particular barrel length. I think I ran that gun at three different barrel lengths over about a decade or so.



Built a couple of these modeled after Phil Shoemaker's 416 light rifle to replace my old 375. The last one ended up very light with perfect balance having a 22-inch barrel. Really like the last one at 22, but it had a ton of work and light weight parts, so I was able to move some weight around with the final bedding of the stock to place the balance point exactly where I wanted it to be, while still reaching my overall weight goal.



All of my 416s were replaced with a non-magnum factory Sako, which has a barrel closer to 20-inch, but it is even lighter and more handy. The balance and feel of the rifle is near custom like to my dimensions and preference, but it is box stock.



In the end, the overall balance and handling of my rifle is of greater importance to me than any specific barrel length. Running barrels anywhere in the 20 to 22-inch range works well for me, as long as the rifle is well balanced and handy. I find this a good middle ground. Much shorter and it becomes too quirky, much longer and it becomes sluggish.

Best

you can always take two more inch's off, it just a little bit harder to put it back

I have a 450 Dakota on a ZKK action that was cut from 24 to 21". The smith must have exactly hit the resonance point on the barrel because it shots every load within a 2" group at 100 yds. I have to add except Hornadsys. It shoots them 2" to the right and 2" low. They also shoot in a small group but not to the same point of aim. I usually shoot 96gr of XMR4064 with a 450 gr North Fork chronyed at 2300fps. Nice accurate and not abusive load. It will shoot into one hole at 100 yds.

When i get one it will be cut to 20" and a NECG banded sight added