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".

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/bigbore/1895.asp


http://www.wildwestgunsak.com/the-alaskan-guide-rifle.php

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

Winchester Model 70 New Haven WSM left hand action in 458 B&M 18" barrel, NECG banded sight. In what was a right hand Winchester Ultimate stock. 8lbs-4oz. with a Trijicon 1.25-4, Leupold QRW rings and 3 in the box and one in the chamber.

Remington 660 in 458 American w/21" barrel.

When you have to literally crawl through alders after wounded bears like this one for hours you learn to appreciate the value of short barrels. It's why I cut the one on my 458 to 20 inches and have never regretted it.

I had my BRNO 375 H&H cut back to 23" from the original 25". Not real short but much nicer than the 25", particularly given the fairly lightweight stock.

Both of my 458 lotts had ~21-22" barrels. The first one was an enfield based custom and that's how it was built. The second one I sent off a Ruger #1 458 takeoff barrel and a VZ-24 mauser action to a smith. The smith wasn't comfortable with the holes for the 1/4 rib Ruger drills so deeply over the chamber so he cut 2" off the breach. The 1/4 rig had been taken off the barrel so no loss.

Both were fairly handy rifles. The first one was had a fairly light contour and was sporty to shoot. The second one with the Ruger truck axle barrel was a joy to shoot but a bit much to carry in the field.

One of these days I'll build or buy another 458 and take the lessons learned for an ideal setup. I'll probably even go against my handle and get a win mag Can't see going over 22" in barrel length and will probably go with a 21" spout.

I had my .416 RM cut from 24 to 21 inches and made it an significantly better handling rifle for alders and puckerbrush. In fact I'd be hard pressed to have a longer barrel on anything from .375 and up.

About 20 years ago I had a 45/70 Marlin cut from 22 to 17 inches and that likewise was a good idea.

I hunted with Craigh Hammon in 1999. He was using a win 70 in 458 Lott with a 20" bull barrel. It felt like a perfect off hand rifle and dropped elephant like Thor's hammer.
He liked the weight and the balance as well as the short barrel for thick stuff.

I had my CZ 550 American in 9.3x62 cut to 22". I don't load hot, so I don't miss the extra inch and a half. It's very fast in the brush, which comes more from getting the balance and LOP right than anything else.

Sorry, no pics.


Okie John

Custom on a CZ 458 Lott 21" Does anything 500gr. @ 2210fps.. Factory Hornady 500gr Lott does 2230fps.. Love the rifle, the buff hate it..

MM

that is totally awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Unless barrel length is 28" like that found on certain pre=War English Mauser sporters shortening barrel makes no sense. One needs to remember that while workmanship on most of those rifles was excellent some features like extra long barrels and rack of folding sights were useless. What does make sense is to reduce powder charge to get MV or about 200fps to 250fps less.

I have a 375h&h model 70 cut down to 18" and yes it's cool sorry I don't have a picture

My Old Ugly Clone (not so ugly) has a 19" barrel.

Waterrat Is that one of my wife slings you got from her??

Yes it is,,I like it!!