Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Shortening barrel on semi-auto

I forgot to add, I saw one 2 3/4" marked barrel with just a single hole for gas exhaust. It was a mismarked 3" barrel as the chamber length and the gas port was correct for a Magnum gun. I wonder how many barrels escaped the factory like that as well as how many had a magnum model or barrel and were using lighter target loads in it. That would lead to problems when the gun dirtied a bit.

That applies to both 1100 & 11-87.. IIRC, Rem suggests replacing the recoil spring every year or two.. They're cheap - about $5-6 and takes about 5 mns to do the job..

I can usually tell whether a spring needs replacing and/or tube cleaning just by seeing/listening to the bolt close. If it snaps closed with authority, leave it alone.. If it seems the LEAST bit sluggish/slow - time for a cleaning/spring replacement..

I shoot 1100/11-87’s a LOT. Last winter league I cleaned my 11-87 exactly zero times. Shot it all winter with zero issues. In fact I have never had one not run well dirty or clean. Redneck is right on longevity too. The Beretta is a great gun as well but the Remington’s fit me WAY better and I could rebuild one with my eyes closed

Why would you think shortening the barrel would affect the functioning, ejecting, and/or loading of an auto shotgun?

As long as you don't snip the gas port you're good to go.

Actually, a certain amount of "dwell" at a given pressure is needed for a gas operated action to work properly. The amount of time this occurs is somewhat dependent on how much barrel is past the gas ports. The type of powder and the gas volume it produces at the ports is another factor. The majority of the time there will be no problems with a barrel of legal length but in rare cases when tolerances are being barely met with a more common length barrel a problem can crop up. Often a change in ammo "fixes" the problem but a real fix may require a different gas exhaust spring or enlarge ing the gas ports.

I have an acquaintance who likes to dabble in short barreled shotguns (legally) and we have bounced ideas back and forth when he has a problem gun. Those are the long term fixes he has found and he'll usually do the spring first as it is not permanent.

Because shortening the barrel can have an effect on how a gas operated semi auto functions. I asked Weatherby about that and just received the response below.

We did offer the SA-459 with an 18.5" barrel in 20ga for a time, it is discontinued at this time, it was the same action. The shorter barrel did mean that a heavier and/or faster load was required to cycle the shotgun, the reduced distance between the gas ports and the muzzle meant that gas pressure wasn't able to build up as much as with the field barrels, so a load that generates more pressure is needed. You can see the minimum load specs for each model at the link below.

IMHO, that's not due to the short barrel, but due to the fact that they changed the distance to the gas ports... Well, duh ...

Taking an existing (say) 28-30" barrel and chopping it off a bit does NOT change the breech/gas port distance and will do nothing to affect function...

The location of the gas ports were NOT changed. Look back and read where Weatherby states it is the decreased distance from the gas ports to the muzzle that caused the problem. It is as I pointed out, there was less time (dwell) for the gas volume to fill and operate the action before pressures fell off as the shot charge exited the barrel.

I'll agree that merely removing a couple inches from a barrel will have much affect on the operation but going to 18"-19" is more than a couple. And I forgot about this being a 20 ga and not a 12 ga which appears to be a bit more sensitive in regards to gas volume. It makes sense as the stock gas exhaust spring in my 20 ga Berettas are heavier than in their 12 ga brethren.

Bah... IMHO Wby is full of chit.. Well, maybe it's true in their shotguns, but I've shortened many semi-auto barrels over my nearly 20 years as a 'smith and not once had anybody come back and say they don't cycle ammo... Full disclosure - all have been Rem variations, a few A-5s and probably some Winchesters.. No Wbys that I can recall.