Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Cut and Crown Hammer Forged barrel

I live in the SE and hunt either in the jungle or from a stand. A short rifle is often very handy. At one time I was going to shorten a Tikka T3 stainless from 22.4� to 20". I was advised by a friend that you should not do a cut and crown on a Hammer Forged barrel due to variable stresses caused by the manufacturing process. He stated that accuracy would be a real crap shoot regardless of the crown job.

Is this a real potential problem? Do any of you have experience with shortening a Hammer Forged barrel?

Regards,

GW

No.

Yes.

Take a hacksaw or cutoff saw to the barrel. Crown with a brass screw spun in a drill. Apply valve grinding compound liberally while it's being spun. Take off the outer edge on the barrel with a file.

Go hunting.

Just cutting the end off won't hurt it a bit.

One of my shooting buddies has a 527 varmint with the barrel shortened to 20". Consistently shoots sub 1/4" at 100 yards.

No, it's not an issue.
Even if it was, Tikka triple stress relieves their barrels.

Not a problem.

kd

Thanks for the many quick reply's!

Cutting two inches off of an accurate Tikka barrel is about the dumbest idea I've heard in a LONG time. If you do it, Prarie's hacksaw method will work but it'll produce a schidt crown. Find a smith who owns a Manson Crowning tool and get him to crown it for you.

Have you ever tried it? If not, STFU. I've only done it on about a half dozen barrels, and they shoot as well as before.

I'll bet you think torque wrenches are overkill doncha? "Just torque them headbolts good and snug, its all good".

So you're saying you've never cut and crowned a barrel yourself. Just like I thought, another thing you haven't done. Congratulations.

Brings back memories, dad took a hacksaw to a rifle once, he was a bodyman and he if I recall after hacksawing the barrel off he did basically what you said, only I think it might have been a ball bearing he used, will have to ask him, he is 90 now, but he may remember, anyway it never diminished its accuracy and I have it now, can't recall all the stuff he used to do but he could not afford in the early years with four boys to spend money foolishly, so did for himself, and it all worked well, brother and I even started doing little amateur things, like lapping lugs, polishing barrels and actions before bluing, even did some blueing ourselves, heating and bending bolts, mounting scopes after drilling and tapping, so I am sure one can do it, but only if one feels confident.

Use a 60" bolt cutter. Lops them barrels off real fast.

Now the crowning begins!

Some CHF barrels, like those made by FN, have a tapered bore at the muzzle end to increase accuracy. If you shorten them you lose the taper. Depending on whether the bore behind them is still tighter than the rest of the barrel you could or could not have a change in accuracy.

Brownells has the barrel facing / crowning tools needed.

Make sure you cut from the muzzle end and all is good.

This is how TAK explains "I learned everything I know on the internet."

Good job TAK.


Travis

My dad had a 20 gauge single shot Stevens shot gun. He must have stuck the barrel in the mud or something. He took a shot at a pheasant out behind the house one day and blew about 6 inches off the end of the barrel. Dad cut the banana peel off with a hacksaw, and filed the rough cut smooth. Did not seem to affect accuracy at all. Still have that shot gun and it still is a accurate at ever.

I shortened at least a dozen barrels with the method prairie goat describes, ranging from at least one .22 rimfire on up to .30+ caliber centerfires, and never had a problem. Probably read about the method in one of my gunsmithing books.

Then about 20 years ago started using the Brownell's hand tool, both when shortening barrels and just for touching up crowns. One of the rifles, a heavy-barreled Remington 700 .223, turned out to be the second most accurate rifle I've owned, a genuine quarter-incher for 5 shots at 100 yards. Would guess I've shortened at least two dozen barrels since getting the tool.

I didn't say it wouldn't work dumbschidt. In fact, I did say that it WOULD. I stated that a Manson Tool would work much mo'betta. Spending twenty or thirty bucks to obtain an 11-degree crown at a perfect 90 axis to the bore as it exits the tube is a smart thing to do, 100% of the time.

Edit:

I'd also like to re-state that cutting off an accurate Tikka barrel 2in don't strike me as overly bright.