doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com cutting barrel length

i have a lefever h grade 16ga with 30in barrels. the gun is too heavy for my taste was wondering if taking 2-4inches off the barrels would have any noticable affect. also, how would it affect the barrels aside from having to rechoke them.

First effect would be to hear many of us here cry. Before you cut the barrels please sell the gun and find another for your needs. The chokes will be gone and it may not have the point of impact that you expect. On top of that it will become just one more short barrels that will never grow long again. If you want a short barrel double then buy one that started out that way instead of making one yourself. There is a real demand for a 16 with 30" barrels if you wish to sell the gun.

SNR, I am assuming you are asking a serious question. If you cut the barrels you will ruin a perfectly good piece of American history along with destroying the value of the gun. Your best bet would to be to sell the gun to me and put the money towards a gun that suits you better like a Fox 16b. which you should be easily able to find at under 6#. Peter

i am serious. aren't 28inch and 26inch barrels more common than 30inch? i have fox 16ga with 30in #4 bbls weighing in at 6.5lbs and i love it. my lefever is in excess of 7lbs and a 16ga needn't be that heavy.

Well, it seems that the Barrel Whackers Society is alive and well!

SNR< I can't tell you how much weight you would lose by cutting the barrels but I can guess how much value you would lose. Buy a gun that fits your requirements and don't ruin a perfectly good original gun by cutting the barrels. Peter

I wouldnt ..but its your gun, do what ya like....not like its a high grade gun.....if the gun is barrel heavy it will give it a better balance ...and most likely loose 4 to 8 oz.....then add tubes for choke and regulation if need be...

It is very unlikely that your point of impact will be the same and will probably be radically altered.In the construction of double barrel guns the barrels are bound together so they converge except in the last few inches of the muzzle end where they are parellel-cutting this area off will produce cross firing.I also agree that this gun is an important piece of Americana and a rare very desirable one that is very sought after today.Remember there won't be any more.

So, here's a generalization for 12g double guns with about.035 wall barrels. Figure about 1 oz. per inch. Yours is a 16g and will be less. If you need half a pound off the gun, figure on cutting about 10 inches off.

As for them shooting as they did before you cut them, I can tell you all my 12g and 16g guns have converging barrels and they do not go parallel near the muzzles. I will put dollars to donuts that yours don't either. That means you can cut them and not have to re-lay the ribs or adjust the convergence.

Personally, I think cutting the barrels is not going to make this gun into what you want and certainly won't make it what most anyone else wants later if you decide to sell it. But it's your gun so hack away.