Shortening a 97 barrel

[cowboyjared]

I have an 1897 Shotgun that I traded for and it is a little beat up, but to me the barrel is so long it makes the gun cumbersome, any opinions on having it shortened

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

30 inch full chokes are SOO deadly, its a shame to lose the thrill of the BANG-CLANG on the knockovers.

BTW; Don't get me started cause I have a thing about sawdoffs.  I do have a '97 that I cut down to 22 inches with a 'thin-wall" choke put in.  It had already been cut with an ancient Weaver dial-a-duck choke so I actually improved it. And I have a spare 30" barrel from a parts gun to reach out and touch something.

Cut the barrel
Cut the resale price
Cut the effectiveness
Cut the usefullness in hunting or other sporting games

[Red Cent]

Show me a real good cowboy shooter with any shotgun with a 30" barrel.

[Jefro]

Cut it, it's for CAS......20" is the norm. Don't ferget a big ole' brass bead Good Luck

Jefro Relax-Enjoy

[Lucky R. K.]

I have an original that has been shortened to 20" and has been threaded for screw in choke tubes.  It works fine for CAS and anything else I might want to shoot with it.

If yours were a high dollar Purdey, Richards, or Manton I would say leave it alone but it is not a really collectable gun.  Fix it the way you want it and have fun.

Lucky

[Pettifogger]

They made over one million of them.  If it is a beater it has not collector value and cutting the barrel won't hurt the value.  If fact, it might be easier to resell if it is cut and has a large bead.  The cowboy market for these is greater than the hunting market.

[Pay Dirt Norvelle]

I won't cut down either of my 1897s, but if I find one with a bad receiver and good barrel that is a takedown I will buy that and cut the barrel down to use with one of my good ones as long as it is possible to do that.

[Red Cent]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=370614228