Barrel Cutdown from 26" to 22" to achieve Cylinder Bore - Pics

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DerekB

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Hey guys. I really have my heart set on the SXP Camp/Field combo from Winchester, after having fired the defender and absolutely loving it. Unfortunately they are slim pickings right now, especially where my local gun store is concerned. A note: I always try to support my local shop, who generally has really good prices as it is, but even if they come in a bit higher I place deep value on being able to handle a gun before I purchase it, and without that store I wouldn't have that option. So, they are looking at anywhere from a month to who-the-hell-knows on getting this gun in. My buddies are itching to do some plinking and so clay throwing, and I needed something to show up and play ball with.

So, I picked up an ratty, beat up old Cooey 84 on Thursday for less than $50.00. Covered in surface rust, stiff break, etc. Took her home and got to work with some really fine grit sandpaper and steel wool and cleaned her up good. All of the rust and grime came off pretty quick and she's starting to look a bit prettier. Still a good bit of fading on the stock and faded bluing so I might end up just throwing it in and going for the full refinish on everything. Inside of the barrel looks surprisingly excellent. There was a good bit of green oxidization buildup right in the first inch or so of the barrel, but it scrubbed out no problem with a wire bore brush and some elbow grease.

As most of you guys know, the old Cooey 84s are mostly full choke, and I want a plinker I can send my own molded slugs down and such, so I decided to cut the barrel back a ways to accommodate the variety of projectile type I like to send down a 12 gauge.

First couple of pics are my original cleanup job and how my $50 shotgun looks after some love and attention (I've got links to them because I think they are a bit big for actual embed in the post and I don't want to trouble the mods with having to come by and remove them:


https://www.dropbox.com/s/8gsgy7kzz5c2hb8/01 - side after cleaning.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3eeiaokglpts4ug/02 - break open after cleaning.png



I actually used a steel pipe cutter that I picked up from Princess Auto for all of $15.00 to do the cutting job. I just took it really, really slow after I clamped the barrel down and once I had the original score in place it went pretty quick from there. About 3 minutes to cleanly cut the barrel in a nice, straight line.

After that I used a small filing set to put a little bit of a bevel on the inside and outer lips of the barrel and clean up all of the edges so they were smooth to the touch and had no burring or sharp sections. Finished off with some emery cloth. Here's the finished cut job :

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vf8xs5voql266q6/03 - after cut and filing.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c1rvrakfqso7jb7/04 - after cut and filing.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aifq746vvd8l5hx/05 - front after cleaning up cut.jpg

Now, I think I'm just going to take a blue-ing pen to the exposed steel where I cut, but if you guys have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them!
 
SoBored said:
Look pretty good. Lots of meat still left on that barrel. Are you going to get a the bead back on it and get it threaded for chokes?
Click to expand...

Probably not going to get it threaded, as that operation plus the chokes would run me a lot more than the actual price of the gun. I'm just going to leave it cylinder bore so I don't have to worry about putting whatever I want down the barrel.

As for a bead, I've got a snap on optic for a generic smooth 12-gauge barrel, so I'll see about messing around with that and where it gets me. A bead would be preferred, just because optics will admittedly look a little funny on that gun. If I decide to go full strip and restore on it I will get a bead installed, otherwise I'll probably just use my snap-on optic for plinking.

@Winchested - thanks for the tip. I am luckily making a trip to CT tomorrow, as is, so I think that's getting added to the shopping list.

@Clintax - Thanks! I am really impressed with how it turned out. Luckily I saw her inner beauty and just had to coax/scrub it out lol. I am very impressed with the value of this purchase so far, especially since I have spent more on a single damned meal in my life. Great value.
 
The wood was in great shape too! Lucky find.

There's always a poly-choke option to constrict a cut barrel. Might cost you 30 bucks shipped on the e/e.

Just a thought,

Jonesy
 
Jonesyatpl said:
The wood was in great shape too! Lucky find.

There's always a poly-choke option to constrict a cut barrel. Might cost you 30 bucks shipped on the e/e.

Just a thought,

Jonesy
Click to expand...

I just checked out the website and that thing is pretty cool. I noticed the Poly Choke II is split up by various models, but the original seems to just be either vented or not - is it sort of a universal fit? Do you just take it into to a gunsmith and get him to install it?

I just got approved for e/e so I'll swing on over there and see if anyone has one.

Thanks for the tip.
 
Did the same with my Cooey 84 back in the late 60's. Cut it down to 22" and epoxied a front sight on it (never came loose).
Boy, would that thing throw a slug accurately! And kick!
 
Jonesyatpl said:
The wood was in great shape too! Lucky find.

There's always a poly-choke option to constrict a cut barrel. Might cost you 30 bucks shipped on the e/e.

Just a thought,

Jonesy
Click to expand...

I would be interested in getting a dozen poly-chokes if I could get them for that price. When (or where) I looked they were over the $200.00 mark. Any info on where they can be purchased at $30.00 would be greatly appreciated.

The adjustable choke that I put on mine came from an old broken Mossberg bolt action. I've got several buddies (and a bunch of their friends) that want short choked single shots.
 
You can find the original, generic style poly choke for under $90 brand new. The vented/break version goes for about $120. They get more expensive when they are specifically designed for an individual shotgun model, likely just for the sake of economies of scale.
 
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