help me understand the legalities of shortening a barrel

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wood hog

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Firearm in question is a bolt action gun. Has the factory barrel. I remember reading somewhere that a person cant cut a barrel down themselves but that its acceptable to buy a shorter aftermarket barrel and install it to end up with a legally approved gun. All i can find with the rcmp has to do with overall length and then the barrel length for semi-autos.
 
You can cut the barrel yourself or have it done by a shop down to 457mm. Barrel can be shorter than that on a bolt action only if it came from the factory that way (meaning the barrel not the entire rifle). So have it cut to 18.5” or 19” to be safe or buy an aftermarket barrel if you want it shorter than that.

You can do it yourself with a hacksaw, file and crown reamer. If you go that route cut the barrel a bit longer because it sometimes takes quite a bit of filling to get it perfectly square, depending on how good your cut was. If you send it to a shop they’ll do it on a lathe and it should be perfect.
 
Ungrateful said:
You can cut the barrel yourself or have it done by a shop down to 457mm. Barrel can be shorter than that on a bolt action only if it came from the factory that way (meaning the barrel not the entire rifle). So have it cut to 18.5” or 19” to be safe or buy an aftermarket barrel if you want it shorter than that.

You can do it yourself with a hacksaw, file and crown reamer. If you go that route cut the barrel a bit longer because it sometimes takes quite a bit of filling to get it perfectly square, depending on how good your cut was. If you send it to a shop they’ll do it on a lathe and it should be perfect.
Click to expand...

To add; If you do it yourself, use a pipe clamp around the barrel to act as a guide and keep your cut square. Will save you time and material trying to fix an off square hack.
 
Cannot cut shorter than 18.1"... I always stay at least 18.5" to be safe, in case the crown gets screwed up or an off square cut etc....
 
hoytcanon said:
Cannot cut shorter than 18.1"... I always stay at least 18.5" to be safe, in case the crown gets screwed up or an off square cut etc....
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This is not quite correct. The number in legislation is 457mm (17.99") and that is the legal minimum. 457mm is OK, 456.9mm is prohib.

Your approach of leaving a bit extra is very prudent, just in case.


Mark
 
Arcosdad said:
Not correct. Look at all the coach guns on the market for example. I've cut many shotguns.
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Wrong, you cannot compare a factory barrel to a barrel cut aftermarket... the laws for a barrel cut after OEM sale are more restrictive than for factory barrels. I have had a bunch of Ruger M77 Frontier rifles with 16.5" barrels, but it is illegal to cut a 22" M77 barrel down shorter than 18.1".
 
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mmattockx said:
This is not quite correct. The number in legislation is 457mm (17.99") and that is the legal minimum. 457mm is OK, 456.9mm is prohib.

Your approach of leaving a bit extra is very prudent, just in case.


Mark
Click to expand...
I am aware, but good luck finding any gunsmith to cut any barrel even to 18.1"... 18.5" is a good place to stop.
 
hoytcanon said:
Wrong, you cannot compare a factory barrel to a barrel cut aftermarket... the laws for a barrel cut after OEM sale are more restrictive than for factory barrels. I have had a bunch of Ruger M77 Frontier rifles with 16.5" barrels, but it is illegal to cut a 22" M77 barrel down shorter than 18.1".
Click to expand...
The question was can a shotgun barrel be legally cut or is it restricted to the stamped length, and the answer is yes, it can be cut. Rifles were not mentioned.
 
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