[gyrhed]

I am going to cut my 1895 to 18" +/- this weekend, if the magazine tube I ordered gets here. My question is does anybody know if there is an optimum length of mag tube? Since a 45-70 shell is right at 2.5" the barrel can be removed in basically 2.5" increments once you determine a distance. Problem is if I use my standard 1895 it holds about 4.5 rounds and that equates to about 11-1/4" and the tube is 13-1/4" which leaves 2" for compressed spring, followers etc. If i use my CB i come up with 3" for spring and follower.

If I use the data for the standard i need an 17.25 barrel to get 6 rounds, to get 7 rounds I have to have a 19.75" barrell. 5 rounds would be 14.75" not going there.

If I use the CB measurements I need 18.25 to get 6 rounds. 5 rounds would be 16" which I think is really a little too sort.

I would like this barrel as short as possible I know the safe thing would be to cut it to 18" and cut the tube to match. It would probalby work no matter what.

BAsically I did the calcs and answered my own question. But just in case has anyone gone shorter than 18" barrel and still been able to load 6 rounds in the tube? Or on the other side have aan 18" barrel and can not put more than 5 in the tube.

 

[lever addict]

Rather than base it on capacity I would go either 16 1/4", 18 1/2", or 20" as these are the standard barrel lengths.

 

[Gaterskiner]

If you haven't killed it with 6 rounds do you think one more will help?
Just sayin. ;D

 

[paulo57509]

"I am going to cut one....."

Something completely different immediately crossed my mind.......

 

[h-bomb]

"I am going to cut one....."

Something completely different immediately crossed my mind.......

haha me too. pretty much the only reason i checked it out.

 

[1895Gunner]

If you haven't killed it with 6 rounds do you think one more will help?
Just sayin. ;D

Perfect.... +1 ;D

 

[gyrhed]

If you haven't killed it with 6 rounds do you think one more will help?
Just sayin. ;D

That is not the kind of answer that will not endear me to you sir. It is you obvious you don't have a feral hog problem.

Here in North TX we have a big problem.

I have easily emptied 10 round magazines from my 6.8 SPC AR-15 and wished I had carried a 20 when I get 60-100 hogs in one 80 acre wheat field its just a matter of not loosing your concentration. 8 DRT and two solid body hits that ran off. It aint hard they don't run very fast at all, and are often down to a lope by the end of the run off the field. Especially the big ones. The little ones come back looking for mama too.

So yes I could easily desire the ability to shoot more the 6 times, but I want an 18" barrel for the brush and a magazine that is the same lenght as the barrel. All I want to do is make sure another 1/2 of barrel wasn't going to give me one more round.

 

[Elkman]

I really thought this over before I posted. As I am new I don't want to ruffle any more feathers unless its really important to me. Rather than go to all of the time and effort involved with cutting and crowning, I would buy a couple more magazines for the AR ?

 

[h-bomb]

gyrhed,
do you have a lathe to do your barrel work on? if not how are you planning to make sure your cut is square? also dont forget to sheck for burrs in the muzzle after you recrown.

BTW how did that little 6.8 do against the hogs? seems a little on the small side to me.

 

[gyrhed]

I do not drink the gunsmith coolaid and I do not hold to the opinion that all work on guns is best left to a gunsmith. On the contrary my biggest disapointments have been the machine that I let the so called professionals do. On my last shortening project I shortened a Taurus M63 from 22" to 16.5". I took it to a professional and he quoted $300 to do the work, so I went to another and he was higher. It took me less than 1/2" an hour to cut it off and scquare it with a hacksaw and file and crown it with a stove bolt, valve grinding compound and a drill. It is a tack driver. The last time I had a mauser action drilled and tapped by a professional I had to plug and redrill the holes myself to get them true. HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO FIX HIS MISTAKE!!

You can easily cut a barrel square with a hack saw, cut off saw, lathe, We cut one with a saws-all once. Its the followup with the hand file and the crowning that gets it right. Crown can be addressed in number of simple ways with stuff you have lying around the shop and a hand drill, or you can simply order a crowning tool.

 

[gyrhed]

As to the 6.8, where do you guys hunt hogs? Hogs (even the big ones) are not some magical animal with super powers. A 6.8 will do just about anything a 243 will do. I do not find them any harder to kill that a whitetail deer. In fact they are easier to kill in large numbers. Contrary to what seems to be the prevailing thought there are not millions of 300-400# boars out there, but there are millions of 45-125# hogs everywhere. Most big mama sows are going to be less than 200# unless you run your deeer feeders hard all year. Its just to dry where we hunt to support anything else.

I would be willing to bet that the majority of hogs killed in TX are killed with an AR-15 in 5.56X45, because it is what the professional hunters use.

Heck, I have killed more hogs with the little taurus M63 in 22LR than most people have killed total.

With hogs its all shot placement, Just about anything you can shoot well is good enough.

I am only shooting the 45-70 at them because I want to have an animal where I can use the 45-70. Most of my shots at bucks are over long wheat fields and I will not use the 45-70 with iron sights for that purpose.

 

[stevewhr]

Bet you had no idea how controversial cutting your own barrel could be! Steve.

 

[jh45gun]

Nice thing about a lever gun like a Marlin or a Winchester is you can load it on the run that is what that loading gate is for. Ya shoot 4 rounds slap in a couple more between shots.