Dedicated 1911 shot shell barrel......

[Gun-adian]

Mods, if this is the wrong forum, feel free to move it.

Need some expert advice.....

******Before y'all panic, I'm in Canada and not subject to the ATF short barrelled shotgun BS. Up here a pistol is a pistol, smoothbore or not.******

I have come into possession of a Para-Ordnance 1911 barrel with a bulge about 1.5" from the muzzle. No, I didn't do it. It was given to me.

My thought is to repair the bulge (not quite sure how to do that...) and ream or grind out the riflings and make a proper or as close to possible smoothbore barrel.

I've done up shot loads for my Para 1911 and they work but the pattern ain't the greatest. If I can remove the cause of the wad spin, I'm hoping to improve the pattern.

Salvaging the bulged barrel might work for this purpose. As shotshells are generally lower pressured, I would think the repaired bulge wouldn't be a safety issue.

Thoughts, please.

Be gentle. These ideas form up at 2 am when I can't sleep.....

[HtNRun]

1911 barrels are close to interchangeable. Hit the local gun store up and see the feasibility of just getting a new barrel. Living in the Rocky Mountains, and my distaste for the no legged devils (snakes), I carry my .45 anytime I'm out and about. I carry alternating hollow point, shot shell. Hollow point always first because of cougars being sneaky ********.

So not sure from the way your post sounded, but I'd simply get a new barrel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JimB..]

As it's now 2am here may I suggest that you first fire some unlubed dead-soft bullets at high velocity through the gun. Seems to me that it'll take less time to lead the barrel up than to grind out the rifling.

[Gun-adian]

My bad. I should've been more specific.

My Para P14 is fully intact and functional. The bulged barrel was an extra spare part given to me because the former owner thought I could use it.

Wasn't sure for what at the time.....

The idea to repair and repurpose the extra barrel as a smoothbore came to me later.

Sorry for the confusion....

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Lots to consider here. First, will the barrel function in your 1911 the way it is with the bulge? Probably not, but maybe. The bulge might not pass through the bushing. How to eliminate the bulge....I don't really know. Chuck it in a lathe and turn off the metal on the outside to achieve a uniform external diameter, but that would doubtless leave a ring inside and a spot on the barrel with a very thin wall. Maybe not a problem with the pressure of a shotshell being much lower than ball ammo, but it would be bound to play havoc with the shot pattern when it hit the ring. Maybe heat and hammer the bulged area back into the original dimension? Might work if you had a mandrel inside the bore. Might be able to cut it off and use it in a Commander-sized pistol. How had you thought to go about it?

Do you make your own .45 ACP shotshells? I've experienced the Remington version that when fired opens to a length that won't eject, and the better CCI version that was non-reloadable (in theory, and in any event not much) and have read threads on how some members do it with success; but all in all for my personal use I kind of came to the opinion that a revolver is much better for shotshell purposes.

Para P14--wonderful gun, if a bit bulky. I have a pair, one the conventional model and one LDA. Sad to see them disappear from the market. Are there any indigenous Canadian pistol manufacturers left?

[country gent]

I believe Id start removing the Bulge with a ring and ahrbor press. Take a piece of 2" round stock 1/2" thick and face both sides parallel. Then bore a hole on center to size +.001 of muzzle. give both sides a good lead in and polish smooth. Then push the barrel into this all the way to the hood. Lubricate it well with resizing lube ( imperial sizing die wax should shine here) This will swage the bulge down as much as possible, a light cut may still be required to ensure functioning. You can now ream the bore out to .452 or even slightly larger to just in front of the chamber.If you really feel tempted a light choke could be machined into the muzzle even.

[Geezer in NH]

I would toss the bulged barrel and get a surplus or cheap barrel then have it reamed to smooth.

Why start with a damaged and defective part.

[DougGuy]

^^^^ Exactly!

Were it me, I would start with a 10mm barrel and re-chamber it to 45 ACP and then ream the barrel with a piloted reamer to whatever diameter you wanted. You can use a chucking reamer and grind a nose onto it to use a live pilot so it stays centered. That reamer could even be followed by a Manson 45 ACP throating reamer which would leave you with a choke on the end of the smoothbore if you did it right. Yeah start with something more than junk if you hope for better results.

[jmorris]

I am with the forget about the barrel crowd.

The bulge/bushing won't be the only potential for problems you also have the lug and hood cuts that will be specific to the firearm, frame and slide, it was originally fitted to.

I use a .410 wad in mine and get pretty good patterns for a short rifled barrel, lots better than without cupped wads.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/45%20acp%20shotshell%20die/IMG_20140325_145002_558_zpsa27dad0f.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/45%20acp%20shotshell%20die/IMG_20140325_151846_039_zpsc66561aa.jpg

[jmorris]

Oh, and if you want smooth bore for cheap, cast a few hundred bullets but don't size or lube them and shoot them through your barrel. Problem solved.

[sparky45]

Mr. Morris; what die do you use to achieve that excellent crimp?

[jmorris]

It's a 44 mag die I modified and a mandrel I machined to push the overshot card down while the ring rolls the crimp over. The ring was formed with a 1/2" ball end mill.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/45%20acp%20shotshell%20die/IMG_20140324_174317_588_zpsbb497e50.jpg

This is the build thread.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?235886-Homemade-45-acp-shotshell-die&highlight=45+shotshell

[sparky45]

Thanks for the info.

[DougGuy]

OP if you truly want a smoothbore, I do have a reamer that will chase rifling the full length of a 5" barrel and I have the Sunnen hone to size to a specific diameter and also polish it afterwards. Only prob is you are in Canada!

[Gun-adian]

Thanks for all of the offers and ideas, everyone. I definitely have more to consider here. You've given me a lot to think about.

This page has always been my #1 reloading source.