Finally got the Barrel I was looking for.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Finally got the barrel I was looking for for my HD M500. It is an 18.5" Smoothbore Barrel with Rifle Sights.

This is the barrel I have wanted for this gun since I got it. Mossberg was no help and this is a Mossberg Barrel that they made some time back, but won't make now.

Should get it by next week. And it will get shot once and then sent to Vang Comp for the process.

This will make this gun a seriously formidable HD gun and I expect Buck into 7" at 25 yards with much greater accuracy from slugs due to the sights. It has got a Lyman Folding Open Sight on the rear, and a big blade on the front.

Can't wait!

Randy

[centershot]

Congrats Randy, I know you've been wanting one of those for a while now!

[megasupermagnum]

If yours shoots high, as many do, I've since learned that Lyman makes a whole range of folding rear sights. I have not tried it on my 24" barrel, but just by eye I can see the lowest, the Lyman #16B, is shorter than the original Mossberg folding sight.

[Hamish]

An 18.5 iron sighted smoothbore with chokes is an absolute no brainer in today's self defence shotgun market, not to mention for short range slug/buck shot states.

[W.R.Buchanan]

This one doesn't have chokes, and it will go to Vang Comp immediately for their barrel mods.

Let me splane the Vang Comp Process. Lengthen the forcing cone to 3+". Back bore the barrel to .745, leaving a tapered choke back to.730 in the last 2". port the barrel with 62ea. 1/16" holes.

What this does is completely change the recoil impulse of the gun to a smooth push instead of a harsh smack. It also tightens the shot pattern dramatically. 00 Buck into 7" at 25 yards and it actually does it! My 20" M500 Tactical Gun does it easily.

I shot this gun at a 3 gun last weekend and it ran fine although I had to Port Load it about 5 times in an 8 round stage because I failed to notice that I had a "Failure to Extract" malfunction, and shucked 3 rounds out on the ground before I figured it out. I had to find and grab one off the ground to make my last shot.

Where the Rifle Sights will really come into play is with slugs, and it will get a steady diet of my Mihec Lyman Sabot Slugs so teh gun will be sighted dead on at 50 yards for those..

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Well: I got the barrel today 3 days after he shipped it by Priority Mail ! was pretty happy about that. The barrel is used but in decent shape, and will respond to the small amount of TLC that I give just about anything that shows up at my doorstep.

Need to shoot it to see what it will do, then probably send it to Vang Comp for the process. They are getting to know me pretty well as this will be the 4th barrel I have sent to them for work, plus all the people I have sent to them,,, which they actually acknowledge.

To add a little more to the Hans Vang Story, he started in Santa Barbara CA modifying Police Shotguns in the late 80's. He was a Remington 870 guy and worked up a barrel mod process which was a spin off of what was happening to Trap Shotguns. His process reduces felt recoil dramatically, while tightening shot patterns. 7" at 25 yards is what they advertise and it is no bull. My other M500 does it without fail. It is 4" at 15 yards which would be like getting hit by a 4" diameter slug.

When You shoot a Tactical Shotgun Class at Front Sight you are shooting mostly at steel man sized targets. The head is about 7'x7" and the body is about 15"x15". The targets are painted black and my gun will completely strip the paint off the head with the first shot with #8's. The pattern density is complete! I always do this just because I can. Others have lots of air between the pellets and require many shots to completely remove the paint.

Then the questions start!

Anyway the Rifle Sights on this barrel will improve my slug shooting with this gun and the barrel work will make buckshot viable out to 50 yards.

Randy

[EDG]

I have a Smith & Wesson Model 3000 IC barrel that I use for skeet that has had a similar porting process.
I have shot many, many rounds of skeet with it. I can tell no difference in the recoil. I can tell a little difference in the sound when fired. There is often a high pitch whistle that I do not hear with my non ported barrels.
I was once hit by a powder fragment out of a ported .450 Marlin barrel even though I was well behind the shooter so I am not too crazy about ported barrels.

[megasupermagnum]

I have a Smith & Wesson Model 3000 IC barrel that I use for skeet that has had a similar porting process.
I have shot many, many rounds of skeet with it. I can tell no difference in the recoil. I can tell a little difference in the sound when fired. There is often a high pitch whistle that I do not hear with my non ported barrels.
I was once hit by a powder fragment out of a ported .450 Marlin barrel even though I was well behind the shooter so I am not too crazy about ported barrels.

It's a matter of preference and perception, as is most things recoil. What Vang Comp does specifically is lengthen the forcing cone, and back bore the barrel, but leave the muzzle alone. This essentially creates a fixed IC choke barrel. due to the created slop, this supposedly smooths the recoil curve as initially there is blow by in the forcing cone as the round is fired. Once in the barrel plastic wads seal without issue. I'm sure porting design plays some part, but it blows out the top reducing muzzle rise, no real secret there. I don't like porting either, not in barrels, not in chokes. All a matter of preference.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes the difference in the recoil impulse on a light shotgun like a M500 is night and day. I have let many people shoot my M500 and the ones who shoot alot can tell in one shot. The porting has an effect on muzzle rise, and being able to transition to the next target is improved. This showed up on my A5 Buck Special barrel which is already IC at the muzzle with a long forcing cone. When the porting was done the muzzle rise was about 2" as opposed to 6-8" before.

The results on this shorter barrel will be more dramatic.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

So the only thing I don't like about this new barrel is that the front sight is fixed with no insert. About the only thing I could do to it was paint the backside white, which helps alot, but I would rather have a green fiber optic in it.

If it becomes too much of an issue I might try to put it in the mill and mill off the blade and cut a dovetail slot for a Williams Front Sight like I have on my other guns.

These are impossible to miss in the bright sunlight,,, and with a light on at night they show up well too. You just put the green dot in close proximity to or on the target and let fly.

Have to figure it out.

Randy