How to shorten a 10"octagon Contender bbl.

[DanWalker]

Hey guys. I need to chop a couple inches off of my octagon bbl for my contender.
Is this doable in a standard 3 jaw chuck on a lathe?
I'm chopping a 357 hotshot barrel to get rid of the choke tube, plus i've always wanted a shorty bbl for omy contender.
Thanks,
Dan

[leftiye]

The three jaw might could be used on the round part at the rear of the barrel if the underlug will fit between two jaws. but the barrel would stick so far out that it wouldn't support well against a cutoff blade unless the muzzle was supported by a tailstock center. The octagonal portion wouldn't chuck well in the three jaws, plus the octagonal part is tapered (not gonna chuck true). You might be able to saw it off with a hacksaw, and re crown it on the lathe. Or you could file it pretty, and get one of those hand crown cutters from Brownell's to finish it with.

[Doc Highwall]

What I did for a friend's 500SW was to make a pilot that just fit the bore out of brass, then cut it with a saw leaving enough to clean up. Then I chucked the crowning tool in the three jaw chuck and carefully put the barrel over the pilot, now I used the tail stock with a live center to support the chamber end. I put the lathe in the back gears and slowly fed the tail stock. By holding the barrel in front of the barrel lug I could control the cutting by griping the barrel or letting it spin. Go slow, back the tail stock out often and clean the chips out.

[725]

Aside from the desire to remove a choke or some other personal preference, is there a technical advantage to making a short barrel? Doc Highwall's photo above looks like a perfect target crown. Did it improve accuracy? Inquiring minds want to know.

[lathesmith]

Why not use a 4-jaw chuck and pad the barrel with sheet lead? I do think Lefteye is right, this really isn't a job for a 3-jaw chuck, at least not a job you'd be proud to show anyone after it's done. Actually, there are several ways to get the job done, and it looks like Doc got creative and found his own successful way. I like it, and the results speak for themselves. Nice job!
Lathesmith

[Doc Highwall]

My friend Dave said it was shooting ragged groups at 100 yds with the Sierra 400 gr bullet and now he is trying cast boolits in it. You have to put a indicator on the cutter and make sure it is running true. The shortest barrel I can put in my lathe is about 20" because of the head.