Page 1 of 1

Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:10 pm
by mgood
So I've been wanting one of those tacticool riot guns for home defense.
But I had this old 20 gauge bird gun sitting around doing nothing. And I have a hacksaw and a little free time. A dangerous combination.

It's a Mossberg 500CT. I've learned that the C means it's a 20 gauge. I have no idea what the T is for.
It came with the C-Lect Choke, an adjustable choke gizmo which recently fell victim to the hacksaw.
This was my bird gun when I was a teenager. I killed my first pheasant with it as well as numerous dove and quail and maybe a couple of sandhill cranes. It's been sitting in the closet, unused for decades. The rust monster was taking over and I knew I needed to do something about it. By cutting off the end, I got rid of the rustiest part. A little 0000 steel wool and oil got rid of most of the rest. (It's still a work in progress.) The 26" barrel has been shortened to 18.5". The stock was shortened, back in the day, for about a 13" length of pull for my short arms. That still fits me fine. Overall length is now about 37". I still need to drill and tap to reattach the front bead sight, especially since that's what keeps the vent rib from sliding off. That may be a job for a real gunsmith rather than a hack like me. I'd like to eventually get a tritium front sight, but the rest I'm going to leave vintage 1980-ish. I blacked the cut end of the barrel and the end of the rib with a Sharpie as a temporary cosmetic fix. When I'm sure I'm done messing with it I'll get some cold blue on there. I could have the metal reblued, and I could refinish the wood furniture myself. (I even have a 30-year-old Pachmayr recoil pad, exactly like the one on this gun, still in the box never been put on a gun.) But I think I'll leave it alone for now, at least. I think this gun's got a lot of character. No need to try to make it look new. Sure it's got some dings and scratches, but most of those were hard-earned while trekking through the brush playing bird dog for my dad. The blemishes are somewhat comforting. They say that this shotgun and I, in our previous lives, shared quite a few adventures together.

It holds 5 in the magazine plus 1 in the chamber of 2.75" shells. (4+1 of 3" shells.) Loaded with six Federal 2.75" Max #3 buckshot, it's my new bedside gun for when things go bump in the night.

Image

Image Image

Image

Image

Here's the C-Lect Choke I cut off. (I took another 1.5" off after this.):
Image

Without the rib:
Image
Image

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:30 pm
by Pug
Good job in finishing of the trim! Looks great...
:hurry:

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:50 pm
by MoJo
Looks like a BG's worst nightmare. Be sure to pattern it with the load you plan to use at the distance you are most likely to use it at. Check it out with slugs too. One of the magnetic fiber optic beads that will fit on your rib will make sighting it easier. Good job and a heckuva way to save some $$$. :thumbs2:

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:23 pm
by mgood
I do want to pattern it. That's something I've never done. The longest possible shot inside my apartment is about 20 feet, so I don't expect the pellets to spread too much.

The Trijicon TrijiDot is a fiber optic sight that looks like it clamps on the rib. That looks like an easy install, but I'm pretty sure I want tritium, which will glow without any outside light source. There are a couple of tritium sights that screw in where the front bead sight would normally be (from Meprolight and Trijicon) and one that epoxies on over an existing bead sight (from XS, which uses a Trijicon tritium tube).

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 10:07 am
by jamisjockey
mgood wrote:I do want to pattern it. That's something I've never done. The longest possible shot inside my apartment is about 20 feet, so I don't expect the pellets to spread too much.

The Trijicon TrijiDot is a fiber optic sight that looks like it clamps on the rib. That looks like an easy install, but I'm pretty sure I want tritium, which will glow without any outside light source. There are a couple of tritium sights that screw in where the front bead sight would normally be (from Meprolight and Trijicon) and one that epoxies on over an existing bead sight (from XS, which uses a Trijicon tritium tube).

They won't, but it might surpise you where the POI is after tinkering with the gun.

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 7:10 pm
by mgood
jamisjockey wrote: . . . it might surpise you where the POI is after tinkering with the gun.
Hmm, thanks for the heads up. I'll have to check.
This gun hasn't been fired since the eighties, so I couldn't tell you for sure where the POI was in relation to the bead sight.

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 10:03 pm
by Deltaboy
Good Job.

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:55 am
by Deltaboy
Got it done yet???

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 12:52 pm
by mgood
Deltaboy wrote:Got it done yet???
I should, but I really haven't messed with it since I got my 870 12 ga and decked it out as a home defense weapon.
viewtopic.php?f=87&t=53006" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 5:47 pm
by ddstuder
Denver City Texas!

Worked out there in the mid 90's. did a job for shell oil.

Had dinner with the mayor a few times. Because he was the cook in the local diner! :smilelol5:

Seems like a lifetime ago.

Good job on that shotty!

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 3:37 pm
by mgood
ddstuder wrote:Had dinner with the mayor a few times. Because he was the cook in the local diner! :smilelol5:
Probably Royce Hemmeline. He owned a café named Royce's Restaurant for a while and he was mayor at one time.

Re: Shortened Shotty

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:21 pm
by Deltaboy
I cut my single shot barrel down to 20 inches. :txflag: