If you decide to cut the barrel, it is something you can definitely do yourself. I recently sawed off my old single shot. I wouldn't recommend using a hacksaw (unless that's all you have) they are hard to control and keep your cut straight. I used a grinder and a skinny wheel. I laid out my chalk line to follow, and then I put masking tape on the side of the line that's going to be the new end of the barrel, so as to protect the finish. Then with the barrel off and on a flat surface, I slowly rolled it and worked my way around the barrel cutting slowly making a groove all the way around the barrel. I kept doing this until i cut all the way through. This help insure that I had a straight cut and also didn't overheat the barrel as compared to just cutting straight through. When i was done cutting, I lightly filed the burrs off and gave it a slight rounded contour to match the original look. Then i just touched up the end using some cold liquid blue. It turned out pretty good. If you decide to make it a home defense length barrel, its a good idea to leave it a little longer, say a 1/2" or so just to be on the safe side, instead of cutting it right at 18".
There is a thread just below this one called "Home Defense." X'D4DEATH just shortened his barrel, (I believe he had a ribbed barrel) also Cuda66 had some pics of the one he shortened. They may be able to answer some of your questions, and give you some good insight into this process as well. Good luck!
There is a thread just below this one called "Home Defense." X'D4DEATH just shortened his barrel, (I believe he had a ribbed barrel) also Cuda66 had some pics of the one he shortened. They may be able to answer some of your questions, and give you some good insight into this process as well. Good luck!
