Sawed off shotgun Gunsmithing question? Fox BST
I have a Fox BST that I want to cut off. The last few inches of the 28" barrels are ugly and I have never been able to hit anything with it anyway... I have a hankering to try Cowboy games and need a coach gun... See where I am going, are the barrels welded together the whole way, can I just lay it down on the bandsaw and make her into a 22" gun and install a new bead? Or will it fall apart?
My border collie is smarter than your honor student.
My border collie is smarter than your honor student.
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It will not come apart. the top and bottom barrel ribs hold it together. Provided that theses ribs are still soldered and not damaged. 0 -
I could be wrong, but I thought the preferred SXS for cowboy action was the rabbit eared versions. You might be money ahead to sell the Fox and buy a lower priced option.
To err is human, to moo is bovine.0 -
when you cut it besides putting a bead on it ,you might find a hourglass hole in-between the barrel ,depending on how the manufacturer chose to make it ,anyway you might need to fill it or braze over it
you have the barrels welded together by a spacer ,and sometimes it is hollow ,sometimes they have spaces with breaks in every few inches
looks something like this
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) ( ,hopefully the center will be solid ,look at the end of the two barrels you will see what I am talking about
another thing to take into consideration ,it the weight of the barrels ,I have one that was cut down ,when breaking it down I have to give the barrels a manual push down or it will not clear the breach face ,and I cannot load it ,due to the fact that the weight of the long barrels are no longer there ,while it might not be the speediest gun ,and not be good for action shooting ,I love the little gun because I am the only one that knows how to load it in a hurry ,it took me awhile to get down a method of holding it to where it will eject the shells ,and give me enough clearance to put in two more
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Thanks for the insight guys. Yes the exposed hammers might be more historically accurate, but this will work and I have it. Before I go very far with it I am going to tear it down, replace the springs and polish everything so it opens freely.
My border collie is smarter than your honor student.0 -
Anyone considering cutting double barrels should be aware that few, probably none, are welded together, some are brazed or silver soldered and many are just soft soldered. Before doing any heating of the barrels be sure of what you are doing. If you get up to the low soft solder temperatures, around 450 degrees F, the ribs can loosen and the barrels come apart. Above posting by gone-p is right about the hourglass shape gap you may find. I wouldn't try to solder it up. Instead epoxy glue that has powdered metal in it will be just fine and look pretty much the same as solder.
Been there, done that!0 -
richbug, I believe that the Fox BST barrels are brazed rather than soft soldered. If you do shorten them, I think that you will see a brass colored line between the ribs and barrels. In either case, something that has worked for me is to ball up a small wad of steel wool with some flux, and use it to make a dam between the barrels about a 1/16 deep between the barrels. Then fill the pocket formed with soft solder using as little heat as possible, and quickly. If the barrels are brazed together as I suspect, you'll have no trouble at all. If they are soldered you'll still be OK if you do it quickly.
Then dress the barrel ends off with a file and the gun will look like it came from the factory that way.
Cheers,
OleDuk[:)][:)]
"Disperse you Rebels; Damn you,throw down your arms and disperse!"
British Major John Pitcairn, April 19, 1775. He fell at Bunker Hill two months later.0 -
The Stevens/Fox BST barrels are silver-soldered and can be hot-blued, etc, without difficulty.
When you shorten the barrels, be sure to face each muzzle flush and remove all burrs. I have had good luck using AcraGlas and the black dye furnished in the kit to plug the gap between the barrels.
Scrappy Doo sleeps with the fishes.0 -
Let me split a hair that might help you out in the long run. As for the reduced weight of the barrels requiring you to push them down, this is actually the reverse of how a SXS should be operated.
The correct method is to lever the receiver away from the barrels instead of breaking the barrels away from the receiver. In other words, control of the barrels should be maintained while force is applied to the receiver to open the breech. This method is easier on the action and allows better control for quicker reloads and recovery. If this cannot be done without difficulty your gun isn't smooth enough.
Factory shooters for British double-gun maker W.W. Greener demonstrated on several occasions that, when using this method, a good double gun shooter could actually maintain a higher rate of accurate fire over an extended period than one using pump action shotgun.0 -
I was told the samething. Push the Stock and reciever down, Not the Barrels. The ejection is better and postive. 0 -
Before you cut, find out what the blue book on that gun is. I've heard that Fox has somewhat of a following. Once you cut it you kill a significant part of the value.
Regards,0
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