9/9/10

My shotgun barrel arrived yesterday! I am ever so glad I didn't cut the original as the new one had some sort of adjustable choke device on the end. I took the gun apart and tried to install the “new” barrel but the ejector fouled on the breech face. I looked at the two barrels side by side and the only difference I could see was the “fingers” on the “new” ejector were slightly longer than the original. “It’s a $150.00 barrel,” I said to myself. “How bad can you screw it up?” I took a file to the tips of the “fingers.” With just a wee bit of filing, the barrel almost fit. With just a tad more filing it did fit. I installed the barrel, fore end, and recoil reducing mag cap, without the recoil spring and friction piece, to mark where to cut. I pushed the barrel all the way in until the action locked open and marked just ahead of the recoil reducer. I measured it and it is 19 inches. I can live with that. Mom was at a Bored Meeting at the church so I decided to go ahead and run to the shop. I took the barrel, but forgot the fore end and Picatinny rail dag-nabbit, to the shop and had a look. I decided against the chop saw because the fence was too far back to lock the barrel in place and I didn't feel like changing it. I hit it with a hacksaw. It cut pretty well but I managed to make a pig’s ear of the straightness. I “cleaned it up” on the grinder and wire wheel then hit it with a file. Yeah, the file was a better idea. I got it straight enough for the girls I date and deburred it once again with the wire wheel. Back at the house I installed it one more time without the recoil spring to see just how close to the end of the recoil reducer it is at full recoil. It lines up exactly with it. I did a final install with all the parts in place and sat back to have a look. Oh yeah, me rikee rots. I set the safety and cycled a few rounds through the chamber, yeah I know that is a dumb thing to do, and it worked flawlessly. In fact, it seemed to cycle shells better than the original barrel, but I might be projecting hopes onto the thing. So, now all I need to do is take it to a gunsmith and have the bluing touched up. I could do it myself, but I don't really want to. Well, I'll go ahead and say it again, “I hope the scope mount arrives today.” If it shipped on Tuesday, it might arrive today. UPS and FedEx are pretty quick with the packages these days. Of course if I get my hopes up, it won't arrive until next week. Well, what are you going to do? I'm going to call it a rant and shut up.

Oops, I just saw that it wasn't Tuesday but yesterday that the thing shipped. I probably won't see it until tomorrow at the earliest. Feh.