Barrel shortening
Here's a 30" barrel on a Winchester 1897 shotgun. The customer told me how his great grandfather has purchased this shotgun and used it for bird hunting. He wanted to keep it in the family, but he had no need for such a long shotgun and wanted to convert it for self defense. At his request, I cut the barrel down to 18.5", squared the end, polished the crown and installed a front bead sight. I had to drill and tap the front sight hole so it could withdtand 12-gauge rounds. A little cold blue on the front crown and the project was done.
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BARREL SHORTENING
Here's another example of barrel shortening on a Mossberg 500A shotgun with a hunting rail. The customer wanted this 28" barrel shortented to 18.5" to make his Mossberg into a self defense shotgun. I cut the barrel down to 18.5", squared the end and polished the crown. I also cut the rail back to its closest support and rounded the end. I could have installed a front bead sight, but with the rail all along the top of the barrel, it wasn't necessary. A little cold blue on the front crown & rail and the project was done.
BULDGED BARREL
Problem:
My customer was firing his Sig P232 .380 pistol when the slide locked back and couldn't be reset. He noticed the round before had almost no recoil and emmited a "hiss" instead of a "bang." He fired one more round and the slide stuck back. What happened? Probably he had fired an underpowered "squib" load which pushed the bullet half way down the barrel and stuck. When he fired the next round, it was full power and when the bullet hit the round already stuck in the barrel, it buldged the barrel and wouldn't let the slide go back into battery. It's time to see the gunsmith who will remove the barrel without damaging the slide. A new barrel is required along with a serious inspection / test firing session to make sure the gun is safe to shoot. This could have been avoided if the shooter had stopped before firing that second round. A squib load is easily detected if you feel a reduction in recoil and a "hiss" sound instead of the normal "bang". Just use a wood rod to pound out the stuck bullet and your gun is probably safe to shoot. Once you get a buldged in the barrel it needs to be replaced and inspected by a qualified gunsmith.