Well, I've began to give chopping my M34's barrel some serious thought, but I have some questions before I do so. I was planning to take off 4 inches or so but maybe some of you have found some optimal lengths? If so, let me know.
Q 1: My model 34 is from the late 90's, maybe '97 or '98. Would I be chopping off any sort of factory choke?
Q 2: I was planning on using a jig-saw or maybe even a hack-saw, as I do not have access to a band-saw. What methods do you suggest for making a flush cut?
Q 3: What are your methods for re-crowning? Should I try and replicate the stock crown or is their another crown shape/type that is maybe easy to form while being just as effective?
Q 4: After the job is done, what kind of finishing touch do you give the newly exposed steel?
I think threads like this, if valuable info is posted, are very useful for a couple reasons. One being that part of airgunning is getting to know your gun and even learning how to work on it yourself, and I'm having a blast doing both. The other reason is that I'm sure others, like me, have the mechanical skill and strive for perfection in jobs like this, but lack the speciffic knowledge needed to apply the skill. So maybe threads like this will give confidence to others, encouraging them to look into their guns and see what makes them tick.
someone using a pipe cutter to cut his barrel. the kind plumbers use on galvanized pipe. heavy duty. not the kind you would buy at home depot for cutting copper. plumbers usually have these big honking ones bolted to their work truck. i read somewhere that gunsmiths use a tool called a choke
block to re-choke the barrel. as for crowning i have read several posts on
that process using a round headed screw and cutting compound chucked in a drill. personally i don't think i would take it on on my own gun right now. i guess if i were going to try this i would get an old barrel and practice making the cuts, the choke and the crown untill i had it right before cutting on my gun. i don't know of any links to these things. i doubt if i could find them again.
Devin,,, I should be back home by this weekend. You can at that time contact me: timmyj1959@yahoo.com I have been "Chopping" for some time now with VERY good results,, just did a 177&22 Diana brls. for Vince from this forum. Maybe he will chime in?? I would not use a hack saw. I use a 12" cut off saw with water flow to keep things "cool". Gives a perfectly straight cut. I feel I have now perfected my re-crown process. As far as the choke goes,,,Ray,(Rayburn 11) made me a set of choke blocks to die for!! Thanks again Ray!!!!!! (When I get home Im gonna call Ya bout some "shims") Anyway,,,I have been "Chopping" alot lately,, found out lots of interesting things: Better overall ballance,,believe it or not, I have even noticed a tiny increase in fps (3 1/2" off) on Vinces Brls. Accuracy, at least for me, has consistantly been better. I have yet to find anything negative to report,, honest. Oh,, I do provide this service for free to members here as brave as Vince. I tested his brls. before & after on my own 34,my chrony & Gamo paper targets dont lie!! Tim.
Let me know when you get back home Tim =) For simply the price of shipping, this is a deal that cannot be passed up (even if it takes a couple weeks for ya to get around to it). As much as I'd like to doit myself, I just don't have the equipment to do the job right.
Also, I was thinking of ordering a muzzle weight like the one here: http://www.airrifleheadquarters.com/catalog/item/1205004/692734.htm
Does anybody have experience with these? How far do they hang over the muzzle? Any negative effects to accuracy? If anybody can reccommend something different, please post.
Devin,, send me an E-Mail,, when I get home I will contact Ya. I would not keep your Brl. longer then a day or two,, only takes me a couple of hours to carefully do the job. You can send just the Brl. or the whole gun. I am set up now to do the job without brl. removal,, I prefer to do it that way, as it makes it much easyer for me to test (before/after performance) without having to install the brl. on one of my own guns. Tim.
E-mail sent...let me know if you absolutely insist that I send the entire gun. I do not know the laws and regulations but isn't it a bit expensive, if not risky to ship an entire gun?
Brl only would be fine,, I can test it on my 34. What state Ya in?? I cant seem to get my E-Mail on Moms puter her in al. for some reason,,Im gonna be here a little longer than I thought. Man when I get home its gonna take me a week to go thru my mail!!LOL!! Tim.
Hey ,Tim chopped two of my 34,s barrels and what a diffrence!Wish I did it sooner.I want Tim to chop my other 34 also.Did I say I like 34,s?Tim does a great job.
I will leave my Diana alone, but I was thinking my .22 Walther Falcon Hunter could use a chop and crown job. It is definitely a choked muzzle now, but it extends into next week.
Would Dr. Timmy's fancy chokin' die work on such an animal? I have no idea how those work or what they look like.
The barrel is turned down under the plastic brake, but it is no loss if it has to go.
