Threads tend to take on a life of there own and I tend ti like underdog guns.
SOOO...back to your original question, brass buttplate and a brass compass inlaid in the,stock would be cool and cheap. I would make sure the compass is a size you can get,a forsner bit to cut,the opening as inlaying round things is a bitch.
You talked about getting a red dot. Good choice and you can.mount it on.other guns so it can be versatile.
Dont do anything else but buy ammo and shoot it!
Just a thought......If you call the guys at the barrel accessory program.....ask them if a .357 barrel is available with the open sights....sometime a little conversation get you where you need to go.
http://www.hr1871.com/Support/accessoryProgram.asp
In 2005 I started on my Handi project, and was lusting after a .35 cal Whelen Barrel, but didn't buy one at the time.
Ordered 10 different barrels instead.
So when the time came to go for that .35 Whelen, was listed as no longer available, and a few other calibers and shot gun barrels disappeared as well....Like the 16 ga barrel.
So when I found a new in the box, but not sold .204 Ruger....and decided to go for the 30-30, .357 barrels I asked about the .35 Whelen and was told that there were a few around, and they would be back listed again....as Limited stock.....so added that to my order as well.
When the .35 whelen barrel showed up after fitting, was all dusty, and dirty....must have been sitting there the whole time....but as the company has changed hands a couple of times, don't know about location, and employees....must have gotten "Lost" in the process....with a gentle reminder...There one was.
BTW most all barrels are the same outside contour as they use a couple of standard fore arms, and don't need to fit each caliber.,,,witch some exceptions as Muzzeloader and bull barrel shotgun...come with their own.
Lesson learned is that all variations are not always list on their web page.....ask, discuss, you never know what you might come up with.
Didn't know you could put a pistol barrel on the shotgun frames. Will have to look into that.
Mine is a 12ga and with back problems, the recoil does suck. Even with the Limbsaver (which does help), I'll likely get a 20ga barrel for it.
AFA your .357. I require iron sights for all my rifles. Most gun companies realize that 91.7263% of people will mount a scope and never use them, so they don't bother with the added expense.
I don't hang a bunch of gear off of any of my guns, except for a sling. I don't use buttstock ammo holders as they keep me from shooting left handed if/when needed.
Mario
project bushcraft rifle
I love the idea of a single shot 357 magnum. If you would like Graybeard outdoors has alot of fellows with thje same affliction. You might get alot of good ideas there.
Point of clarification "pistol Caliber barrels" rifle length.....357, .44 mag and Muzzleloader, as it a SB1 reciever.Originally Posted by mario
If it's an old shotgun need to call and see if they will fit your reciever....goes by serial number.
This screams for a matching sombrero.Now if I really wanted to add to the overall capability I would need to get this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Butt-Stock-S...item4abb995ec6
Brass butt plate and a good sling would take that gun a long ways. I'd maybe consider a butt cuff to hold some extra ammo and a offset thumb stud for the hammer. Down the road, if you reload ammo, the only thing I would consider would possibly be a chamber ream to .357 maximum, that would really stretch out the potential of the gun.
I have a Buffalo Carbine in .45 Colt and it's the bee's knees with a nice peep sight from Skinner Sights. Easy to carry and puts the hammer on deer with 300 grain bullets.
all that bird shot and a finger on the trigger... is is another one of Dog the Bounty Hunter's sons?This screams for a matching sombrero.
anyway- nice concept for the rifle, I would be afraid to lighten it up too much then you're right back where you started recoil wise.
a 44 mag is nice in that package as well- mags or specials and big ole cheap lead bullets are heck on a white tail.
You are well on your way to a fine woods bumming gun, I have a single shot Savage Stevens made in the late '70's, and I love it, like you mentioned, it's a great little carry gun, mine is a 12ga. also and with a full choke barrel it makes for a great squirrel and rabbit gun, and works well on upland birds as well.Hey
I'm posting this because I would like your input and help with a project that I am undertaking.
As some of you may recall a while back I posted a photo of this gun.
I had bought it because of seeing all the guns over in this thread: http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showth...on-lets-see-em
The first shotgun I ever owned was a H&R in 20ga and I really liked that gun. So a quick trip to Wal-Mart and I was out of $112 and the owner of a new H&R 12ga. I thought I might mod it into one of those "Bushcraft" shotguns I keep seeing on the youtubes.
Once I got it home and got to take a real good look at it I was very pleased with it. It carried well with good balance and heft. It's light weight would make it a dream to carry when I was out and about. It would be safe to say I was happy with my new gun.
Then I shot it.
The recoil was punishing. Even with light target loads it beat me to the point of death. Last year I had my ongoing neck problems looked at and found that I had serious neck vertebra deterioration. It was bad enough that I have given up archery due to the pain. I hunt here in the East and I don't own any heavy caliber rifles, so shooting my .243 or .308 does not cause me any distress. Even firing my 835 judicially is fine but apparently light weight 12ga are no longer in the cards for me. So I got to thinking (scary right) that I could get a 20ga barrel from H&R for it. So off I got to their website for the barrel accessory program. Once I get to looking around I find that while you can't order rifle caliber barrels for the shotgun frame you can order pistol caliber barrels for it.
So that got me thinking again (twice in one day, really scary now) Why not get a .357 magnum barrel for it. I can use that round for any game I hunt around here. The recoil for that round in a rifle would be negligible. I own a few guns in that caliber and have ammo on had for it. I can shoot .38 special out of it for plinking and small game hunting provided I use fmj rounds. Also I can shoot it a lot more often than I do my other hunting rifles. Seems like a good idea to me. So off it goes to H&R and a few weeks later I get this back.
The first thing I noticed is this gun is heavy! The barrel is the next best thing to a "heavy barrel" and weights a ton. It's muzzle heavy but not in a bad way if you know what I mean, it swings and tracks the target. If it was a shotgun it might be described as being lively. The next thing I discovered was that the butt stock is way to long for me. I have a shorter than average length of pull (don't judge me!) of around 11 inches. This thing was better than 14 inch. How I failed to noticed this when I was shooting the shotgun barrel I can only ascribe to the fact that it was knocking me silly every time I fired it.
So I was off to my woodshop (i.e. my basement) and in short order I had a gun I could mount and shoot in comfort and ease.
Now this is where you fine folks come in. I would like your input as to how I should mod this into a bushcrafting firearm extraordinaire! You advise me on what to do (and most likely how to do it) And I shall post the results. I've already made one post asking for help and advice on replacing the butt plate with more to follow.
I hope this can be a fun and instructive project (if only to instruct on what not to do) for us all.
Thanks!
I never thought much of single shot shotguns as serious hunting tools, being a hunter most of my life I've mostly used my Browning A-5's, sidexsides or O/U shotguns, but when I started to incorporate it with bushcrafting that changed, I agree with you that a light single shot shotgun kicks the hell out of you, especially one that doesn't sport a thick recoil pad.
Now I'm enjoying the heck out of mine, taking small game with no problem, and nowhere near as much recoil and muzzle blast as when I first used it.
Here's what I did to tame the recoil and make my little single shot a joy to carry and use, first off I'm a life long reloader so that helps, I also shoot trap, skeet, and sporting clays, and in an effort to save money I cut my loads down from 1-1/8 ounces of shot to 1 ounce, and cut my powder charge down by five grains, all by the book (manual).
I haven't noticed any change in my scores ie. I'm still shooting my share of perfect 25's, so cutting back on the load hasn't made a difference in my breaking birds.
So for the single shot, I bought some 3/4 ounce wads, kept my powder charge the same and loaded my low brass shells with #6 shot, at the trap field I was still able to break birds, but the felt recoil was only about half of that felt with the 12ga. hunting loads that I had been using, the next test was trying the reduced power loads on tree rats, they are harder to kill that bunnies, I shot at three Gray Squirrels and got one shot kills on all three at a distance of from 20 yds to 35 yds.
My suggestion is if you don't reload, you may want to give it a try, if not find a friend who reloads 12ga. shot shells, buy a bag of wads, a small bag of #6 shot and pay him to load you some low powered ammo for small game and close up birds, you may find that your new bushcraft gun will get twice a versatile as you expected it to be, and that 12ga. barrel won't be gathering dust in a closet.
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