I've got a 45-70 cut off to 18 inches. It is the most user friendly handi that I have. I made it out of spare stuff, the barrel looked like 40 miles of bad road when I got it. I removed the sights, cut and crowned, filled the slot for the rear, added a base, polished and blued, came up with a of PW Monte Carlo stock, fore arm from a Huntsman, scrounged a SB-2 frame, worked the trigger, blued the barrel, Redfield 4X scope. I only use the top level of trapdoor loads, so recoil isn't a problem. It is pretty noisy, however. Five shots at game last year, five animals down. None went over 30 yds. That long barrel thing is way over-rated in my opinion.