Is This Legal ???

[PHATINJUN]

Is it legal to take a 32H&R mag revolver bbl and a reamer to remove the rifling and make it a smooth bore to shoot a better pattern for snake load?? and if not remove all the rifling maybe just remove the most of it. I have a couple of extra bbls for my R73's and was just wondering. Kurt

[Schmitti]

What do you mean by better? More open pattern? Which is what you will get if you bore out the couple thou. of an inch that you will remove when you bore the barrel out to the depth of the grooves. I'm not sure that you will get the results you would actually prefer.

I think the only way to get around the legal/illegal would be to only remove a portion of the rifling/lands from the muzzle towards the back. I believe I've seen that discussed before... don't ask me where.. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old at home.. I tend to forget the important stuff.

E

[SHOOTALL]

Make a screw in tube for one of the bbls like Thompson Center does.

[Old Fart]

Not sure if this is the best place to ask this question.
But I'm not real sure where would be the best either.
Maybe the gunsmithing forum.

[45-70.gov]

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2006/04/041006-openletter-nfa-adding-vertical-fore-grip.html

i was looking for an answer and came across this....who'd thought you can't do that

any  way  go to the  ATF  web sight

i am pretty sure  a ''smooth'' bore  must be  18....EIGHTEEN  inches  with out special paper work

it not worth  it......this  is my ''snake gun'' .... super comanche
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=super+comanche+45-410&hl=en&authuser=0&prmd=ivns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1024&bih=677&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12321424809452123893&sa=X&ei=LsP_Ta2xHoKutwfd0aCoCQ&ved=0CEgQ8wIwAA

[PHATINJUN]

I have yet to even shoot a shot load from this one so I really don't know if it will leave a hole in the pattern at a few feet. I was just thinking if it did... being how I have a couple of extra bbls for it I would ream one . I suppose if I left a faint bit of twist it should still be legal?? Kurt

[32 Magnum]

Phat,
I'm not a lawyer, etc. etc. - you're idea about reaming "most" of the rifling but leaving a shadow behind would seem to be within legal limits - depending upon how deep you leave the grooves.
Take a look at a new or lightly used Taurus Judge - which has "legal" rifling - to get an idea of what the BATFE will accept.  The grooves in that gun are pretty shallow.  Also, some of the legal o/u derringers have very shallow rifling - my Cobra .32 (purchases NIB and has 10 rounds through it) needs to be held just the right way or the rifling is not visible.

[Bugflipper]

I really don't know if it would help or hinder to bore it out. But as you are leaning to, would leave some on the end. The feds get mad when they can't run ballistics on a pistol. There was a felon who drilled out the rifling on a  6 shooter so it couldn't be traced. They added 25 years for his gun smithing job onto his sentence.

[reliquary]

Be careful with "removing rifling".  I'd check with the ATF and get their answer in writing before I did anything that any bureaucrat could possibly find fault with in the future.

Having said that, it probably wouldn't be worth the effort.  I had a war surplus Webley in .45 ACP many years ago.  The barrel was pretty much shot out and I reamed it out a little more to where the rifling was just barely visible.  It was still erratic with my homemade shot loads.  My guess is that any twist-rifling, no matter how slight, will still swirl the pellets?

If you just absolutely have to shoot shot in this pistol, get a custom barrel with straight rifling. That should negate the swirling.

[billy_56081]

MAybe look into Reaming it out and having a liner with straight rifling put in. I do know some of the trick shot revolvers in the old west shows were smooth bore and fired shot loads. But that was in a better freer time.

[knight0334]

To do what the OP described would require first getting a NFA tax stamp to manufacture an AOW (Any Other Weapon).   It would be a $200 tax stamp, involving the same process as in making a shortbarrreled shotgun, shortbarreled rifle, suppressor, destructive device, etc.

AOW's include "smoothbore pistols" along with gadget guns and other items.

You would need a Form 1 for manufacturing, in duplicate, some passport sized photos, fingerprints, a CLEO sign-off, and the affidavit form.   However, before all of that - you would have to make sure the gun would be legal in your home state.  Some states classify smoothbore pistols as "shortbarreled shotguns" which then some of those states prohibit shortbarreled shotguns.

[SHOOTALL]

Then one might check on stright rifling