Wanted to share my modified H&R 12ga. Cut the barrel & made a ghost ring sight.

[michaelmcgo]

I started a thread on another site about cutting down the H&R my Dad gave me.  It's not a sentimental gun, he didn't like it and I was going to buy one...  It originally had a rough "V" filed into the receiver in the incorrect position and the barrel was quite bent :what:  It patterned like this at 14 yards (just 8 BBs in the 8" circle at 25 yards).



I have access to a Bridgeport mill where I work (I am now an engineer, but worked my way up through the shop while I went to school), so I decided to chop the barrel and possibly send it in to H&R for a new barrel fitting if this is too loud for me.  The muzzle was milled at 18.500" (+/- .001") and deeply chamfered.  I put a new "bead" on it at 18.25", a stainless 4-40 socket head cap screw that I can easily switch out for something taller/shorter to "sight" it in.  If I need to change the POA left/right, I can remove still another 1/4" from the barrel and reinstall a new bead.  The homemade halo sight is made from a piece of 3/8" x 3/8" steel, it has a .168" hole in it.  I patterned it after the XS sight I have on my 1894, but with a thicker ring for a quicker pickup.  The rear sight is installed into the receiver by way of a precision cut 3/8" wide groove and a 6-32 flat head cap screw.  I fit the wood a bit better and refinished it.  My last part of this project is to find a 1" recoil pad I can fit to the stock.

I did the halo sight just for the fun of (I wanted to remove the filed V in the receiver because it was incorrect and bothered me).  The location of the sight is based loosely on how the gun patterned above. I did not expect the gun to point as naturally as it does, it mounts like a dream.  I have no intention of using this gun for anything long range, the only use that halo may get is buckshot or slugs, but of course that depends on if I can get it sighted in.  The slugs will have to wait until I get that buttpad and some weight in the stock.

The gun may be ugly and out-of-proportion, but I had a blast modding it.  All the metalwork took me hours, including a bit of "getting back in the swing" at the knee mill.

[jeffcneal]

michaelmcgo:
 
If you can replicate that rear sight, you might have a hell of a customer base right here on this site !  The whole gun looks great, let us know how it shoots after the modifications.
 
regards,
Jeff

[MSP Ret]

Great post michaelmcgo and a fine job on the gun. This is why many of us here like these simple little guns so much. They are so much fun to work on. Keep us posted with the buckshot and slugs when you get them going. I suggest you try some Federal Buckshot with "FliteControl" wads if you can get any and I also suggest you stick with standard velocity 2 3/4" loads. The "FliteControl" wads are reported to help hold the pellets together very well and therefore increase the effective range of the buckshot. Slugs are whatever shoot best out of that particular gun. Stay away from Sabots with the smoothbore and I also highly recommend 2 3/4" standard velocity slugs as well, better accuracy (usually) and less punishing. They will bring down just about anthing in the continental USA short of a Grizzley....<><....

[gcrank1]

Based upon my experience with my 727 Ol' Ugly Overkill, the vicious kicking beast 12ga. slug gun the 2 3/4" advice is prudent. I will not shoot 3" shells from mine, no, not me, no no no......
I suggest not trying to bench it for pattern or slug, but offhand as God intended, otherwise the recoil impulse will throw you off from what it does in the field.
Have fun/use at least a slip on pad/an extra layer of towel folded up under your jacket on the shooting shoulder is a good idea too.

[Couger]

michaelmcgo:  If you can replicate that rear sight, you might have a hell of a customer base right here on this site !  The whole gun looks great, let us know how it shoots after the modifications.

 
Soooooo .....   Any more info to report?  Inquiring minds want to know! 
 
Did you get your 'bent barrel problem' fixed?
 
 
 
And by the way, Remington's Managed Recoil buckshot loads and slugs are worth looking into!  I've shot them and will continue using them as long as Remington continues to make and sell them.

[michaelmcgo]

I don't think the sight would work well as an aftermarket item, it's keyed into a groove in the receiver and mounted in a hole I drilled/tapped.  It was extremely fun to make a sight mthodde place it goes.  I've fooled around with modding parts for guns in the past, but haven't ever attempting adding a whole new feature to a gun... We'll see if shoots or is way off.

I only ever shoot 2 3/4" slugs, however I do have a small supply of 3" 00 buckshot for my 870, however I will definitely be going out and looking for some standard buckshot.  Luckily it's about the only ammo available now-a-days.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

[STUMPJMPR]

Midway sales some grind to fit very reasonable.  I put one on my 12 ga.  I would advise caution with slugs.  Those shortys will rock you pretty good even with 2 3/4" shells. 

[michaelmcgo]

I ordered one of the Remington Supercell (for wood stocks) recoil pads after reading in several locations that it was a drop-in fit.  It's going to be a user, so a ground-up pad or slight mismatch is no problem for me...

[STUMPJMPR]

I ordered one of the Remington Supercell (for wood stocks) recoil pads after reading in several locations that it was a drop-in fit.  It's going to be a user, so a ground-up pad or slight mismatch is no problem for me...

It will most likely be a slight mismatch.  Since the stocks are finished by hand and wood changes.  I botched my grind to fit job but it suits me.  If you want some good patterning buckshot for that cylinder bore, look at the federal flight control  It will group about 18-20" at 40 yards.

[Couger]

michaelmcgo:  If you can replicate that rear sight, you might have a hell of a customer base right here on this site !  The whole gun looks great, let us know how it shoots after the modifications.

 
Soooooo .....   Any more info to report?  Inquiring minds want to know! 
 
Did you get your 'bent barrel problem' fixed?
 
 
 
And by the way, Remington's Managed Recoil buckshot loads and slugs are worth looking into!  I've shot them and will continue using them as long as Remington continues to make and sell them.

So, again, does your gun now shoot well?  Or not!!??

[michaelmcgo]

michaelmcgo:  If you can replicate that rear sight, you might have a hell of a customer base right here on this site !  The whole gun looks great, let us know how it shoots after the modifications.

 
Soooooo .....   Any more info to report?  Inquiring minds want to know! 
 
Did you get your 'bent barrel problem' fixed?
 
 
 
And by the way, Remington's Managed Recoil buckshot loads and slugs are worth looking into!  I've shot them and will continue using them as long as Remington continues to make and sell them.

So, again, does your gun now shoot well?  Or not!!??

I haven't been out to shoot it yet.  I did the mods on Sunday and I'm headed out to rabbit hunt on Saturday.  I'm going to do some very informal patterning where we park and decide if I'm going to bring the shorty or my 870.

[Couger]

 
Thanks!  Hope it performs well and doesn't prove frustrating in any way. 
 
BTW, you do nice work,  If you ever found a way to market that rear sight, I too would be interested - even for a permanent soldering-on part. 

[TxGun]

Nice work! Shorty H&Rs are always fun. 

[deputy tom]

That is a really neat set up. Nice work. tom.

[wolverine_1]

What a great idea for a rear sight. Been trying to figure out what to do on a project much like yours.

[MSP Ret]

By the way, if that "bent barrel" is still off myself as others here have had to bend barrels to bring there point of impact (POI)  closer to thier point of aim (POA), I have done it using a home made setup with a couple of wooden blocks,a hydraulic bottle jack and the opening of my firepalce as a fixed frame to jack against...<><....

[WNY_Whitetailer]

It looks very nice...As others have asked, let us know how it shoots when you have a chance...

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