Make a smooth bore out of a rifle?

[gtodave]

Messing with the snake shot (from another thread) has me wondering if this is a viable thing or not. I was thinking that you could fill a barrel with lead, and then drill out the barrel inside of the rifling, leaving the lead in the rifling and thus making a smooth bore. What do you think...would it hold up? Any logic in this? Not sure I'd ever do it, but the brain thinks what it wants to sometimes.

 

[smokey]

410s exist. Not sure I'd want to completely f a rifle for something a .410 does better.

 

[rseymorejr]

I have an old Remington 22 single shot with a smooth bore made specifically for those shot cartridges. The bore opens up to maybe 30-35 caliber partway up the barrel. I think it was intended to be used with small clay pigeons.

 

[johnkn]

Wouldn’t the shot quickly erode any lead left in the grooves, or perhaps peel it up potentially creating an obstruction?

I have a very old single shot .22 that I too use for shot. I thought about buying one of the smooth bore rifles but they were pretty pricy....

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[budman93]

Sounds like a dangerous way to end up with barrel obstructions.

 

[Doctor_M]

I also have a .32 RF that was factory made with a smooth bore. I second the thought that I wouldn't mess up a good rifle by doing this. How much shot do you shoot? And how much improvement are you going to get with .22 shot (which is pretty horrible anyway) even if you do. You can probably find an old beater smooth bore .22 (or even a 9mm RF) on gunbroker if you want to have a dedicated garden gun.

 

[DutchV]

Henry has a garden gun

Garden Gun Smoothbore .22 | Henry Repeating Arms

The Henry Garden Gun is one that belongs right by your side as soon as you walk out the front door to start the day's chores. Tuck it next to the seat of your tractor or riding mower and have it at the ready for when something slithers into view through the grass, dispatch those barn-dwelling...

www.henryusa.com

 

[johnkn]

At $500 for the Henry, someone has to be pretty dedicated.....

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[lazarus]

At $500 for the Henry, someone has to be pretty dedicated.....

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IIRC popular in Europe. I can't speak to that specific one, but I think some of the ones like 25 rimfire smoothbore garden guns are less regulated than general firearms and also have significantly fewer restrictions on where they can be used. Hence "garden gun". Because you can use it to shoot pests in your 40x40 back garden behind your little Edwardian in little Sussex right next to your neighbors.

IMHO, just get a .410. You can get a single shot break action .410 for about 200 bones. Sportsmans warehouse has a Charles Daly .410 break action for $119.

I would NOT shoot 45lc in a .410. BUT you could shoot 45lc snake/rate shot in it okay. That would be a real low recoil, relatively quiet compared to using a regular .410 full pellet load. CCI 45lc rat shot is 150 grains of #9 at 1000fps. A few .410 #9 1/2oz loads out there at 1200-1300fps. Now, one is out of a pistol, one is out of a shotgun barrel. So they are probably similar actual velocities. But the .410 load is 219gr versus the 150gr of the 45lc.

The .410 is going to be cheaper per round.

Of course, not as light as 22lr rat shot.

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

Isn't a Savage Model 24 designed to do the same thing?

 

[Doco Overboard]

Messing with the snake shot (from another thread) has me wondering if this is a viable thing or not. I was thinking that you could fill a barrel with lead, and then drill out the barrel inside of the rifling, leaving the lead in the rifling and thus making a smooth bore. What do you think...would it hold up? Any logic in this? Not sure I'd ever do it, but the brain thinks what it wants to sometimes.

Just drill the barrel out to groove diameter. No lead.
Often groove diameter is at, smaller or near case diameter.
So there may be a workable solution if you wanted to have a project- gain some insight and have some fun.

 

[mauser58]

I would not ever recommend that. Filling the rifling with soft lead. If you really want to go that route then why not have the rifle lining sleeved by a gunsmith

 

[gtodave]

Henry has a garden gun

Garden Gun Smoothbore .22 | Henry Repeating Arms

The Henry Garden Gun is one that belongs right by your side as soon as you walk out the front door to start the day's chores. Tuck it next to the seat of your tractor or riding mower and have it at the ready for when something slithers into view through the grass, dispatch those barn-dwelling...

www.henryusa.com

Yeah I looked at those, but for the amount of shooting I'd do with it, I can't justify it. Very minimal shooting.

Isn't a Savage Model 24 designed to do the same thing?

Try finding one for a tolerable price

Just drill the barrel out to groove diameter. No lead.
Often groove diameter is at, smaller or near case diameter.
So there may be a workable solution if you wanted to have a project- gain some insight and have some fun.

I wondered about this as well. Thanks for that

To all those that suggested it, .410 is too loud for what I want, but I hadn't considered shooting .45 snake shot out of it. That's a good idea.

 

[Inigoes]

Henry has a garden gun

Garden Gun Smoothbore .22 | Henry Repeating Arms

The Henry Garden Gun is one that belongs right by your side as soon as you walk out the front door to start the day's chores. Tuck it next to the seat of your tractor or riding mower and have it at the ready for when something slithers into view through the grass, dispatch those barn-dwelling...

www.henryusa.com

lol

2 out of the 3 suggested uses are crimes.

Non-game birds are federally protected, as well as snakes are protected by most state laws.

 

[alucard0822]

could be NFA problems, especially if the "rifle" barrel is between 16-18". 410 or mini shells are about 1/2-5/8oz of shot, step up from revolver shotshells, but still a lot milder than full 12/20 ga loads. Seriously, if there are enough snakes to worry about a specialized firearm, I would just get a gamma seal bucket and long set of tongs. They are all protected anyway in MD, would make friends with MD herp society and they will probably pick up whatever stuff you catch.

 

[IronEye]

I reamed out a rusty 54 caliber muzzleloader barrel. After reaming i used a brake cylinder hone and various jigs holding fine sandpaper. It was a lot of work. It turned out pretty good and groups well enough with patched round balls at 50 yards. But in all honesty it would likely have grouped just as well before i messed with it.

 

[gtodave]

could be NFA problems, especially if the "rifle" barrel is between 16-18". 410 or mini shells are about 1/2-5/8oz of shot, step up from revolver shotshells, but still a lot milder than full 12/20 ga loads. Seriously, if there are enough snakes to worry about a specialized firearm, I would just get a gamma seal bucket and long set of tongs. They are all protected anyway in MD, would make friends with MD herp society and they will probably pick up whatever stuff you catch.

It's really for rats. I don't shoot snakes, but the rounds are called "snake shot" not "rat shot" for some reason

 

[The Saint]

Much easier to just buy a 9mm Flobert rifle from Chiappa, honestly. Quiet, effective, and the ammo is the only real cost factor at about $1/shell...which is less than most of the CCI shotshells cost, anyway.

 

[Doco Overboard]

Sometimes I thought about boring an old SMLe barrel out for a shot gun and putting it on a drill receiver or something just to mess around with.
Thank god he created rimmed cartridges to make stuff like this easier.
I have a Smooth bore Martini barrel that should be getting used for something too instead of just sitting around doing nothing.

 

[alucard0822]

It's really for rats. I don't shoot snakes, but the rounds are called "snake shot" not "rat shot" for some reason

Anguilla minis would be ideal, pretty light load and relatively quiet out of pretty much any shotgun. Federal makes minis too, but they are about the same power as 1oz target loads, but smaller.