Side By Sides

I have a thing about side by sides. My oldest is a combination gun, percussion, 12 ga and 40 cal. It was made by a maker in detroit mi, sometime in the 1880s. Ned Robert lists the builder in his book Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle.

Anyhoo I recently went on a trip and stopped by a Cabelas. I came across a toz-63 in 16 gauge, a side by side with 2.75 chambers. Not a high end shotgun but it'll do the job. I'll get some photos up soon.

 

Have you seen Stoeger Coach Guns? I believe 36 inches total, 20 inch barrel SxS 12ga, 20ga or 410ga. 400 bucks new at Cabelas. I'm seriously considering getting one for my trunk in 12ga and shortening the barrel to 16 1/2 inches and shortening the stock 2 inches and building a rack above the wheel well to hold it out of sight.

 

A few years back the wife got me a stoeger double for Christmas. It's a 12 ga coach gun, hammerless. It has 3 inch chambers. I like it.

In regards to cutting one down, I believe in the states a rifle barrel can be cut down to 16 inches and a shotgun barrel can be cut to 18 inches. The minimum length barrel and all is 26 inches. It's worth checking into as the fines and sentences can be quite onerous.

 

That will cause you some serious legal problems if you are in the US.
The legal limit for a "shotgun" barrel is 18", measured from the breach face, and it must be 26" overall.

There are some "firearms" you can buy the come from the factory in shorter lengths, such as the Mossberg "Shockwave" or Remington's "V-Tac";

https://www.bing.com/search?q=remin...ED0089138F46E4828DE4E04B4BF155&FORM=QBRE&sp=1

https://www.bing.com/search?q=shock...D734404CB0A7D4E41B3AA902&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&ghc=1

Cutting one off yourself will require some Federal Firearms licenses, and compliance with all the NFA rules, which all has to be done prior to breaking out the cutting tools.

 

I can get a license though and that permits me to own SBS's and SBR's.

 

That can also be done in the US at a cost of $200 per weapon, and a lot of paperwork and long waits for processing.

A license to "manufacture" is even more trouble to obtain.

The easy option is keep keep your "shotgun" a legal length, or buy a "firearm" that is legal from the factory, without the added expense.

Will that 1.5" shorter barrel really make any real difference?