Oddball Barrel

[Bob B]

I recently purchased this "shot out" barrel from a forum member. It is undersize in length - only 8 3/8" long from receiver-nose to muzzle (not including receiver threads), and has only 24 fins (counting the wide "fin" that butts up to the receiver). I bought it to make a dummy display barrel for my '27A1. The plan is to remove the threads at the receiver end, tap the chamber, and machine a solid "extension" section to screw in. This will be hard soldered in place and 5 additional fins and receiver mounting threads will then be machined. The finished product will be a properly proportioned 10 1/2" dummy barrel, solid for about 4" at the breach end and thus incapable of chambering or firing a round.

 

http://img89.exs.cx/img89/5323/OddballBarrel01.jpg

 

I'm curious though about this barrel - curious about its odd 8 3/8" length, and the fact it has only 24 fins (which interestingly enough are correctly formed in the Colt '21 style). Is this an original but really oddball barrel, or is it something someone made up? I could understand if it had the correct number of fins, but the double-thick "fin" at the receiver end means a standard finned barrel could not have been shortened at that end and re-chambered, and the large-diameter barrel section where the ring-sight is mounted argues that it wasn't cut down at that end either. The only possibility for the rework theory is if someone cut down an unfinned barrel from the receiver end, rechambered and threaded it for the receiver, and then cut correctly proportioned fins (but only 24 of them). This doesn't make much sense - why would anyone go to all that trouble for such an oddball result?

 

I just want to make sure before I start that I'm not committing sacrilege by destroying some rare piece of history. Does anyone have a theory on this?

 

Thanks.

 

Bob B

[LIONHART]

Appears to be a Chop Job with an M1 Front Sight attached. There was one of these on eBay within the last year. Just my .02.

[anticus]

Is it possible and legal to make a display barrel for the 27a1 that is quickly interchangeable with the 16" shooting barrel ? I had an UZi SA carbine that came with a short drop-in dummy tube for display only.

Would this quick change barrel idea require a permanent alteration of the receiver ?

 

regards,

 

John