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Shortening a maverick 88

You used to be able to buy factory replacement 18.5" barrels for under 120. With all that has been going on lately, all sold out, secondary market is over $200.
I was looking for replacement Mossberg Maverick barrels for a friend probably 2 years ago. They're insanely priced. 12 gauge was bad enough but he needed 20 gauge. For the price of that barrel you can just buy a new shotgun.
 
You used to be able to buy factory replacement 18.5" barrels for under 120. With all that has been going on lately, all sold out, secondary market is over $200.
This ^^^ I wouldn't cut it. I bought a 500 a few years ago that came with an 18 1/2" barrel. One of the members had a 28" barrel for sale that I bought. Now I have a home and a bird gun, best of both worlds. A 500 barrel will fit an 88, too. $116 from Mossberg parts, maybe cheaper elsewhere.

https://www.mossberg.com/store/parts/type/barrels.html
 
This ^^^ I wouldn't cut it. I bought a 500 a few years ago that came with an 18 1/2" barrel. One of the members had a 28" barrel for sale that I bought. Now I have a home and a bird gun, best of both worlds. A 500 barrel will fit an 88, too. $116 from Mossberg parts, maybe cheaper elsewhere.

https://www.mossberg.com/store/parts/type/barrels.html
That's good info to know. Because I can tell you it don't get cheaper than that anywhere.
 
There are plenty websites that show how to properly measure a shotgun barrel. Their are zillions of 18 in barrels out there.
I cut mine pretty close to 18 3/4 due to the vent rib. I know it’s legal.
Yeah when you have a vent rib barrel the rib and supports dictate where you cut. I've only dine this one and I was pleased with the finished product. Had to use a hacksaw which I hate to do since it winds up so crooked. But wide flat files worked it out. Then some cold blueing compound. Add the 2 round extension from Choate Machine and Tool and it's the old school ghetto fabulous look I was going for.
 

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It’s impossible to find fight’n ammo but for fun this low recoil low noise ammo is great . Especially in a Raptor/ pistol grip set up Its available at Walmart for $7.87 a box. Nice set up there- Lets buy your car!
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Keep it to 19” & cut it as square as possible! Stone the sharp edges down & re Blue it.! Federal Flight Control buckshot does good out of cylinder bore shotguns! When we start talking about sawed off shotguns...I always flash back to Ruby Ridge...as should all of us...
 
a 14" barrel on this would be substantially behind the end of the magazine tube.
Are you going to advise him to cut the magazine tube, and shorten its spring,
and reattach it to the barrel as well??? That's a big project.

The Mossberg factory website says that the maverick cruiser with a plain barrel (not a "breaching" muzzle accessory barrel) has an OAL of 28 and 1/8".
Therefore you should be able to cut 2 inches off of the barrel and reduce the overall length to 26 and 1/8 inches.
And a 2" reduction on the barrel should still keep it past the end of the magazine tube which means the cutting job would be simple, not a major gunsmithing project.



(But, once you do that, you can't freely interchange it and reconfigure it between shoulder-stocked shotgun configuration and non-shotgun firearm configuration. If you ever rebuild this firearm into a shotgun, you'll be stuck with it as a shotgun forever.)
 
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