Barrel polishing question.

[JoeNoble]

I've decided to cut my 28" H&R Pardner barrel down to about 18.5 - 19" and eliminate the small rail that runs the length of the barrel. I've decided to polish the barrel rather than rebluing. My question is once I've polished the barrel is there anything I need to do to keep it from rusting?

[Synchronizor]

I've decided to cut my 28" H&R Pardner barrel down to about 18.5 - 19" and eliminate the small rail that runs the length of the barrel.

Just curious, why do you want to remove the vent rib completely? One of the things that makes vent-rib barrels so nice for cutting down is that you'll still have a sighting device no matter where you chop it off. No need for any gunsmithing to remount the front sight, just cut the barrel and rib between two of the attachment points, and take the rib back to the front of the nearest attachment.

I've decided to polish the barrel rather than rebluing. My question is once I've polished the barrel is there anything I need to do to keep it from rusting?

If you're talking about stripping it down to the bare metal, well, you can keep it oiled, but without a finish to hold the oil, it's never going to be as well-protected as it was. If you want something easier, better looking, and more effective than cold blue touch-up chemicals, there are a variety of gun paint products that seem to be working well for a lot of people.

[JoeNoble]

Just curious, why do you want to remove the vent rib completely? One of the things that makes vent-rib barrels so nice for cutting down is that you'll still have a sighting device no matter where you chop it off. No need for any gunsmithing to remount the front sight, just cut the barrel and rib between two of the attachment points, and take the rib back to the front of the nearest attachment.

I'm planning on building a home defense shotgun so I front sight won't really be necessary and I'm not really a fan of how it looks with the vent rib.

If you're talking about stripping it down to the bare metal, well, you can keep it oiled, but without a finish to hold the oil, it's never going to be as well-protected as it was. If you want something easier, better looking, and more effective than cold blue touch-up chemicals, there are a variety of gun paint products that seem to be working well for a lot of people.

I hadn't really thought about painting it so maybe I'll look into that. Thanks.

[Synchronizor]

I'm planning on building a home defense shotgun so I front sight won't really be necessary and I'm not really a fan of how it looks with the vent rib.

A HD shotgun has to be aimed. Even with a cylinder bore, you're not going to get much spread out of a buckshot load at across-the-room distances, and spread almost always makes buckshot less effective anyway. The stress of a violent, life-or-death confrontation makes it difficult enough to quickly put shots in the right place even with sights, no need to make it harder for yourself.

A vent-rib is a good way to go since it's already there, but if that's a huge turn-off for you, there are some other easy options. One I've used is a clip-on Hi-Viz front sight. It's not the most solid or durable thing out there, but it's cheap, easy to install, and a marked improvement over nothing at all.

hiviz front sight red.PNG (1.35 MiB) Viewed 3617 times

[JoeNoble]

That's pretty cool!