magazine extension

micachu · November 30, 2008, 01:48 PM

Hi guys,

My wife and I went to see her dad for Thanksgiving yesterday and we got to talking about guns and whatnot. He pulled out a relatively old Mossberg 500A with a magazine tube that was as long as the barrel. I got to thinking that I'd like to have a magazine extension for my Stevens 67 Series E with a 28" barrel. I've been looking for about 2 hours on the web this morning and have not seen a single supplier for my gun.

I'm a pretty industrious guy and I have some basic metal fabrication skills. I'm wondering how hard it would be to make my own extension. Basically it's nothing more than a tube that has a spring inside of it. What factors do I need to take into consideration for a project such as this? Obviously I'll need a longer spring with approxmately the same pressure as what's in the OE tube and I'll need a way to attach the far end of the tube to the barrel for support. Is there anything over and above these factors?

hogdogs · November 30, 2008, 02:01 PM

Barrel mounting lug is the hard part on most of these projects. That is the clincher...
For the most part it is this lug that holds in the barrel to the receiver.
Brent

micachu · November 30, 2008, 02:08 PM

That was the first thing I looked at when I started mulling this over. Mine is nothing more than a dimple inset about a half inch from the end of the tube. That should be easy enough to do with a bench clamp and the right shaped punch. I'd just have to slip in a form at the end to maintain the tube's roundness while pressing the dimple in.

hogdogs · November 30, 2008, 02:13 PM

There is nothing attached to the barrel? That would need moved forward the distance of the extension...
Brent

micachu · November 30, 2008, 05:19 PM

Oh I see what you're saying now. Sorry, I misunderstood.

Yeah I was looking at the lug that holds the end of the tube currently. In order to put an extension on, I'll have to grind down a small lug and fashion a new one and attach it somehow. The first thought that came to mind was a clamp similar to a scope mount, but I'm not sure how well that will hold. I'm thinking of using a threaded end cap with a set screw for the extension, that way the lug doesn't have to deal with the spring pressure inside the tube. I know I don't want to do any kind of welding or soldering on the barrel as the heat stress will cause a slight deformation of the barrel and kill accuracy. I'll have to be very careful with the grinding also so I don't get too much heat built up. It'll be somewhat tedious but that's nothing new to me.

hogdogs · November 30, 2008, 05:57 PM

Now that you see what I speak of... is yours just driven in a dovetail joint or soldered in? If soldered I would scrap the notion as I just don't like to heat a barrel. Go with a gun made for extra ammo... YMMV... Just my take on it...
Brent

micachu · November 30, 2008, 06:23 PM

I don't see any kind of solder bead around the base of the lug so it's possilby a dovetail joint.

Silly question here. What's YMMV?

hogdogs · November 30, 2008, 07:06 PM

YMMV, your mileage may vary...
Brent

jmr40 · November 30, 2008, 07:36 PM

Given enough time and money anything is possible I suppose. I would just buy a gun designed for the extension. A used Remington 870 wouild be the cheapest and easiest to convert. They are usually available used for around $150 plus the cost of an extension. I sometimes see Mossberg 500's set up with the longer tube for sale used as well.

November 30, 2008, 01:48 PM	#1
micachu Member Join Date: November 24, 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 16	magazine extension Hi guys, My wife and I went to see her dad for Thanksgiving yesterday and we got to talking about guns and whatnot. He pulled out a relatively old Mossberg 500A with a magazine tube that was as long as the barrel. I got to thinking that I'd like to have a magazine extension for my Stevens 67 Series E with a 28" barrel. I've been looking for about 2 hours on the web this morning and have not seen a single supplier for my gun. I'm a pretty industrious guy and I have some basic metal fabrication skills. I'm wondering how hard it would be to make my own extension. Basically it's nothing more than a tube that has a spring inside of it. What factors do I need to take into consideration for a project such as this? Obviously I'll need a longer spring with approxmately the same pressure as what's in the OE tube and I'll need a way to attach the far end of the tube to the barrel for support. Is there anything over and above these factors?

November 30, 2008, 02:01 PM	#2
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Barrel mounting lug is the hard part on most of these projects. That is the clincher... For the most part it is this lug that holds in the barrel to the receiver. Brent

November 30, 2008, 02:08 PM	#3
micachu Member Join Date: November 24, 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 16	That was the first thing I looked at when I started mulling this over. Mine is nothing more than a dimple inset about a half inch from the end of the tube. That should be easy enough to do with a bench clamp and the right shaped punch. I'd just have to slip in a form at the end to maintain the tube's roundness while pressing the dimple in.

November 30, 2008, 02:13 PM	#4
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	There is nothing attached to the barrel? That would need moved forward the distance of the extension... Brent

November 30, 2008, 05:19 PM	#5
micachu Member Join Date: November 24, 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 16	Oh I see what you're saying now. Sorry, I misunderstood. Yeah I was looking at the lug that holds the end of the tube currently. In order to put an extension on, I'll have to grind down a small lug and fashion a new one and attach it somehow. The first thought that came to mind was a clamp similar to a scope mount, but I'm not sure how well that will hold. I'm thinking of using a threaded end cap with a set screw for the extension, that way the lug doesn't have to deal with the spring pressure inside the tube. I know I don't want to do any kind of welding or soldering on the barrel as the heat stress will cause a slight deformation of the barrel and kill accuracy. I'll have to be very careful with the grinding also so I don't get too much heat built up. It'll be somewhat tedious but that's nothing new to me.

November 30, 2008, 05:57 PM	#6
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Now that you see what I speak of... is yours just driven in a dovetail joint or soldered in? If soldered I would scrap the notion as I just don't like to heat a barrel. Go with a gun made for extra ammo... YMMV... Just my take on it... Brent

November 30, 2008, 06:23 PM	#7
micachu Member Join Date: November 24, 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 16	I don't see any kind of solder bead around the base of the lug so it's possilby a dovetail joint. Silly question here. What's YMMV?

November 30, 2008, 07:06 PM	#8
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	YMMV, your mileage may vary... Brent

November 30, 2008, 07:36 PM	#9
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,808	Given enough time and money anything is possible I suppose. I would just buy a gun designed for the extension. A used Remington 870 wouild be the cheapest and easiest to convert. They are usually available used for around $150 plus the cost of an extension. I sometimes see Mossberg 500's set up with the longer tube for sale used as well.