As long as the portion of barrel remaining attached to the shotgun's receiver is at least 18" overall (from bolt face to muzzle) after you've removed a section for your pistol build you wouldn't be in violation of ATF regs. Many of the less expensive single shot and bolt action shotguns produced prior to the '68GCA lacked serial numbers, so I don't think you need be concerned on that score. Just be sure the shotgun's remaining barrel length is at least 18", and overall length at least 26".

 

I can't get parts for the barrel and all I have is just the barrel. I know its a C&R now but the barrel its not worth fixing it up to shoot shotgun shells with.

 

Didn't think you were really interested in restoring the shotgun, but understand your desire to utilize a portion of the barrel for your .69 cal. pistol build - sounds like a neat project. The potential glitch, as I see it, is that while the Stevens 258B's barrel and receiver are technically two separate parts, in practice they're just sorta one long tube with a bolt, trigger group, magazine etc. If, for instance it has a 26" barrel, and you cut 12" off for your pistol build, you would have just created a 14" barrel shotgun - the receiver (even if it lacks a bolt, trigger group etc.) IS the firearm, and a 14" barrel shotgun would be a violation - a big one. So, since you're not intending to restore the shotgun and only require the barrel, I'd first remove or destroy the receiver portion. I am NOT an attorney, and am only saying what I'd do. To be 100% sure of your legal standing, write to ATF (keep a copy), outline what you wish to do, ask their recommendation regarding disposal of the receiver you won't be needing, and wait for their written reply before doing anything. Hope that helps.

 

nmckenzie, did you understand exactly what the op wants to do with this barrel. Pay close attention to the parts about pistol and black powder.

 

My take on it was he wanted a portion of the shotgun's barrel for his black powder pistol build. Nothing wrong with that at all, so long as removing the desired length of barrel for the project doesn't create a short-barreled shotgun - even if the shotgun's just the bare receiver with no bolt or internals. That's why I suggested crunching the receiver portion before snipping off the length of barrel he requires. If the remaining length of barrel is 18" or more, then no harm no foul

 

I decided to keep it a shotgun just make it a muzzleloading shotgun.

 

Am I missing something?.
A shotgun has a chamber how are you going to load it and fire it without causing a heavy expansion on the cone of the chamber and splitting the barrel?.
And this is a bolt action shotgun so how are you going to set it up to ignite the powder?. Are you going to thread it for a nipple and how are you going to do it?. Where are you going to do it?.
Remember if you can still shoot it as a shotgun then it IS still a shotgun.
Mike

 

I too am confused but my mentor on building them knows what is needed and is willing to assist me on it. He said something about a plate to reinforce the bolt section.

Am I missing something?.
A shotgun has a chamber how are you going to load it and fire it without causing a heavy expansion on the cone of the chamber and splitting the barrel?.
Mike

 

If I was going to attempt to use the tube to make a muzzle loading pistol I'd first cut the receiver off the barrel where the chamber begins and most likely cut the remains of the receiver into several smaller pieces thereby destroying it.

Second step would be to cut the barrel just ahead of the chamber to remove that section but depending on thread size and length of the breech plug you might be able to leave a short portion of it if it's smaller than the breech plug thread's root diameter.

Next step is to measure the wall O.D at the breech to make sure you have enough thickness in the metal after it's threaded for the breech plug to be safely fired without the breech tearing off the end of the tube and hitting you in the face, that won't be fun if it happens. On a 20 ga. the threads will need to be 3/4 X 16 and personally I won't use a 3/4 inch breech plug on barrels less than 1 inch O.D.