VH 20ga ruptured barrel. Parts gun?

[CCefalu]

VH 20ga O frame, the left barrel is ruptured just past the forcing cone. The rest of the gun frame, buttstock, forearm are all in good order or at least appear to be. Question; is this a total loss and now just a parts gun or is worth or possible to source a set of 20ga barrels and have them fitted? I do not have any knowledge on how or when the rupture occurred. I’m hoping to rescue the gun before it ends up in a trash can. I know the it will never be as valuable as when it was original but maybe it could be a good shooter unless it is cost prohibitive. The serial number was not listed in the serialization book. The VH was in with a bunch of guns purchased in an estate so I’m looking at offering something for it but not much, I’ve never ventured down this type of road before, just would hate to see it end up in a trash heap if it is still useful.

[B. Dudley]

Barrels from another gun will not just “fit”. They will need to be fitted to your frame.

Goven the location of the burst, sleeving that side is likely not an option.

Either way figure on a few thousand dollar investment to get the gun back together.

[CCefalu]

Thanks Brian, I figured replacement barrels would need fitting. Just wasn’t sure how much that process might be let alone trying to find a set of donor barrels.

[Steiner]

Originally Posted by Christopher Cefalu

VH 20ga O frame, the left barrel is ruptured just past the forcing cone. The rest of the gun frame, buttstock, forearm are all in good order or at least appear to be. Question; is this a total loss and now just a parts gun or is worth or possible to source a set of 20ga barrels and have them fitted? I do not have any knowledge on how or when the rupture occurred. I’m hoping to rescue the gun before it ends up in a trash can. I know the it will never be as valuable as when it was original but maybe it could be a good shooter unless it is cost prohibitive. The serial number was not listed in the serialization book. The VH was in with a bunch of guns purchased in an estate so I’m looking at offering something for it but not much, I’ve never ventured down this type of road before, just would hate to see it end up in a trash heap if it is still useful.

Would you mind sharing a picture of the barrels? Having experienced something similar, I have a rather keen interest in the topic. Good luck in your search for barrels.

[Larry Zimmer]

Anything can be fixed with enough resources. I have an early Fox, (Philadelphia Gun Co) that developed a bulge in the same area. A local gunsmith manufactured a sleeve and machined the barrels and inserted it. His specialty was making screw in chokes and installing them in older guns. He then worked down the bulge and had the barrels refinished by Buck Hamlin. This process set me back $450 on a gun I had given $300 for. This was 25+ years ago.

[Harold Pickens]

I'd offer a low amount--couple hundred and see if they will sell it for that. Orphan barrels can sometimes be found. Fitting may cost $3-4 hundred. I had a set of 20 ga barrels fitted to another gun. I was lucky and they almost dropped right on, was quoted 350 to fit them but it took only a few file strokes to fit and paid $150. Good luck

[John Davis]

Finding and acquiring the 20 gauge barrels is going to be the hard and expensive part. Having them fitted, not so much, as long as you’re not looking for perfection.

[Dan]

Wish you luck with your search for new barrels, I've been looking for the same thing now for over a year, no luck.

[Bill Murphy]

"Over a year?" Some parts searches last decades, some successful, some not.

[Keavin Nelson]

Fitting barrels is a crap shoot. I have done several 12ga guns, 2 Parkers, with one virtually dropping on, only required a tiny bit of fitting on the forend. The second set took quite a bit of fitting, both at the hook and bite and forend. A 20ga aftermarket set took a significant amount of fitting to make work, but it now my shooter. On a Remington sxs, it took an enormous amount of fitting as the second set was "larger" in many places. A lot of smoke and filing!