1st pin placement

[Chris in SE PA]

How close must the 1st pin that holds the barrel in the stock be to the front of the nosecap? I measured wrong. I'm at almost 10 inches. I'm fairly certain that I will have to add a 4the pin. The placement will be horribly uneven compared to the other 3. Would it be too weak if I left it with that much distance?

[smylee grouch]

You could remove it and plug the holes then place a new one in a better place, about an inch give or take behind the nose cap.

[Stoner creek]

If you’re not adding escutcheons to the pins, don’t worry about it. So there are 4 barrel lugs? My first pin goes just behind the transition from the nosecap profile to the ramrod groove inside the groove part. Not going to matter to anyone other than the maker and I certainly would not sweat it! Rock on. 
W

[JTR]

I have a couple originals laying out on my bench right now. One, a Fordney has the flat lug/pin 3 3/4" back from the front of the nose cap. Another, a John Brooks rifle has it 3" back.
And leaning in a corner, a George Weiker Bucks County rifle has the pin 2 1/4" back from the front of the muzzle cap.

If a 4th pin will work out that's an easy fix. There's more than a few old ones out there with 4 pins.
John

[Angus]

Pretty sure I've seen an apprentice at another rifle shop plug a hole or three with toothpicks and redrill. Of course you could skip the redrill to put it closer to the end.

[Chris in SE PA]

[Chris in SE PA]

I wanted to try keys instead of pins. Including the sling and the tang bolt, there are 5 points of contact.

Still considering placing another key right below the nosecap. I really do not want to. But, I don't want it to be weak/fragile/likely to break

[Top Jaw]

If it were mine, I would add a 4th.  But I would make it a much smaller, less conspicuous wedge with no escutcheons. Like an 1/8” thick x 1/4” wide, or there abouts.  I would even skip the head all together and just have a small rectangular wedge that was tight in the loop, and flush with the sides of the wood fore end. You could hammer a very slight rolled edge to hold it in place. 

You could also use a pin. But a pin would sort of defeat the purpose of an easier barrel removal with the the wedges.   My 2 cents. 

[flinchrocket]

If you’re planning on keeping it just wait and see what happens. I don’t think it will cause any problems.

[2 shots]

 would not be p/c but you could put a screw up in the rod cannel through the cap and into the barrel , like c.v.a. did . would make removal easy.

[bluenoser]

A screw would restrict stock expansion/contraction at the point of maximum movement.

[duca]

I would put a pin in, you would barely notice it

[Steeltrap]

If you’re planning on keeping it just wait and see what happens. I don’t think it will cause any problems.

----^^^^-This-^^^^----

Remember, the barrel supports the stock....not the other way around. 10" doesn't seem excessive to me. I'd shoot it and see if you have any separation of stock to barrel.

[scottmc]

If it was me, I'd do exactly what duca said. 

[Chris in SE PA]

I decided to go with keys instead of pins for a reason. There will be no placing a single pin in the stock. I'm going to leave it as is and not complete the final finishing of the stock. If it seems loose, flimsy, etc... I'll add another key.

[flinchrocket]

If you stain and seal the wood it will be less likely to move around.

[alacran]

A screw would restrict stock expansion/contraction at the point of maximum movement.

A lot of originals were made that way.

[bluenoser]

Agreed - would still avoid doing it.