removing barrel

[leviathan]

Thinking about building a rifle or pistol with a homemade barrel band, However, with this band I will not be able to remove the barrel.  Is their any pluses or minuses to ever removing the barrel in the first place? Before the barrel is permanently attached in channel should  I ever have to have to remove it and if I never do will the barrel be hurt?  Appreciate any advice!

[galamb]

All but one of my rifles had fixed breeches and were pinned in.

So while they could be removed with a little bit of work I have never seen the need.

[SCLoyalist]

I've removed a barrel a   few times over about 40 years:   once for stock refinishing, once to rebrown a barrel, once to repair a broken wrist, once or twice so the barrel would lay flat on the drill press for touchhole liner maintenance/replacement.  My rifle stocks, with the barrel out, feel very very fragile, so removing the barrel is something I try to avoid.   Plus, out of the stock,  a long tang is not immune to accidental damage.

Since you are going to use a homemade barrel band, I'd suggest one that can be removed and replaced without too much  hassle, like the old CW era Springfield and Enfield musket barrel bands

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I remove pinned barrels every time I shoot them.-  to clean..what's the problem?

[WadePatton]

...Before the barrel is permanently attached in channel should  I ever have to have to remove it ...

see what you did there?  If it _can_ be removed, then 'tweren't "permanent". 


Point is that "permanent" is a state of mind.  But nevermind that, we get your inquiry.  I don't like to pull mine because it presents a fragile forend to big risks as stated above.  But it's no trouble to unpin and unscrew and remove.  Also, it's not pretty under there.  nope not at all.   

[C. Cash]

I just pulled mine for the first time and it wasn't a big deal at all, using the correct diameter punch.  I coated the bottom of the barrel with Ballistol as it does not harm the wood and replaced.  I may pull again after the hunting season and wipe it down again.  Maybe I will try the wax coating on the barrel that has been suggested here, if I find my previous efforts lacking.  As with anything..don't force something to where it will break and avoid overtightening the tang screw when you put it back together.  I would be careful pulling the tang out of the wood as it seems like if it was inletted really tight, it could bring some wood with it if it is taken out at the wrong angle.  Straight up and out of the stock seems preferable on mine and worked with no damage done.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

I remove pinned barrels every time I shoot them.-  to clean..what's the problem?

I'm with Taylor on this one. I also remove my pinned barrels each and every time I clean them. I think that it's the only way to get them really clean.

[Standing Bear]

Very seldom. I think the .40 SMR has been out 2x in 30 years.

[hanshi]

Barrels are removed only about once a year if that, from all my pinned barrel guns.  There's just too much risk of flaking the stock pin hole, enlarging it or damaging the stock.  They clean up just fine in the stock.  The lock does come off for a good cleaning.

[Virginiarifleman]

I really like to know I can remove my barrels when or if I need to.

[Daryl]

Quite a while back, Barb. Chambers posted pictures of a gun that came in for repairs. The barrel had never been removed from the stock and was rotted away quite badly below the wood.

I remove my barrels for cleaning - whether they are held on with pins, wedgies or whatever.

[omark]

I build my guns with extra long pins, then bend one end into an "L". Easy to twist and pull, grab with pliers or get a knife blade under.    Mark

[redheart]

I build my guns with extra long pins, then bend one end into an "L". Easy to twist and pull, grab with pliers or get a knife blade under.    Mark

Priceless.

[ottawa]

long bent pins wow good idea

[t.caster]

I'll join in with D.Taylor & Micah in removing my barrel for cleaning! Been doing it for many years and I don't think anything ever broke in the process. I put a lot of care and caution into it.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I think that removing the barrel for cleaning, or any other reason, is not for everyone.  Your remark, Tom, about taking great care, is the difference.  Unfortunately, there are those who don't have that same ethic, eye sight, or ability, and the result is a punch that misses the pin, and creates a walloon in the side of the stock, that just gets worse.  I cut my pins a little shorter than the width of the forearm, and they always go in from the same side as the lock nails.  That way, they always come out the same way, and on the lock side, there is a pin sized hole for the punch to enter without having to contact the end of the pin.  But even so, I have had my rifles back in the shop and found that somehow, the pin punch has created a hollow and the end of the pin becomes elusive.  Barrel keys or slides work for that type ...

[Ky-Flinter]

I'll join in with D.Taylor & Micah in removing my barrel for cleaning! Been doing it for many years and I don't think anything ever broke in the process. I put a lot of care and caution into it.

Well, I'm in good company.  I remove my barrels to clean after every shooting outing.  And like Taylor, my pins always go in from the same side as the lock nails.

-Ron

[Hiwall55]

I wax the barrel and the stock in the barrel channel and only pull it apart once every few years.😊

[Don Getz]

I have several old guns that I built and most have never had the barrel removed.  I,m
not knocking thoae that do, I just chose not to do it.  If this guy builds it with a non
removal band, it will only be a matter of time before he "dry balls" it.  It is a simple
matter to remove any barrel if I wished to...maybe I should check them??? ........Don

[Virginiarifleman]

For those of us that shoot competition and do not use a false muzzle. it nice to be able to remove the barrel over years of cleaning and loading and be able to have the muzzle faced on a lathe to bring our groups back tight.