greasing the bottom barrel flats

[Daryl]

, I surmise they were taken apart and cleaned and perhaps oiled, more often than

one might think.

As these old guns were constantly out in the weather, hunting etc., barrel removal for cleaning and oiling simply makes sense on a tool designed not only to feed you & your family,

Perhaps that explains the condition of so many old guns where it looks like the barrel pins were dug out with a 10d nail.

Maybe - but today, If you are that ham-fisted, then perhaps you should pay someone to clean your guns, or perhaps take up golf.

Every rifle Taylor has built, is taken down for cleaning - every time, pins or wedges, doesn't matter.  None of them are gouged out as if 10d nails were used. Perhaps his customers have put more value on their guns.

[Mike Brooks]

I have never in 38 years taken a pinned barrel out of the stock for cleaning. Hooked breech and keys, yes, but only 1/2 stocks.
 My warranty is void if you take the barrel out for cleaning on guns I have built, forestocks are too fragile.

[WKevinD]

The only times I have taken a barrel out of the stock were to remove a breech plug, to retrieve stuff that couldn't be got otherwise.
I didn't use a 10d nail but I did paste wax the barrel and channel when I reassembled.
Surprised to hear that guns as fine as Taylors need to be fully broken down in order to clean them.
Kevin

[Daryl]

The only times I have taken a barrel out of the stock were to remove a breech plug, to retrieve stuff that couldn't be got otherwise.
I didn't use a 10d nail but I did paste wax the barrel and channel when I reassembled.
Surprised to hear that guns as fine as Taylors need to be fully broken down in order to clean them.
Kevin

Let me put it this way.  There were 6 of us on the trail yesterday, 3 smoothbores, 3 rifles.  We fired roughly 32 shots each.  The temperature was right at 0 or -1, so barely freezing, if it was.  No one had to clean between shots, everyone used only their rifle's rod for loading and all loading was out of the 'possible's bag' and horn. Everyone there takes their gun apart for what we call proper cleaning. No one had to use a hammer, a mallet or sledge to load their guns - go figure.

Sounds to me, there are a lot of guys on this forum who do not take their guns apart to clean.  There are very FEW here who can fire 32 shots, or 100, like we sometimes do, without having to swab- or wipe out their bores. NO one there had to and NO one on our trail EVER has to do that.

I have to wonder if taking the gun apart and actually getting it clean, has anything to do with what must be really smooth, non-fouling bores on our guns, rifled or smooth. Did I mention our wives load the same combinations we do and have no trouble loading and shooting all day long without wiping or using a mallet, whether you have seen it, believe it or not, really is immaterial - at this point, I am beyond caring. 

Do what you want, just don't try to tell me the loads we ALL use up here, are too tight to load without a (&*%$#g mallet.  Maybe if you had actually got your bore clean, it might have turned out easier loading, like ours seem to be.   Gotta be a reason, it's not rocket science.

[flinchrocket]

I can have my lock off and the barrel out in 2 minutes with 4 barrel pins, and with the ramrod in the stock there is no reason to break the forearm. Of course,some people could tear up an anvil iron with a rubber hammer.

[Pukka Bundook]

, I surmise they were taken apart and cleaned and perhaps oiled, more often than

one might think.

As these old guns were constantly out in the weather, hunting etc., barrel removal for cleaning and oiling simply makes sense on a tool designed not only to feed you & your family,

Perhaps that explains the condition of so many old guns where it looks like the barrel pins were dug out with a 10d nail.

Maybe - but today, If you are that ham-fisted, then perhaps you should pay someone to clean your guns, or perhaps take up golf.

Every rifle Taylor has built, is taken down for cleaning - every time, pins or wedges, doesn't matter.  None of them are gouged out as if 10d nails were used. Perhaps his customers have put more value on their guns.

Daryl,

Burnt was talking about Old guns, that's why he wrote Old.   
No-one but yourself was talking about folks now using 10d nails to remove anything Now.
If you look at Old rifles, Many are damaged through a couple of hundred years of having pins shoved in and out.

Even Taylor's may well look like this in 200 years.
Also, in your last post you are on again about your tight loads. What has that to do with barrel pins?
Please chill out on your loads. we Know how you load.  :-)

All the best,
Richard.

[Mike Brooks]

The only times I have taken a barrel out of the stock were to remove a breech plug, to retrieve stuff that couldn't be got otherwise.
I didn't use a 10d nail but I did paste wax the barrel and channel when I reassembled.
Surprised to hear that guns as fine as Taylors need to be fully broken down in order to clean them.
Kevin

Let me put it this way.  There were 6 of us on the trail yesterday, 3 smoothbores, 3 rifles.  We fired roughly 32 shots each.  The temperature was right at 0 or -1, so barely freezing, if it was.  No one had to clean between shots, everyone used only their rifle's rod for loading and all loading was out of the 'possible's bag' and horn. Everyone there takes their gun apart for what we call proper cleaning. No one had to use a hammer, a mallet or sledge to load their guns - go figure.

Sounds to me, there are a lot of guys on this forum who do not take their guns apart to clean.  There are very FEW here who can fire 32 shots, or 100, like we sometimes do, without having to swab- or wipe out their bores. NO one there had to and NO one on our trail EVER has to do that.

I have to wonder if taking the gun apart and actually getting it clean, has anything to do with what must be really smooth, non-fouling bores on our guns, rifled or smooth. Did I mention our wives load the same combinations we do and have no trouble loading and shooting all day long without wiping or using a mallet, whether you have seen it, believe it or not, really is immaterial - at this point, I am beyond caring. 

Do what you want, just don't try to tell me the loads we ALL use up here, are too tight to load without a (&*%$#g mallet.  Maybe if you had actually got your bore clean, it might have turned out easier loading, like ours seem to be.   Gotta be a reason, it's not rocket science.

All of my guns have always shot scores of shots with out cleaning. Wouldn't have a gun that you had to swab out all the time. Our old trail walk was 40-50 shots and I never needed to clean the gun during the match. Yet, I never pulled my barrel to clean either.
 ML's that are intended to be cleaned with the barrel out will have a hooked breech and keys. Those with pins and a solid breech should be cleaned in the stock. At least that's the way it's done in the mid West. For instance, if you whip the barrel in and out of Kibler's first kit to clean the tang it's soon not going to fit in the wood any more because it's going to get bent, and probably chip out the wood around the inlet.
 But, it's your party, so do what you want to! ( Canadians  )

[Mike Brooks]

Just  'membered... I once was building an intensely curly gun. While taking the barrel out during some part of the building process the upper forestock snapped  right through one of the curls  into two pieces. I then did an Al Roker and pooped my pants......

[iloco]

My hook and breech hawkens I sometimes take the barrel out of the stock to clean but have never taken the barrels out of my pinned long rifles.  Everyone to his own, its hard to learn old dogs new tricks.
No way will I even think about removing the barrel from my Kibler rifle.
I see no harm in removing the locks for cleaning,

[Pukka Bundook]

Mike,
One advantage of the divided fore-end, is that a gun barrel Could be set in a bucket of water to pump out, with fore-end still in place. 
If built the old way, a fore-end is too thin to remove barrel without a Real worry!

Your curly Maple stock problem reminded me of a musket  stock I had to fix for a bloke a while ago;  Grain ran at 45 degrees to fore-end.   Worst job I ever had to do.

[Waksupi]

Justin, if this is for a rifle you will keep around home, keep in mind how low our humidity is. Not really a big issue in NW Montana.