Removing a pinned barrel

[Tilefish]

Have a novice question hope you all can help. I recently bought my first flintlock its an allentown pattern rifle. It is my first full stock longrifle. It came with the barrel in the white and I am wanting to finish it. I am just a little nervous about removing the barrel pins. It appears to have three pins holding the barrel in place any advice on removing the pins would be greatly appreciated.Once again sorry about the novice question Im just trying not to mess anything up.

[Mauser06]

Just make sure you remove all the pins.  There will be pins holding on the ramrod pipes. Don't worry about them.  Should he 3 or 4 holding the barrel.  Usually 1/16" or a smidge bigger.  Just tap them out gently.  I like to tap them just enough to get pliers onto and pull it out. 

Then removed the tang bolt and the rear lock bolt. 

Then be careful removing the barrel from the wood. I use a piece of ramrod in the muzzle to pop it out or I hold the muzzle end and tap the comb on my padded bench stool and the tang pops out.


It's not difficult.  Just be careful.  If the rifle is built well, there's likely not much wood through the forend. 

[hanshi]

I'd also recommend that you tap the pins out and back in going in the same direction.

[Bob McBride]

....and make sure whatever punch you use is the same size or smaller than the pins. You don’t want to bore the holes in the wood larger than the pins. And assume the stock will break (it won’t if you’re careful) taking the barrel out. Slow and EASY. Grease the bottom of the barrel before putting it back in. This should be a once a year thing.

[Tilefish]

Thank you for all the advice just didn't want to bugger anything up. When replacing the pins do you all apply anything to them.Thanks

[Gordy]

One other thing you should check while you have the barrel out. Check to see if the holes in the barrel lugs are enlongated. This  will allow the wood to move a little when it swells. Not sure where you are located but in high humidity areas, some wood has split due to the fact that it has no room to move. The hole only needs have a small amount of room for the pin to be able to move. Might save you a heartache down the road.

[Bob McBride]

Oil/grease them when you put them back. It will keep rust from forming and swell the wood ever so  slightly to hold them in place.

[Gemmer]

With the rifle pointed away from me I’ve always driven the pins out right to left then to re-assemble left to right.

[Molly]

A small section of the "wire" from a survey flag/line marker (can be found at Lowes) makes a good "punch".  Cut the flag off and file the end flat.  This stuff is also about 1/16th dia and would even make a good pin if one is needed.  It's also essentially the same diameter as your other pins for the guard and thimbles.

[alacran]

Don't forget to take the rear lock bolt off. Don't laugh.

[Eric Krewson]

I hold the rifle upside down over a flat surface and gently tap upward on the buttstock to release the barrel from the inlet, works every time.

I bought a kit gun at $200 less than the going price, when I got it in I notice a crack in the forstock that I suspect was done by grabbing the front of barrel in one hand and the stock in the other and trying to pry the barrel out of the inlet. It was a minor fix, I made a beautiful rifle out of the kit that I am very pleased with.

The inlet was very, very tight, lollipop tang and all. It took me several minutes of light upward tapping on the buttstock to get the barrel to turn loose. Draw filing the barrel made for a perfect barrel to inlet fit, no wood removal was necessary. 

[hanshi]

The punch I use on those very rare occasions when the barrel needs to be removed is a 1/16" punch I've owned for decades.  I punch the pins out FROM the right, muzzle pointed away from me, and reinstall them the same way, from the right side.  The pins are only punched far enough for a plier to grip the end and pull them out.  Always go slowly.  The stock doesn't support the barrel; it only "hangs" from the barrel.  So the barrel actually supports the stock.  This doesn't necessarily apply to rifles other than traditional, pinned longrifles.

[Tilefish]

Well I managed to remove the barrel without breaking anything hopefully it goes back together as good thanks again everyone this forum is a wealth of knowledge.

[Gordy]

I furgot to mention to elongate your barrel lugs a small burr cutter in a Dremel tool (care must be taken any time get one of these  in our hands), or small round jewelers file will do the trick.
Gordy

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I know that I am going against the norm, but I remove my barrel (pinned or keyed), every time I clean it.  I remove the pins with a punch made from a piece of music wire (drill rod) a few thousandths less diameter than the pin, ie: pin is .0625" so punch is .055".  As the lock bolts are removed from the left side of a right handed rifle, so are the pins, and as they go back in from the left, so do the pins.  the pins are just short of being full width in the stock, so there is always a little hole in the forestock for the pin punch.  Gentle tapping with the rifle laid out on a table pushes the pins past the underlug, and they can be removed easily with fingers or pliers.  There is no reason for the stock to be wallooned around pin holes, unless you are a hamfisted person without the slightest skill, in my understated and humble opinion.

[Daryl]

What REALLY amazes Taylor, is that even I can remove a barrel countless times, every day any are fired, the barrels are removed for cleaning.
If I had a rifle that the tang went down the wrist and up over the comb, THEN I would likely not remove the barrel. That gun is highly unlikely EVER
to be mine, thus, the barrels come off for cleaning.

Thus, there is NEVER any need to scrape the breech face as ALL the fouling there gets blasted off with water flushing.

[Darkhorse]

I guess I go against the norm also as I remove my pinned barrels almost every time I clean. I remember my .54 barrel inlet was so tight it made me proud. However it was tough to get the barrel out without breaking something. So keeping in mind I would be removing the barrel often, I took a chisel and lightly scraped the flats in the stock until they still looked good and tight but the barrel was actually easy to remove.
That rifle is now over 20 years old and nothing has cracked and the holes are still good and tight.

[Mauser06]

I'm with you guys....when i got my first pinned barrel I simply didn't know any better.  I was accustomed to cleaning a TC....so I did the same with my pinned barrel long rifle....then I "learned" how you should never take a barrel from a stock....and kept doing it because it works and that's how I'm comfortable cleaning my barrels. 

[smylee grouch]

I,m one that pulls the pins. I like the way the water flush cleans the bore and breech, IMHO I don,t think you can get a barrel any cleaner when you use the flush, The force is so great when you pump that water back and forth it forces the bad stuff out and leaves you with a clear/clean flash channel.

[Mike Brooks]

I DON'T remove the barrel an I DO use a water flush. Ain't I weird?

[Hungry Horse]

I’m with you Mike, life is too short for me to make some kind of a ritual out of something as mundane as cleaning a place that don’t get that dirty.
 I have taken antique muzzleloaders apart that clearly rarely, or never, had the barrel remove since being built. A couple of them were obviously left in the white, and were still bare, and bright under the forearm, so what the devil are we preventing, if they are still bright?
 While we’re on the subject of things we don’t do, I don’t polish my brass either. My mentors are spinning in their graves I’m sure. I don’t own any replicas worth several thousand dollars, that are more a piece of art than a serviceable firearm, so I see no reason for mindless ritual cleanings.

  Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

Barbie (nee) Chambers removed the barrel from a gun that 'came' into the shop for repair. The barrel had never been removed and was badly rusted and pitted.

If you are good with that, have at it.  I'm not, so I do as I was taught - I remove the barrel for cleaning.

[Hungry Horse]

I believe you are sighting the exception rather than the rule. I have had hundreds of modern, and antique, muzzleloaders apart and can not think of one with excessive rusting, and pitting, that hadn’t been abused, or mishandled. I think with regular service to the bore, and around the lock, barrel removal is just busy work.

  Hungry Horse

[hanshi]

I DON'T remove the barrel an I DO use a water flush. Ain't I weird?

....but does the stock swell, Mike? 

[Mike Brooks]

I DON'T remove the barrel an I DO use a water flush. Ain't I weird?

....but does the stock swell, Mike? 

Why would it?