Removing a pinned barrel

[rich pierce]

I worked on an original Leman where the barrel had never been removed.  It was badly rusted all right on the underside. But then again, so were the top flats. A neglected gun will rust all over.

[Gordy]

When I finish a build one of the last things I do is, put Permayln Sealer in the barrel channel and lock mortise, a couple coats. Then I apply a heavy coat of Johnson's Paste Wax to the  bottom of the barrel. I have a rifle I built in 1979 that I recently pulled the barrel, and there was no traces of any rust developing. This rifle has been shot regularly through the years and cleaned without removing the barrel. A little extra prevention goes a long ways.
Just sayin !

[hanshi]

I agree, Gordy.  I pull the pinned barrels on new guns and put a few coats of tru Oil in the barrel channel and lock mortise.  The barrel underside gets the Paste Wax or Rig grease.

[Mike from OK]

After reading this I decided I would pull the barrel on mine... I've had the gun well over a year and never pulled the barrel... I was nervous about what I would find.

Aside from the tang bolt there is really only one pin doing the work of holding the stock to the barrel. The pin at the nosecap only squeezes a thin piece of wood where the wood stops. So theoretically I could pull the tang bolt and middle pin and lightly tap the barrel forward off the end of the stock rather than pull the pin holding the nosecap... But I could also see that going badly too.

The pin in the center of the stock came out without too much of a fight. The pin holding the nosecap was tougher to remove.

I got the barrel off and only had very small patches of surface rust under the nosecap and under the tang... Makes sense as this is where any errant water would seep to during cleaning. The rust wiped right off. So I applied some of the WD40 Long Term Corrosion Inhibitor I bought recently and reassembled everything.

I may pull the barrel again in a few months and see how it holds up.

Mike

[Nhgrants]

Grease versus wax under the barrel.  The last time I took the barrel off, I switched from rig grease
To Butchers Wax.  This the wax I had on hand.  I wasn't that happy with how the grease worked  so I tried
Wax. Have not evaluated how well it worked yet.

Any one else use wax?

[Darkhorse]

Years ago I used grease on the bottom of the barrel. When I pulled the barrel some time later the bottom of the barrel from the bore to about 10" back, had a thick layer of rust. After that I started using wax, plain old Johnson's paste wax, I had a large can on my bench.
Now I wax the exterior of my firearms, and use oil in the bore. No more rust. When I come in from hunting I take a hard cloth and rub the outsides down with fast strokes, no more fingerprints and no rust. Easy and less messy than oiling the outsides.

[Bob McBride]

I’m glad to hear of yalls good luck with wax vs Riggs grease. I’ve always used Riggs but will switch to wax next barrel pulls. Never too old to pick up a trick or two. Thanks!

Bobby

[Mike Brooks]

How come I seem to have more trouble with rust on TOP of the barrel than on the BOTTOM?

[smylee grouch]

Are you storing your barrels upside down? 

[Mike Brooks]

Are you storing your barrels upside down? 

I must be!

[alacran]

I decided last summer to refinish my squirrel rifle. I never really liked the light honey color of the stock, plus I wanted to address a couple of things that I didn't like. The barrel had never been out of the stock since 2005 when I built it. I never browned the barrel's lower flats. I'hunted this rifle in AZ and the Midwest rain forest of Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky. It has been soaked more than a few times.
When I removed the barrel there were a couple of places that had some minor surface rust on the lower flats,but overall it looked  pretty good.
When I originally browned the barrel I heated it with a torch just enough to melt the Minwax paste wax I had rubbed onto the barrel. I then oiled the whole barrel.
Like Mike it seems I get most of my rusting on the upper barrel flats, sometimes right before my eyes.

[rich pierce]

I think the concern over rusting in the channel must be a leftover from modern gun concerns where patina destroys resale value and 95% original finish brings more dollars.