Need help with Winchester 52

[One Eye Pete]

I recently purchased a Winchester Model 52 from my cousins estate sale. It is a 1930s vintage model and has a barrel band.
The gun appears to be in good condition however, I would like to remove the barreled action from the stock so that I can inspect and clean the trigger mechanism. I had no problem removing any of the screws and bolts however I can't seem to get the barrel band off. Yes I did remove the bolt that goes through the band and stock however the darn band wont budge. I would like to know if anyone has any ideas or knows any tricks on how to do this before I resort to using more force and possibly risk damaging something. Pictures below. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Ggmac]

Unfortunately you’ll probably scratch some wood . What I do is compress the barrel and tap the band . Just use hand pressure to compress the wood and I use a wood mallet to tap the band .
I forgot to mention, just tap the bottom till it move a little, then tap the top . Go top to bottom or bottom to top till it moves freely.

 

[One Eye Pete]

Unfortunately you’ll probably scratch some wood . What I do is compress the barrel and tap the band . Just use hand pressure to compress the wood and I use a wood mallet to tap the band .
I forgot to mention, just tap the bottom till it move a little, then tap the top . Go top to bottom or bottom to top till it moves freely.

Thanks Ggmac, followed your advise took my time and got it off. No scratches to the stock but one barely perceptible ding on the bottom of the wood that I can probably easily take care of.

 

[Ggmac]

Thanks Ggmac, followed your advise took my time and got it off. No scratches to the stock but one barely perceptible ding on the bottom of the wood that I can probably easily take care of.

Have you checked your rifle if it is one that develops a crack at the safety location ? Rimfire central has a lot of info on them . Just Google early winchester 52 cracks at safety .
Its not a critical issue if it does , just dont use the safety . Excellent shooting rifles , Enjoy.
Gary MacDonald

 

[One Eye Pete]

Have you checked your rifle if it is one that develops a crack at the safety location ? Rimfire central has a lot of info on them . Just Google early winchester 52 cracks at safety .
Its not a critical issue if it does , just dont use the safety . Excellent shooting rifles , Enjoy.
Gary MacDonald

Thanks again Gary.
The rifle is one of the older ones however, I checked it thoroughly and found no cracks in the vicinity of the safety or locking lug on the left side. I wont be using the safety anyway as I only target shoot at the range and normally don't insert the bolt until I'm in position and ready to begin shooting.
Pete