Removing Factory Rifle Barrels

[savagedasher]

I have a savage I couldn't get the nut loose. Took it to a gun smith he couldn't remove it .He had a special press with attachments just made for gun smith. Simple fix was a action fixture and a firm hit with a block of wood on the wrench. that turns the nut. Many of problem barrel can be removed by holding both the action and the barrel as close together and giving one a firm heavy hit . Larry

 

[Phil3]

The first several Howa bbl'd actions I purchased required a relief cut right up against the receiver face before I could get the bbls to break loose. It was bad enough doing this to brand new sporter-weight bbls, but when I had to ruin a couple of varmint weight 22-250 bbls to remove them, it bothered me even more.

But for the past year or so, something's changed - these newer bbl'd actions require even less effort than a new M700 to remove the bbls. As I sat down to type this reply, I went over this change in my memory, thinking perhaps the change might've coincided with the advent of Howa's HACT trigger, but then remembered that the two 22-250 varmint-weight actions that I had to make the relief cut on did have the HACT triggers.

Yup, it is well known the Howa barrels are really hard to remove. Some have said the stainless are much easier. The theory is that on the blued actions, the action and barrel are blued together and the bluing compounds seeps into the threads locking it together that even brutal force has a hard time breaking loose. The cutting of the barrel to relieve pressure on the threads does work. I have a Howa 308 skinny barrel that is going to the gunsmith to have removed for another barrel in another caliber.

Phil

 

[flatlander]

I've heard the story about the blueing salts causing the Howa threads to lock together, but doubt that's the issue, based on the appearance of the threads after finally getting a barrel out. The threads on all factory Howa bbls I've removed look just fine, as do the action threads. No signs of galling, or thread locking compound, or anything else that would explain why they're so tight - just nice, clean & shiny threads. In fact, after I cut the relief in the 1st Howa I worked with, I was able to grab that bbl & spin it off by hand. Don't know what the goop is that Remington puts on their M700 threads, but it's dry, crumbly crap that may or may not make it harder to get the factory bbl loose.

 

[boltman13]

A Spanish Model 93 Mauser action on a Model 1916 Short Rifle even after a bath in Kroil, some heat, a squaring off of 2 sides of the barrel, to better hold it in a very large vice, a 4 foot cheater bar and my help finally came loose. He still says it was the toughest one he ever has had.

 

[Jet]

Nat

Please pardon my ignorance with this question but do you only tighten your barrels to 80 inch pounds?

Rich

 

[Burnt Powder]

Nat

Please pardon my ignorance with this question but do you only tighten your barrels to 80 inch pounds?

Rich

My thought too! I’ll bet it’s ft. pounds.

 

[swd]

It’s had 8 years to come loose if it was inch lbs..

 

[Macropod]

Difficult factory barrel removal? Tikka has entered the chat...
Some of those can be on the tough side.

 

[6.5 forever]

Has there been any new tricks in 9 years?

 

[pre64win]

Plug the front of the chamber with a foam earplug, stand it on the muzzle and apply Kroil to the barrel threads keeping them wet for a few days. The Kroil softens the lock tight and the Howa and Remington barrels have been easy after this treatment.

 

[joshb]

Has there been any new tricks in 9 years?

Only buy custom actions.
Put the barrel of your choice on it
Build the gun and fire 100 rounds.
Put it in the safe and start over.
You’ll never change a barrel.

 

[flatlander]

The newer Howa rifles with the 2-stage HACT triggers are easy to break the bbl loose on. Never had a problem getting bbls off either Mini or 1500 actions that have the HACT triggers.

 

[Will Henry]

I started doing barrel work in 1977. I can't even guess how many factory barrels I've removed, seen removed, or seen screwed up. I have seen several receivers damaged, and damaged one myself . I have had two which I very nearly could not remove. In both cases, they were rifles which had an inner barrel seat as well as contacting on the face of the receiver. One was a Weatherby MKV; the other was a Brno ZKK602. I use an outside wrench, and I put a short mandrel into the bore of the receiver, in the ring, to prevent distortion of the receiver when the wrench is tightened. This is important because you don't want to clamp the wrench over the threads; that just tightens it up.
Remington used a blue Loctite, not as a thread locker, but as a sealant to exclude bluing salts. It seems that Browning occasionally did the same on their blued rifles.
The actions I have seen damaged were damaged through the use of both inside and outside wrenches. I'm sure I have seen a dozen small ring Mausers squashed by an outside wrench. I have seen three or four split by inside wrenches. I have seen a few stainless A-Bolt which galled when the barrels were unscrewed.
I have seen some P14's and 1917's which were really tight, but never so tight that I had to cut the barrel. The Weatherby MKV I mentioned was so tight that I had to cut the barrel off and bore the tenon out of the receiver ring. I had to do the same with an A-Bolt and with a Lee Enfield. In both of those, it was to prevent galling.
At the other end of the scale, I have had a couple of Ruger 77's which came loose as I was tightening the wrench on! After that, I always tested 77's with a Crescent wrench. Often, they came off easily. WH