??What to do for a loose fitting barrel??

[lik2hunt]

Got a couple of used barrels that fit very loosely on my Ultra receiver. I am going to use brass shim stock on the hinge pin to tighten them up. Any other tricks I might try?

[Paul5388]

lik2hunt,

The shim only needs to be on the socket for the hinge pin.  If you put it on the pin it will move the barrel up and back both.  Of course, out of the five barrels I have, they have all tended to be tight, so what do I know?

The other solution is to sell the barrels to me, I probably have a receiver they will fit.  :grin:

[handirifle]

One thing I have thought of is to have someone weld a thin layer on the barrel hinge and machine it to fit.  That would be more permanant.

If they are high pressure barrels it might crush the brass in time??

[50 Calshtr]

I used steel shim stock from Brownells to tieghten up an old double in a similar manner, works well and is prehaps more durable.

[jbtazgrabber]

yes you can have someone weld on them   make sure you take apart the extracter and spring the heat will ruin a spring then file to fit     tha other alternative is to take a sharp centerpunch and peen the sides of the barrel lug right at the pointwhere you strech the length of the lug

[Major]

I have used a sharp center punch and peened the groove in a barrel to tighten a loose rear sight but I donÂ’t think I would do that to a barrel log.   It might work for a few shots but I donÂ’t think it would last long as the recoil would just flatten the peen marks in no time at all.

[MSP Ret]

I agree with Major, however that is an old fix that was used in double barreled shotguns for years....<><.... :grin:

[lik2hunt]

I purchased the brass shim stock yesterday. Pretty cheap for it , only .65 for a running inch which is enough to last for quite a while. Had to get two thicknesses though. One for the newer barrel and a thicker peice for the older one. They lock up tight and seem to be matched proportianately to the receiver as far as height goes. Both are the low pressure calibers so I'll give 'em a shot (pun inteneted) and see what happens. I'll post afterwards......or maybe not.
My buddy suggested I put them in a gun vise secured tightly and tie a string to the trigger and back a ways off and fire them that way the first time. I'm giving it some thought.
Thanks for all the advice. If the shimming idea works then later I can see about having them welded by someone knowledgable and competent in the field.

[Mitch in MI]

My buddy suggested I put them in a gun vise secured tightly and tie a string to the trigger and back a ways off and fire them that way the first time. I'm giving it some thought.

I'm reminded of the instructions that Hall Sharon included with his muzzleloader kits in the '70's:
To proof test, double load it, stick the barrel in an old car tire, and ignite it with a cannon fuse.
That sounds reasonable to me, just slip the buttstock in a car tire and yank the string.

Hand holding doesn't seem out of the question, but I wouldn't want to be sighting down the barrel. If it pops open and shoots the case out at 1000fps, you don't want your eye to get in the way. Injury seems unlikely if you fire from the hip as long as the barrel doesn't impersonate a pipe bomb.

[lik2hunt]

Hand holding doesn't seem out of the question, but I wouldn't want to be sighting down the barrel. If it pops open and shoots the case out at 1000fps, you don't want your eye to get in the way. Injury seems unlikely if you fire from the hip as long as the barrel doesn't impersonate a pipe bomb.

Well now that all certainly sounds encouraging.  :shock:    I probably will have no problems but ya never know so precaution will be taken.....maybe not to the extremes listed but to be careful is not out of the question.

[Mitch in MI]

Well now that all certainly sounds encouraging.

Well, I was looking at worst case. "hide behind a tree while pulling a string" is usually a proof testing trick. Probably excessive as the barrel was factory proofed.

You're probably more concerned about the gun opening while there's still pressure in the barrel. I was reading some stuff a while back by David White where he was testing backthrust of various cartridges by shooting with receiverless T/C barrels and seeing where the case ended up. I think he clocked the fastest case from a highly tapered cartridge at over 1200fps. I wouldn't want to get in the way of that. I'd expect your test firing to be totally uneventful, but I'd still avoid putting my head behind the chamber until it was proven.

[ScatterGunner]

i was fortunate enough to get a hold of a genuine WWII italian carcano bolt gun, its' claim to fame was that it was only dropped once.

i was told to tie the thing to a spare tire and fire it with a long rope a few times to make it didn't open, burst, or split when firing, sweet ! needless to say it's a wall hanger.

sg