BrownBess Barrel

[JackAubrey]

My Brown Bess barrel is pinned into the stock whereas all my other BP guns have wedge pins or screws.I am used to removing the barrel for cleaning.I have heard the pins should only be removed in one direction,is this so?Is it even necessary to remove the barrel?Best regards,Jack

 

[robinghewitt]

Bess should be pinned. If you want to take it out regularly have you considered getting pins with something on the end that you can pull? Much less risk of damaging the wood if you can pull instead of pushing :thumbsup:

 

[benvenuto]

my rifles pins come out on the lock side (ie you hit the pins from the sideplate side. They are slightly tapered, but if it turns out yours are cylindrical, it doesn't matter which way they go in or out.

just be careful you don't take a chip out of the stock around the holes.

i have seen collegues using extra long pins that protrude enough to grab with pliers instead of using a pin punch. pretty rough on the hands if you have to do musket drill tho'! :shocking:

 

[Mike Brooks]

There is no need to remove the barrel to clean.

 

[Craig]

I never remove my barrel to clean my Bess, but I wasn't sure leaving it in place was the best thing. It just seemed that removing pins would cause more problems than careful cleaning.

 

[Stumpkiller]

In the 15 years I owned my bess I removed the barrel once. When I did, I rubbed bowling alley paste wax into the wood and barrel and then went a dozen years without removing it. If it got wet I used the corners of paper to wick the water out and then protected it with wax paper & CLP Breakfree slid into the barrel chanel and worked around to spread the CLP (the wax paper kept it out of the wood & smeared it up into the barrel).

Have no plans on ever removing the barrel on my longrifle. Not worth the risk of splitting out the wood around the pins unless there is a specific need.

 

[musketman]

My Brown Bess barrel is pinned into the stock whereas all my other BP guns have wedge pins or screws.I am used to removing the barrel for cleaning.I have heard the pins should only be removed in one direction,is this so?Is it even necessary to remove the barrel?Best regards,Jack

If you do remove the pins, keep them in order so that the same pin will be replaced in the original hole it emerged from, this is because pins will flex slightly over time...

I remember reading that the pins should be drifted out from the left side of the forearm to the right, and reinstalled from the right side to the left, use a small drift so you don't split the wood...

 

[JackAubrey]

Thanks Guys.I am inclinded to leave it where it is .I was concerned w/moisture getting down there and rusting.I think I'll do the bowling wax and leave it reoute!Best Regards,Jack

 

[musketman]

Thanks Guys.I am inclinded to leave it where it is .I was concerned w/moisture getting down there and rusting.I think I'll do the bowling wax and leave it reoute!Best Regards,Jack

There is such a thing as liquid wax, it would follow the same path as water, leeching between the wood and metal... :hmm:

 

[JackAubrey]

Ah, Musketman, there you have it Sir!As a matter of curiosity,would there be any advantage to browning the underside of the barrel?Does browning,or blueing for that matter retard rust?Jack

 

[David Teague]

Does browning,or blueing for that matter retard rust?Jack

Bluing and Browing ARE forms of rust... It's the oil, grease, or wax that will help keep your barrel from rusting.

Cheers,

DT

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Why do you wish to remove the barrel, it is unnecessary?

 

[JackAubrey]

It seemed moisture would work into the barrel channel and could rust the barrel.Since it was difficult to remove it would go unnoticed.My wife says I am obsessive/compulsive when it comes to cleaning my guns.She wishes I was in the kitchen!Perhaps this is a non issue.Jack

 

[musketman]

Ah, Musketman, there you have it Sir!As a matter of curiosity,would there be any advantage to browning the underside of the barrel?Does browning,or blueing for that matter retard rust?Jack

You could coat the underside of the barrel with something like clear fingernail polish, this would seal it from the elements and once reinstalled, no one would be the wiser...

 

[JackAubrey]

I think I solved this little dilema.I removed the barrel and lightly coated the underside of the barrel w/ sticky red axle grease,just a thin layer,and reinstalled it.That should hold it.Thanks for the good ideas!Jack.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Sounds like a good choice. Red grease and cosmolene are similar. Be a little careful of where you set it in a hot car or after a long range session until it sets up. Red grease don't come out of upholstery.

My new flintlock had the barrel dipped in bear oil and then baked. Gives a bit of protection. The good news is, if you don't remove the barrel you'll never know if you should have worried. :haha:

 

[benvenuto]

of course you could just pretend its a navy musket and paint the barrel black

 

[flintlockmdj]

If you do remove the barrel chuck the pins up in a hand drill and using a file round of the ends and polish with sandpaper. This will all but eliminate the chipping of wood on the forearm should it ever be necessary to remove the barrel again.

 

[mike alexandre]

Get a lump of hard wax (bees will do)and with a blow lamp gently heat the barrel( out of the stock) and apply the wax. A little more heat will spread the wax to a thin coat. Do this all over the barrel. No more corrosion.