removing tang screw

[Fallen Timbers]

Some halfstock muzzleloaders have a wedge key to hold the barrel to the forestock but don't have a hooked breech. They have a solid breech with a tang screw holding the tang onto the wrist. Were these guns designed to remove the barrel wedge key and the tang screw to remove the barrel to clean it after shooting? Does it damage the tang screw threads in the wrist if the screw is removed often to clean the barrel? Can a barrel be easily reinstalled if it has a solid breech and a tang screw?

Thank you for your helpful answers.

 

[tenngun]

On my pined guns when I have removed the barrel (very rare) I have not had any problem reinstaling. On the other hand done over and over your tang screw might get loose.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I have owned four flintlock muzzleloaders without keyed barrels. I removed the barrel on one of them once. The others (I still own two) I have never removed the barrels. These are my two primary hunting and shooting firearms (rain or shine) and there is no need to remove the barrel for a thorough cleaning.

You just have to keep the muzzle lower than the breech and lay the vent pointing down on a old towel. The vents are not removed, either.

 

[Zonie]

There is no harm done when removing a tang screw if care is used.

Almost all muzzleloaders tang screws don't screw into the wood. They pass thru the stock and engage threads in the trigger plate.

These guns can be damaged if the tang screw is crossthreaded into the trigger plate threads but if they are screwed almost all the way in with just finger pressure there is little chance of crossthreading the female threads.

The other way the tang screw can damage the trigger plates screw threads is if it is over-tightened.

I don't know why but some people think all of the screws need to be "really torqued down".
They don't of course and if the screw is lightly tightened it can be removed and reinstalled thousands of times.

I should mention those guns that do use a wood screw in their barrel tang.

Wood can be easily damaged and it is easy to wear out the threads if they are repeatedly used so if the gun has a wood screw there, avoid removing it.

 

[Vaino]

My first build in 1977 was a LR w/ 4 keys or wedges and a tang screw threaded into the trigger plate. The bbl has been removed countless times for cleaning and all the keys still fit well and the tang screw thread is still good.

I agree that the tang and front and rear lockbolts don't have to be tightened a whole lot.....Fred

 

[tenngun]

Its true a pined rifle doesn't need to be removed, as stated its been rare for me to do it. That said all of us with pined guns can say together ...you can clean your gun with out removing it,so your thread might be a mote point

 

[Rifleman1776]

My experience and observation is that it is about 50/50% screwed to wood or thru to trigger plate.
Nevertheless there is no need to remove barrel for routine cleaning.
Maybe remove it once in a lifetime for serious repairs.

 

[George T.]

I have one rifle like that and I only remove the barrel every couple of years to reapply furniture paste wax to the barrel channel and clean and wax the barrel it's self.

George T.

 

[mazo kid]

One other thing to consider....on some rifles the rear lock bolt goes THROUGH the tang web, so be careful the first time you try to remove the barrel. The only barrels I have removed to clean was my very early CVA Mountain rifle (long time ago!) and a double barreled shotgun.