Removing the barrel on a hooked breech rifle for cleaning, yes or no??

[MedicMike3762]

Sort of a small poll here. Those of you that have rifles with hooked breeches straight, slant, etc, do you routinely remove the barrel after shooting for cleaning? Obviously there are two camps, yes I’d do remove the barrel often for cleaning, and no I don’t remove for cleaning. I was recently talking to a very knowledgeable old timer who said you want to remove the barrel as little as possible as you are removing micro amounts of material every time you remove the tube. He also the barrel has to re-seat itself after being removed and reinstalled and that can take several shots. I also personally feel that anytime you take down a gun you increase the risk of damage to said firearm. I personally have quit using the fancy browning take down cases for my citoris when going to bust up birds at the skeet range or into the field. On the flip side I see the huge advantage of removing the barrel for cleaning for ease of cleaning, and keeping water away from the wood. I know there is probably no wrong answer just like most things in life there is always more than one way to milk that chicken!!! Just curious what others do?

 

[Larry Akers]

My hooked breech barrels come out of the stock for cleaning every time. That's the purpose of the hooked breech--make it easier to remove the barrel.

 

[64Springer]

If the gun gods didn't mean for us to remove the barrels for cleaning, they wouldn't have invented the hooked breech system.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I am also in the camp of the removed barrel. That's what a hooked breech is for. I suppose there is a minute amount of metal removed when you remove and replace the barrel, but the most destructive thing you can do to a gun is to fire it. I will likely live another couple of years, and in that time I doubt that I'll remove enough metal to notice.... and most likely my guns' next owners won't notice either.

I've handled a few guns with pinned-in-stock barrels, but never bought one. Punching out all those pins whenever I clean the gun just seems like more trouble than it is worth. Now, I've seen a few guns with loose pins in the stock, so maybe those shouldn't be removed. Wood doesn't wear as well as steel.

 

[Daveboone]

Barrel comes off. For the couple seconds to pull the pin, i am keeping my stock dry, I can clean the bbl totally and wipe down the barrel channel.

 

[64Springer]

I don't remove my pinned barrels either. Just clean the barrels carefully. Without sloshing water all over the stock.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I don't remove my pinned barrels either. Just clean the barrels carefully. Without sloshing water all over the stock.

Wouldn't work for me. I take my barrel into the shower. Stock stays on the kitchen table for the wet work.

 

[Iceman]

I always remove the barrels for cleaning on my Thompson Centers. I think your risk of damage removing the barrel is very minimal compared to leaving it on and not getting it perfectly clean.

I've never taken the barrel off from one that is pinned on. I am more concerned with that style possibly damaging the stock removing the barrel.

 

[MedicMike3762]

Good stuff! Good insight! Only talking bout hooked breech rifles with wedges not long rifles with small pins.

 

[dave951]

I remove the barrels on mine that have a hooked breech. That said, none of them are competition grade nor will they ever be. With my traditional competition muskets and such, they are glass bedded and the barrels are cleaned on the gun. I do remove those barrels once a year for cleaning and then put back and the tang screw retorqued. Yes, tang screw torque can affect accuracy in a Civil War musket and in other guns with that system.

 

[Stykbow]

I take it off every time.

 

[Justin.44]

Every time for me too

 

[deermanok]

Yup, take mine off too.

 

[chorizo]

Whoever said that the barrel has to reseat itself is more full of crap than a Christmas turkey.

#1 the sights are completely on the barrel
#2 the movement is miniscule
#3 If that little change affects their POI, then they have one hell of a precise target gun with precision fitted parts and precision weighed, measured and loaded rounds
#4 they must be shooting out to 500 yards and beyond

@dave951 is spot on. Fixed tang guns and precision guns it will affect POI, but for us normal shooters with open sights an extra cup of coffee has more impact to POI than removing and reseating a hooked breech barrel.

 

[Ames]

Only one with a hooked breech, and I take it off every time.

 

[earlwb]

Yes I remove the barrel for cleaning too. That is why it has a hooked breech, so you can clean it easily.

 

[Winchester97]

The only way I can see removing a hooked breech barrel would be if you were using a reciever sight that stays on the tang seperate from the barrel. Combine that with a sloppy fitting barrel, and POI would probably change a bit. As long as sights and barrel are one unit, it should stay sighted in....If this were not the case, I would have a ton of Contender barrels that would need zeroed everytime I swapped a barrel out.

 

[user 31257]

I guess I thought that was why they had a hooked breech and a wedge pin? It never occurred to me not to remove them.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Nope: no need to remove the barrel. I quit using that bucket of water method many years ago.

 

[Idaho Ron]

I take my barrels off every time to clean.
All of my guns wear peep sights attached to the tang. Some of These guns have maintained the same sight in since 2006.
I have seen zero negative impact of taking the barrels off my TC rifles for cleaning.