Re-barrel my Smith M&P, M10, Victory .....Whatever!

[Buckshot]

..........I got a NOS 5"bbl from GPC awile back. I may possibly get into the mood to actually mess around with putting it on. Any particular trick to driving out the small barrel pin, besides having a cupped punch? Threads are regular? You know, righty tighty, lefty loosy? Anything going to jump up and bite me on the butt?

...............Buckshot

[StarMetal]

Nope nothin to it. Like you said just push the pin out with a cupped punch. When you put the new barrel in, if it doesn't have a slot for the pin just find the right size drill and drill it out once it's installed in the gun and put the pin back in. For removing the barrel just clamp your barrel in some fixture like a barrel vise or a vise with lead lined jaws. Remove the cylinder and stick a nice square oak or hickory stick through the window and crank the receiver off the barrel. When you're putting the new barrel on and it just comes up short of indexing the sight, back off and then go again. Each time you do this you will gain alittle more. You and I talked about all this.

Joe

[floodgate]

Buckshot: Yeah, like Joe says, it's duck soup to swap those old pinned barrels. RH threads, no taper (some Colts DID have tapered threads and were hard to fit up). At worst, you might have to face off the barrel flange a tad, and if they are really un-used NOS, you will of course have to trim back the tenon for proper barrel-to-cylinder gap. But that's a bonus and lets you fit the piece up properly. floodgate

[BCB]

Buckshot,
Just curious, is that handgun a 38 Special? And what barrel are you going to attempt to install. I have one in 38 Special (maybe that's all any of them were?), and it is a good cast shooter, especially the 358429 and the 38-148-WC...BCB

[slughammer]

I don't know if the pinned are that much easier than the current interference fit assembly? The Kunhausen book says to use a special frame wrench for holding the frame. It also says the shovel handle through the frame window can tweek the frame.

If it were me, I'd use plastic wrap and bondo to make up a set of blocks to hold the frame proper.

[StarMetal]

The old pinned frame barrels are alot easier then the new interference fit barrels. Of course Kunhuasen would suggest a frame wrench or fixture because that is the RIGHT way to do it. There's a tool for just about everything. But really those screw off pretty easily. The only handguns I've heard that were touchy were Charter Arms, they were supposed to have really soft frames. I heard one of the hardest handgun barrels to unscrew were the old Ruger Mark I semi auto 22 rimfires.

Joe

[Buckshot]

Buckshot,
Just curious, is that handgun a 38 Special? And what barrel are you going to attempt to install. I have one in 38 Special (maybe that's all any of them were?), and it is a good cast shooter, especially the 358429 and the 38-148-WC...BCB

Naw, it's a 38 S&W. It went from and indifferent shooter to oustanding via a switch to pure lead slugs and pure lead hollow based slugs. I measure the chamber mouths at .362" and the barrel at a .361" groove.

Floodgate, yup I measured it and will have to take several thou off the breechface. It'll be nice to get away from the .012" gap it has now!

Joe, I recall the conversation and appreciate the info. Just wanted to doublecheck with all the peestol gurus.

...............Buckshot

[jethrow strait]

Appreciate you airing this topic out. being as I have one of same. 38 S&W in 5" circa summer of '43. Have had the same urge from time to time, but it just doesn't seem to make much sense, since mine, like yours, shoots very well as is, mit heavy soft boolits. And there ain't even no sentiment involved in mine; wasn't my daddy's gun or somesuch.

You are, of course, an inveterate tinkerer, and I suppose that is reason enough! But,can't imagine YOU making jus anuther .38 Special outa it.

Saludos de jethrow

[Buckshot]

Appreciate you airing this topic out. being as I have one of same. 38 S&W in 5" circa summer of '43. Have had the same urge from time to time, but it just doesn't seem to make much sense, since mine, like yours, shoots very well as is, mit heavy soft boolits. And there ain't even no sentiment involved in mine; wasn't my daddy's gun or somesuch.

You are, of course, an inveterate tinkerer, and I suppose that is reason enough! But,can't imagine YOU making jus anuther .38 Special outa it.

Saludos de jethrow

Jethrow, no the NOS bbl I have is 38 S&W. Says so right on the right side. Our rangemaster who was his dept's armorer has a Sh*tpot full of 38 Special stuff and wanted to know if I wanted a 38 Special cyl & bbl? I said heck no! What would I do with the 300 Starline 38 S&W cases I had then?

Nope, it's gonna stay in 38 Short and Weak. I may even have to call Dillon and order a shellplate for it (do they even MAKE one :-)? I did check to see if a 38 /357 shellplate or 38/9mm shellplate would work. Nope. I really enjoy shooting it. It's really lots of fun now that you can actually hit what you aim at with it.

http://www.fototime.com/20E262CE102F9D8/standard.jpg
Of course it wears much more befitting grips now, to more uphold it's new status of "Almost Target Grade". No more Hubley cap pistol plastic stag grips!

...............Buckshot