need help with removing a Contender

[quilbilly]

Barrel. Yesterday I got a deal on an octagonal but unused barrel for a Contender. I put it on a newer (but still old) frame and it is locked up so cannot be reopened. Can anyone walk me through the steps to get it off. I have already removed the grip and the hinge pin but have not tried "brute force" yet? I assume I will have to do some limited disassembly, of course. Luckily I have other frames that I know that barrel will fit on.

[pietro]

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The barrel is held in place by the pivot pin at the front and a locking bolt at the rear.

With the pivot pin out, the barrel should swing up at the front for removal with some tapping on it's underside with a non-marring hammer.

If it won't clear the front of the frame, not coming out - then a total action dis-assembly will be needed to remove the locking bolt.




After you get the barrel removed, check if the barrel you bought is compatible with your Contender's frame.




Contender locking bolts & barrel lugs were changed from a one-piece to a split/two-piece design, because some of the old one-piece bolts were hard to un-lock/ open.

While a lot of the barrels will interchange, the only problem is that the difference in locking bolts on the barrels will cause an incompatibility.

If your Contender has the split locking bolt and the barrel you bought is for a one-piece locking bolt, it's most likely not compatible.


An entirely different issue is that Armor Alloy barrels don't interchange the any other Contender frames.


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[quilbilly]

Yesterday I removed the trigger assembly as well as the pivot pin and the barrel stayed put. That done I put it all back together and it functioned normally except for the barrel being locked in (no mean feat for me with few mechanical skills). I haven't tried the leather hammer yet (I call that the brute force method) but that is next up and will again remove the trigger assembly and begin tapping. Fingers crossed! Thank you very much. I was hoping you would respond.

[gumbo333]

Good whack with a leather/ rubber hammer. The Greybeards site has a lot of Contender issues covered. The Mike Belm site covers the different locking lug styles, he has a bunch of info for Contenders. If you had 2 or more barrels you could try switching locking lugs from one barrel to the other, they may both work. But you only have one, correct. Over the years I've had several Contender barrels but only one older frame. I have 3 different styles of looking lugs on several barrels, by switching lugs I've made them all work good, but one. That took some filing. Mike Belm has filing info on his site. Your barrel closed, it will open, sometime. Make sure you pull the release back very very hard. Might take a pretty good whack. Works better if you have 3 hands. Good luck.

[fast ronnie]

I had mine stick after not being used for several years. A little lube dribbled into the joint and getting a little on the strong side and it opened.

[quilbilly]

Resolved the problem yesterday evening. I removed the trigger assembly then gently removed the screw holding the "H" shaped piece that connects with the barrel's locking lug in place inside the frame while also holding my breath that there wasn't a spring to go flying across the room (unlike Penn fishing reels, there wasn't). A little shaking dropped the barrel right out. After putting back that part with screw then replacing the trigger assembly, all was well when I put on the original barrel. Lesson learned - put octagonal barrels only on my oldest frames. Thanks for all your help and comments.