I’ve lost two rear barrel pins..

I purchase a Lyman GPR (Flint) this fall. On the first hunting weekend with it, I looked down and noticed the rear barrel pin had somehow fallen out. I ordered new pins from TOW, installed one, and the same thing happened again. The pins feel tight going in but do not require a hammer to drive all the way in.

Should they require a hammer to drive in?

Should I bend or smash the next replacement pin to snug it??

Rob

Wow, never had that happen. A ”˜slight’ bend over the overall length and not a sharp V-bend in one spot should do it.

On my guns, I make sure the ends are rounded and some dab beeswax at the ends of the through hole.

Very slight....Bend ....Don't get crazy...or it won't go through......Do not hammer or you'll destroy the tennon or estuchon on the other side.

It shouldn't have to be so tight that you need to hammer it in but it does need to be tight. Do to your problem you obviously need to make it tighter. Some people like to make them tight enough you can't get them out by hand. I like mine tight enough that I can't get them out without allot of effort but still by hand. I have one that I can't get one of them out by hand but the other pin does. If you can get one pin out, you can use the other like a minie claw hammer and pry it out with the head of the pin.

If you do bend them a little to stay be very careful. I have in small chip lifted around a pin holding in the trigger guard. I was out in the woods and I noticed it had fallen about half way out. The pin edges were round I gave it a slight bend and I tapped it in with the handle of my knife. I got home and was cleaning and found the chip lifted when I tapped it in. :nono:

This is a pin, not a wedge?

Go to https://www.lymanproducts.com/media/catalog/product/g/r/great_plains_rifle_and_hunter_p1.pdf
and scroll down to the page on fitting wedge pins, it's about 3/4 way through the guide. You'll see it recommends (carefully) tapping the barrel lug by tapping the top of the lug using a 1" bar between hammer and lug. But read the guide for the real instructions.

Jamie

On all my MLers that have keys or wedges I "capture" them. They might back out but can't fall out.

The wedge has a 1/16" wide slot running nearly the full length of the wedge and the 1/32 dia. capture" pin is either under the escutcheon or is in a vertical hole drilled into the oblique flat the of the bbl inlet

If the fit of the wedge is not tight enough, I tap on the top of the bbl lug until it is tight. Don't like to bend the wedge.....Fred

If I’m not mistaken the GPR have specific wedges for the front and back.

I memory serves me correctly , one is a little shorter than the other.

If mispositioned , the short one where the longer one goes.

There’s the problem. :thumbsup:

jamieorr said:

Go to https://www.lymanproducts.com/media/catalog/product/g/r/great_plains_rifle_and_hunter_p1.pdf
and scroll down to the page on fitting wedge pins, it's about 3/4 way through the guide. You'll see it recommends (carefully) tapping the barrel lug by tapping the top of the lug using a 1" bar between hammer and lug. But read the guide for the real instructions.

Jamie

Click to expand...

All you who want to grind, bend or peen, take a tip from the Great White North - Read the instructions! This is the only correct way to tighten your Lyman Rifle wedges - sheesh, buncha' amateurs.

Just because it is recommended by them doesn't mean it's the only way to do it. If you accidentally tap too hard and break the lug it's allot more difficult to replace the lug than buy another wedge pin.

AZbpBurner said:

jamieorr said:

Go to https://www.lymanproducts.com/media/catalog/product/g/r/great_plains_rifle_and_hunter_p1.pdf
and scroll down to the page on fitting wedge pins, it's about 3/4 way through the guide. You'll see it recommends (carefully) tapping the barrel lug by tapping the top of the lug using a 1" bar between hammer and lug. But read the guide for the real instructions.

Jamie

Click to expand...

All you who want to grind, bend or peen, take a tip from the Great White North - Read the instructions! This is the only correct way to tighten your Lyman Rifle wedges - sheesh, buncha' amateurs.

Click to expand...

So simple....Makes me wonder why the factory doesn't fit them properly..... :hmm:

Maybe Lyman should send their instructions to Investarms.... :haha:

Mooman76 said:

Just because it is recommended by them doesn't mean it's the only way to do it. If you accidentally tap too hard and break the lug it's allot more difficult to replace the lug than buy another wedge pin.

Click to expand...

It doesn't take much force to adjust the lugs. If you don't have the finesse to lightly tap, try the fit and repeat, then maybe you DO need a bag of extra wedges to bend. Like anything involving yesterdays' technology, some of todays' benchtop mechanics haven't yet developed the skill to perform a task that was more routine in a bygone era.

flehto said:

On all my MLers that have keys or wedges I "capture" them. They might back out but can't fall out.

The wedge has a 1/16" wide slot running nearly the full length of the wedge and the 1/32 dia. capture" pin is either under the escutcheon or is in a vertical hole drilled into the oblique flat the of the bbl inlet

If the fit of the wedge is not tight enough, I tap on the top of the bbl lug until it is tight. Don't like to bend the wedge.....Fred

Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

I capture mine too. Now my T/C wedges do not have slots, so I have to be careful with those and rely on adjusting the wedge for a secure friction fit. My CVA mountain pistol was very loose. On that one I cut the slot and installed the capture pin in the stock.

I don't have a problem with my wedges. They fit perfectly. I'm just saying, there is more than one way to do something. Exactly what is wrong with bending a wedge pen slightly anyway?

Pull the barrel out of the stock. On the rear wedge pin holder, on the underside of the barrel, lay a 1/2 to 3/4 inch socket wrench extension across the "center" of the holder, with the extension perpendicular to the barrel. This gives you only one point of contact and more control. "Lightly" tap the on top of the the extension once "no more" than twice with a hammer. It doesn't take much to bend it. Put the barrel back into the stock. put the front wedge pin in first, since it is the rear one you are having problems with. Then you want to put the rear pin in. Repeat this process till you get the tightness you want. I like them them snug enough that I have to use a rubber mallet to tap the wedge pin in about the last 1/32-1/16" to get it in all the way. DANNY

One more option is one I did with with CVA Mountain Rifle. Admittedly not h/c, but I made a small shim out of a piece of thin metal (cover piece from an old floppy disk) shaped to wrap three sides of the lug and the wedge snugged right up.
I know, I know.........what about when you lose the shim while cleaning? I'm not saying it's a perfect option, just another option.

Again

Danny has it right! If you bend the wedge (aka pin / key ) then you can have only one way to install it and it bears on the stock incorrectly. Adjust the barrel loop and be done with the job. Adding the keeper pin in the wedge is always a nice touch and you won't have to keep track of the wedges during cleaning.

Ok. So it seems I’ve tapped three possible approaches here””Bend the pin/ wedge, bend the loop in the barrel, or install a “keeper.”

I admit that I could not tell the difference between the two pins when I removed them initially, so the problem may have been my own fault. Maybe the pin installed in front is meant for back, but the way I installed them seemed to be the tightest. Oh well...

The first replacement pin that I purchased was from TOW, and it claimed to be for front or back. Since then I read one from Lyman specifically noted for the rear pin so I’ll compare it to the current front pin again to see if there’s any difference.

Either way, I guess I’ll need to etch an F and R in them so I know which slot they go in.

And...
I’ll review the manual link (thanks for that) and figure out what’s Lyman wants me to do.

I’ll let y’all know how it goes!

Thanks much fellas.