lost barrel wedge

[MN284]

This winter's Minnesota muzzle-loader deer season I took my Cabelas' Hawken .54 flinter out for several days of still-hunting over a three-week period. Left the charge in the barrel throughout, just emptied the pan after each hunt.

After the last day I shot out the charge, took the gun into the house to clean it.

When I pulled out the ramrod the barrel fell out of the stock! Sometime over that period I had lost the barrel wedge. Never found it.

Has this happened to others or am I the first to experience this?

Have a new one on order from Track of the Wolf.

Thanks for any reply.

Tom

 

[mooman76]

Yes this can happen if the wedge is not a tight fit. I like mine tight but not so tight I can't work them out with my hands. Others like them tighter. Do a search here on how to tighten the barrel wedges.

 

[Wayne R Scott]

I think this is why they invented captured barrel wedges. :wink:

 

[Billnpatti]

I've never personally lost a barrel wedge but I know several others have. When you get your replacement wedge from TOW, first make sure it fits your rifle. It may be loose but as long as it fits into the hole and through the lug under the barrel, you are good to go to the step of tightening it up (if it is still a bit loose). Some people will tell you to bend your wedge but that is not the best way to tighten it. If you bend your wedge, it will fit in only one orientation and if you accidently put it in upside down, it won't be tight and may well fall out again. The proper way to tighten a wedge is to remove your barrel from the stock, turn it upside down and use a hammer and a large bolt to carefully peen down the wedge underlug. Do this by laying the bolt on the lug and giving it a couple of careful raps with the hammer. Don't try to be King Kong, just good solid taps with the hammer. After a couple of taps, put the barrel back in the stock and try the wedge. It should go in with some resistance but you should be able to press it in with some good firm thumb pressure. Maybe a gentle tap with the handle of a screw driver to seat it completely. No hammer should be needed. If you feel that it will take a hammer or some such tool to get the wedge in, then you have over tightened your lug. The fix is to get the largest flat bladed screw driver that will fit into the loop of the lug and tap it into the lug to loosen it up. A proper fitting wedge will require something like a screwdriver to start to ease it out of the slot but once started to where you can get your fingers on it, it should be able to be removed by some firm finger pressure.

 

[azmntman]

What he said! I bent my wedge and it through me into fits. Every other time I shot it was not grouping. Replaced the wedge and tapped the lug and back to "normal" (which depending on the day is good or real good and occasionally NWAS)!

 

[Spikebuck]

I think this is why they invented captured barrel wedges. :wink:

Yes, and it would be an easy fix to apply to make sure it doesn't happen again.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I think this is why they invented captured barrel wedges. :wink:

Yes, and it would be an easy fix to apply to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Captured wedge is the way to go. When I lost the wedge for my CVA Mountain pistol, all the wise shooters in my club all nodded their heads and asked why I didn't have the wedge captured. The answer to that was laziness on my part. I had thought that the key was secure.

So since it didn't have time to do it right the first time, I found time to do it right the second time. The CVA shotgun wedge has a slot and that wedge fits my pistol. Well sort of. I had to lengthen the slot by drilling a stop hole at the right length, using two blades in a hacksaw to remove material from the original slot to the stop hole and filing to get good clearance for the pin.

The process was more on the order of select a spot where the wedge is inserted through the stock and drill a just fit hole for the capture pin. Insert the wedge and see how much further you have to lengthen the slot to allow the tenon on the barrel to clear the wedge. Then lengthen the slot. The capture pin can be placed under the escutcheon but the tiny screws holding the escutcheon may not take the abuse of removing the wedge.

 

[S.Kenton]

I've lost a wedge or two in my day. Normally when I notice one loose I take a small ball peen hammer and carefully tap the loop as others have already mentioned. I like mine nice and tight.

 

[Grumpa]

My Dad once lost the wedge on his TC Hawkins, and the vent liner too!?? :shocked2:

I had the patch box lid spring open on my first Harpers Ferry - lost jag, ball puller, vent pick and lubed patch strip. Had hunted hard all day, lots of walking, cold and damp. And it was dark when I got back to the car. Just gave them up for lost.
All I carry in the patch box now is patching.

 

[azmntman]

Whats a captured wedge? Pics? :redface: still learning LOL

 

[bpd303]

The wedge has a slot in it, with a pin to keep it from falling out of the stock. http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/964/1/KEY-36-I