Pulling breach plug on a Pedersol Frontierman

[tecum-tha]

Hi everyone,
I have this about 15 year old Pedersoli Hatfield Frontierman rifle in .50 cal. This flinter never fired as good as my custom flinter and the jaeger rifle I build last winter from TOTW parts.First, I corrected the position of the touchhole and it fired a little better but still not as good as I like. After some long thinking and analysing I found the real problem of this gun: it has a patented breach plug which all guns that work properly do not have. I want to remove the breach plug, shorten the barrel to be able to install a new breach plug and a white lightning touchhole liner at the right position toward the flashpan. I will also grind the flashpan a little bigger.

My problem: The breach plug is so tight I can´t remove it. I now soak the hole breach plug area in Ballistol gun oil to make it work.
Did anyone ever remove a breech plug from such a gun? How deep is that breech plug? Are the threads metric or inches?
It seems the barrel is a 7/8 straight octagon.
Any tips?

 

[GobblerKnob]

I have a Pedersoli Blueridge rifle and I know the vent liner goes through the breechplug. This may be the case with yours. Try removing the liner then see if that plug won't come out. Hope this helps. Rick

 

[tecum-tha]

I already unscrewed the ventliner anyways. I still wait a few days to give the oil some time...
Thanks anyways!
Roland

 

[brubincam]

-----if your shortening the barrel any way just cut it off in front of the breach plug-----

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu need to use a penetrating oil with oxides to dissolve any rust that might be in the threads. Try using Break Free, or Kroil, or Liquid Wrench. Most of these use Kerosene as a base, so if you have any Kerosene, put some in a container and just put the plug end of the barrel down into the kerosene. It will remove the bluing in some guns, but you should not care about that. I have known several barrel makers and restorers, who use kerosene to "crack" the rust in breechplugs on very old guns that a customer wants to restore. They let the barrel sit in the kerosene for a week or two. Personally, I think the newer products, like Liquid Wrench work faster, but why spend money if you don't have to?

YOu do need a good solid bench, and bench vise, and then a pipe extension to put over the handle of a good pipe wrench you put on the breechplug, to help you break that initial seal, and turn the plug.

Having a friend hold another wrench to the barrel Under the vise to work against your turn also helps to keep any damage from being done to the barrel.

Pad your jaws of your wrenchs and vise with copper or aluminum, so you don't leave teeth marks in the barrel.

Make sure that you clamp the barrel in the vise FORWARD of the breechplug, and not on it. That means, with a flintlock, forward of the vent hole.

"Lefty-Loosey, Righty-Tighty" is the old jingle to remind yourself which way you want to turn that plug to remove it.

 

[tecum-tha]

Thank you, I will try to find some kerosene or Liquid wrench.