T/C Barrel to Breech Fit

[parrothead]

Just received this T/C rifle this morning and noticed that there is a pretty good gap between where the barrel is suppose to butt up against the breech. The barrel is flush at the top, but you can see how quickly it goes out of kilter towards the bottom in this photo. The barrel is snug in the stock and the breech is firmly screwed down. Is this safe to shoot like this???

Thanks in advance!

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[ray j.]

Maybe proud metal at breech plug, picture looks like shadow making gap larger than what it really is...maybe replacement barrel/ somebody smarter then me will chime in..

 

[bubba.50]

looks to me like the rear of the tang needs to set down in the stock more to correct the tang/barrel relationship. take the barrel & tang out of the stock & see if they mate up properly. if they do you can inlet the back end of the tang a bit deeper to correct the tang/breech match-up. may have to play with it a bit to figger it all out.

if they don't match-up right look for shiny or rub spots to touch up with a file to get'em to fit together right.

 

[nkbj]

Just some useful info if you're refitting a barrel on a TC...
This is from an instruction sheet that GM used to send with their drop-in barrels a long time ago.

 

[parrothead]

Here are some better photos of the area. This was sold to me as an all original rifle. What concerns me is that with this gap is it safe to shoot without adapting it? Is it possible it was used like this or is this someones attempt to piece together a rifle out of parts?

Thanks!

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[nkbj]

Aint no telling from what I can see.
And, no, I doubt it would be unsafe.

Something to be advised on with TC's design:
If the barrel being put into position makes the hook push upwards on the tang then it is putting the wood in tension at it's thinner and therefore weakest cross section. That type of split will likely manifest somewhere around the smooth curve in the wood opposite side from the lock. The way to prevent it is to seat the barrel in the channel with the tang screw removed (such that the hind end of the tang can pop up if it wants to). Then you take whatever measures are needed to be able to seat the barrel without the screw having to hold the tang down into position.

 

[necchi]

Somebody has hinckered with it.
It is probably "original" only as being all TC parts.
Is it safe to shoot? Very likely Yes.
Being a flint lock the most important part right now is the fit of the pan against the barrel, if the pan is snug with no gaps,, so that it will not allow powder to trickle/sneek in between lock and barrel your safe.

bubba.50 and GoodCheer have pointed you in the right direction.

You don't have a breech fitting problem,, you have a "tang" fit problem.
Do a little more research about hooked breech-tang fit either here or elsewhere until your comfortable with making the fix. The thing is when you start changing the tang position you'll have to pay attention to the flash-hole position in relation to the lock's pan too,, don't panic, it's easy enough.
A common way to fix it is to remove the barrel and tang,, then make sure the tang fit's the barrel while both are out of the stock,, then figure out why it's different when they're put in the stock.

Again, if the tang is down - the barrel is snug in the stock - and the lock's pan is against the barrel - I'd shoot it.

 

[parrothead]

Thanks everyone for the input. Here is a photo of the pan against the barrel. It is not bad, I can slip 2 pieces of paper between the pan and barrel.

I need to decide what to do with this. If the price was right I would keep it and fix, but I paid for an original factory build, something I do not think this rifle is. Besides missing this issue the seller forgot to mention the stock refinish, the top sight ready to fall off, the surface rust, etc. All fixable, but I didn't pay for a fix it upper if you know what I mean.

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[necchi]

Put that picture up in the flintlock section and ask those guy's if they think it's right.
You defiantly do not have an "original factory build"!

 

[Kansas Jake]

Does the serial number on the barrel have a K preceding the numbers? If so it is probably a kit gun.

 

[parrothead]

No K in the serial number. I will message a mod and ask them to move the thread to the flintlock section.

 

[azmntman]

The gap at lock to touch hole looks too big to me :idunno:

And FWIW and w/o seeing the rest of the gun I wouldn't have paid more that $75.00 including shipping. But Im old and hateful :nono:

 

[Don Steele]

That picture definitely looks like too much gap to this Flint shooter (including a T/C flint btw). That tang gap is not unsafe as Necchi pointed out, but it's absolutely not correct.
From what you've posted about this rifle, my personal opinion is pretty close to that of Azmntman. I think about $50.00-$75.00 is about right for what people around here pay for a "fixer-upper" T/C.
Good Luck.

 

[Pete G]

You need to fix the gap between the barrel and lock. It may involve scraping a little bit of wood out of the mortise to get it to snug up properly, otherwise you stand the chance of having priming powder sift down behind the lock.

Not sure what to do at the breech. You might try some sort of a shim at the bottom the equalize the thrust of the recoil. Might be possible to fit the top edges a little bit better, but pay close attention to the hooked part of the breech and don't get it too loose.

This doesn't look like T/C factory work. Good luck with it.

 

[No Deer]

Is it a TC barrel? If not that may be your problem. From what I have been told, and I have no first hand knowledge of this, the angle on the breech hook is proprietary, and if the barrel is not a TC or direct substitute, the hook may be at the wrong angle possibly causing your issue.

 

[hawkeye2]

If you paid the price for a factory rifle and got one with the issues you describe it would be on it's way back so fast the UPS truck wouldn't have gotten out of the driveway. It sounds like the seller was lest than honest about its condition. If you paid a parts gun price and want to fix it that's fine too.