M48 Barrel Band fully seated?

[StainlessFan]

Hey Guys, first mauser here and got a n00b question...

The barrel band on my M48 was incredibly hard to get off, had to use a punch and rubber mallet... After de-cosmoing the rifle and putting it together, the barrel band wouldn't go back on, even with... Extreme amounts of force lol.

I figured the band was catching on the upper handguard, shaved a little away, and finally got it to this point. It seems as though the spring is in the detent, but just barely... Do you think it's good to shoot this way, or does the band need to be seated further down the handguard? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[Deathrawt]

It almost looks like the spring piece with the nub that goes in the hole needs to move a bit forward

 

[StainlessFan]

It almost looks like the spring piece with the nub that goes in the hole needs to move a bit forward

Agreed, it won't budge though. I've tried moving both the spring up and the band down with borderline excessive force, had to take off some wood just to get it this far...

 

[st1264]

Had a even worse problem (mine wouldn't come off), used a heat gun and tapped it with a hammer and punch. Took it over to a buddy's house and two sets of hands really helped. Heat the f@cker up and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[StainlessFan]

Mine came off with some light tapping with a plastic punch... The problem is the "button" of the spring was never in the hole of the band, just didn't notice when I picked the rifle up. Even if I had, I probably wouldn't of realized what a b#tch it would be to get it to lock...

Otherwise the rifle is in pretty great shape!

 

[Red_Liner740]

It's the wood. I have the same issue. The wood swelled and the forward edge of the band is digging into the step of the guard. I shaved a bit of wood from there and it made it much better.

 

[StainlessFan]

It's the wood. I have the same issue. The wood swelled and the forward edge of the band is digging into the step of the guard. I shaved a bit of wood from there and it made it much better.

I think you're right... I'll try taking off a little more next time I have the band off. Didn't work itself loose when shooting so I think it's locked in place.

 

[Otto V]

Another thing you might check is the barrel band itself. I have a K98 . . . the inner edges of the band had lots of burrs and nicks, probably from Bubba carelessly using a steel punch to take it off at some prior point in it's life (it was on backwards too). A bit of careful filing took care of the nicks and now it slides on/off easily.