Spacer between breech block and barrel ??
- Thread starter jpc
- Start date
Possibly a replacement barrel with a poorly fitted hooked breach and / or the barrel tenon(s) didn't quite line up with the barrel key(s) holes. Only of concern if you are trying to get top dollar in resale
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
Dunno about Canada, but here in UK/Europe that gun would not get past the pre-proof inspection, let alone a proof-firing. It would be classed as having a post-manufacture 'composite' barrel, and would be 'unfit for proofing'.
However, in Canada, who knows?
Let us know how you get on. Me, I'd hang it on the wall.
My Can$0.02
tac
However, in Canada, who knows?
Let us know how you get on. Me, I'd hang it on the wall.
My Can$0.02
tac
Take a close look at it and see if it's a peel-off washer. Looks like someone was indexing the barrel without resorting to lathe work.
Safe? Likely. Gonna depend on a bunch of other factors, like hw well the threads fit on the plug to barrel, how tight the plug is, how much thread engagement there is, etc.
Probably best to see if the barrel can stand to lose a wee bit off the back end and still line everything up. If that won't work, fit a new plug.
I'd probably shoot it. I'd have a good look at the rest of it first, though.
Cheers
Trev
Safe? Likely. Gonna depend on a bunch of other factors, like hw well the threads fit on the plug to barrel, how tight the plug is, how much thread engagement there is, etc.
Probably best to see if the barrel can stand to lose a wee bit off the back end and still line everything up. If that won't work, fit a new plug.
I'd probably shoot it. I'd have a good look at the rest of it first, though.
Cheers
Trev
NorthCoastBigBore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Northwest BC (Rural) 103-I-##
It may have been from a kit and they either filed too much off the end of the plug or barrel trying to line it up and used the spacer to adjust....been there - but for my part I bought a new plug & didn't touch the barrel! I could see some folks I know doing exactly what you see to make up for taking too much off the barrel or to get a short plug to line up with the flats.
I think the metal was removed from the hook rather than from the plug. Metal off of the inside of the hook allows the barrel to move forward. Without the washer, the barrel would slide backwards and forwards. Obviously check that the breach plug is tight and for any barrel problems but the spacer does not effect the integrity of the barrel. Its absence affects the accuracy of the gun and increases wear on the components. If it is not a kit gun with the hook improperly fitted, I will stick with my first suspicion that it is a replacement barrel and plug and that the hook did not quite fit the existing breach
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
I'd suspect it was done to tighten up a loosely fitted gun without resorting to proper gunsmithing work. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it though as it's still likely quite safe.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
well in north america we dont have proof laws thats why the indian made guns that go kaboom get sold easy and in canada its now $0.05 lol
yep id take off the plug check the barrel threads no doubt rust will be there
Some plugs, TC in particular, are extremely difficult to remove. If the plug is one of the super tight ones, you might do more damage trying to remove it than by just visually checking for leakage or cracks etc. A properly installed plug is completely independant of whether or not it is properly fitted to the standing breach
cheers mooncoon
tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
The obvious solution here is to ship it to me and let me play with it..... 
Whatever that thing is between the barrel and the breech, it wasn't there when the rifle was assembled at the factory. Someone has had it apart, for some reason, and put it there. No doubt it has been used since. But if it were my rifle, I'd sure find out what is going on.
My concern would be that there may now be a gap between the forward end of the breech plug and the relieved and threaded portion of the barrel, which would allow for a lot of fouling to collect that you wouldn't be able to clean out.
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
Plus glowing embers forced into the cracks just waiting for a new charge to be poured
I think that would be a very common feature with the Indian made muzzle loaders. I also think it is true of original brown bess muskets. My impression from the few accounts I have read of guns going off unexpectedly, has been that the guns were often used in re enactments for shooting blanks and that the particular gun had rarely been cleaned, leaving presumably a thick layer of crud on the inside of the barrel, particularly at the breach. Of the relatively few guns from which I have removed breach plugs, I have only run across a couple of flaws; on a belgian double shotgun, about 1/3 of the threads had rusted / corroded away and on a second gun, the threads on the breach plug had been ground away in order to make it "fit" the barrel. That plug would have come straight back in the shooter's face if it had been shot. In the case of the shotgun, the damage was lengthwise not radial ie imagine a pool of water laying in the bottom of the barrel and gradually eating the threads away.
cheers mooncoon
I can't think of 1 good reason for a washer to be in there. It definately is not there for decoration , and is definately not a factory piece. So... it must have been put there to patch something that is messed up. When you load it and go to toutch it off , think about where your face is, and question why someone has put a flat washer between the breech plug and the barrel. I don't think a gasket is a good idea for a plug that leaks or does not fit properly.
Wait! What? The hook and breech plug are independent pieces? I thought the hook was the breech plug. I have an older tang style plug and assumed the "hook" was the evolution of the tang.
Either way a gasket there is not something to shrug at OP...what if the resistance on the patched ball is more than the gasket, the gas is going to go somewhere right? You get to decide where currently.
Either way a gasket there is not something to shrug at OP...what if the resistance on the patched ball is more than the gasket, the gas is going to go somewhere right? You get to decide where currently.
