I need some info in replacing the barrel of a 3rd gen SAA that I have. I bought a shorter barrrel, and need to take the factory barrel off. I removed the screw from the ejector rod housing, but it is not budging. I know they are not soldered on, and not pinned on. Anybody done one of these before?? I have done hundreds of S&W's, from J to N frames but never a SAA. Any advice would be appreciated. Please don't advise to send it to a smith around here, because there is no one qualified locally.
Colt SAA barrel removal help
- Thread starter greco
- Start date
Jim Watson
New member
Hmm. Never had occasion to take my Colt's off and the problem with the Uberti was keeping it ON.
But I think I would treat it like a double action revolver's side plate. Rap the barrel with a hammer handle or something and see if it vibrates loose.
But I think I would treat it like a double action revolver's side plate. Rap the barrel with a hammer handle or something and see if it vibrates loose.
GNLaFrance
New member
Did you remove the ejector rod housing, or just its screw? The housing and the rod and spring must be removed before you try turning the barrel.
Dfariswheel
New member
The ejector rod housing sort of snaps on to the frame and the ejector rod screw stud on the barrel.
Under the ejector rod at the front there's a stud the screw screws into. That also holds the housing at the front even with the screw out.
After you remove the screw the front of the ejector rod housing is pulled outward slightly until the housing releases from the frame.
One technique its to use a brass punch inserted slightly inside the end of the housing to gently bump it off.
Depending on how long the barrel is, you can simply bump the side of the barrel on the edge of a wooden bench to vibrate the housing loose.
Fair warning:
In addition to barrel blocks and a big shop vise, you also need a professional frame wrench with SAA inserts.
Try the old hammer handle through the frame trick and you run a very high risk of bending or even cracking the frame.
I would suggest investing a few dollars in the Jerry Kuhnhausen shop manual on the single actions. This shows all the professional gunsmithing operations on the single action guns.
This is money well spent:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=25724/Product/THE_COLT_SINGLE_ACTION_REVOLVERS___A_SHOP_MANUAL
Under the ejector rod at the front there's a stud the screw screws into. That also holds the housing at the front even with the screw out.
After you remove the screw the front of the ejector rod housing is pulled outward slightly until the housing releases from the frame.
One technique its to use a brass punch inserted slightly inside the end of the housing to gently bump it off.
Depending on how long the barrel is, you can simply bump the side of the barrel on the edge of a wooden bench to vibrate the housing loose.
Fair warning:
In addition to barrel blocks and a big shop vise, you also need a professional frame wrench with SAA inserts.
Try the old hammer handle through the frame trick and you run a very high risk of bending or even cracking the frame.
I would suggest investing a few dollars in the Jerry Kuhnhausen shop manual on the single actions. This shows all the professional gunsmithing operations on the single action guns.
This is money well spent:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=25724/Product/THE_COLT_SINGLE_ACTION_REVOLVERS___A_SHOP_MANUAL
The old S&W pinned barrels depended mainly on the pin to keep them in place, so the "hammer handle" trick worked. New S&W's, Colts and most other revolver barrels are turned in to a compression fit (like most rifle barrels) and the old method is about guaranteed to ruin the frame. The tool ain't cheap ($150 or so, with one insert, I think), but it is either buy the tool or pay someone who has it to do the work.
Jim
Jim