Hi I have a Dan Wesson Pistol Pak that was my dad's. I guess it is between 30 and 35 years old. Shoots well, good trigger; I am happy with the gun. It has 4 barrels, from about 7" all the way down to about 2".
Here is how I change the barrel:
1. Unscrew and remove the barrel nut.
2. Remove the barrel shroud.
3. Unscrew and remove the barrel.
4. Screw in the new barrel almost all the way to the cylinder.
5. Right before the breech end of the barrel touches the cylinder, slip the gap gauge in between them. Finger tighten the barrel down against the gauge so that the gauge is sandwiched between the cylinder and the barrel.
6. Now back the barrel out a little, so the gap gauge slides pretty freely. Leave the gap gauge in place.
7. Place the barrel shroud over the barrel.
8. Thread the barrel nut onto the barrel and tighten it down with the supplied tool. Tighten it pretty tight.
9. As you tighten the barrel nut, the barrel itself will also tighten some more. This is why you backed it out a little in step 6.
10. Once the barrel nut is tight, remove the gap gauge. It will not slide as freely but should not be clamped in there too awful tightly.
I sort of figured this out on my own. I have changed the barrels a few times and shot the gun with no issue, but a couple of things bother me. Mainly, how tight does the barrel nut need to be, and how hard should the gap gauge be to remove once the barrel nut is tight? It doesn't seem possible to keep the barrel from tightening that extra bit as I am tightening the barrel nut, so I always have to play with how tight I initially get the barrel so as to keep it from "clamping" the gap gauge really hard.
Right now, in fact, I have just changed the barrel and the gap gauge slid out pretty easily, but I cannot get it back in there. If I hold the gun up to the light, I can clearly see the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. I can see it for every chamber of the cylinder. So I guess it is OK...?
Please advise.
-cls
Here is how I change the barrel:
1. Unscrew and remove the barrel nut.
2. Remove the barrel shroud.
3. Unscrew and remove the barrel.
4. Screw in the new barrel almost all the way to the cylinder.
5. Right before the breech end of the barrel touches the cylinder, slip the gap gauge in between them. Finger tighten the barrel down against the gauge so that the gauge is sandwiched between the cylinder and the barrel.
6. Now back the barrel out a little, so the gap gauge slides pretty freely. Leave the gap gauge in place.
7. Place the barrel shroud over the barrel.
8. Thread the barrel nut onto the barrel and tighten it down with the supplied tool. Tighten it pretty tight.
9. As you tighten the barrel nut, the barrel itself will also tighten some more. This is why you backed it out a little in step 6.
10. Once the barrel nut is tight, remove the gap gauge. It will not slide as freely but should not be clamped in there too awful tightly.
I sort of figured this out on my own. I have changed the barrels a few times and shot the gun with no issue, but a couple of things bother me. Mainly, how tight does the barrel nut need to be, and how hard should the gap gauge be to remove once the barrel nut is tight? It doesn't seem possible to keep the barrel from tightening that extra bit as I am tightening the barrel nut, so I always have to play with how tight I initially get the barrel so as to keep it from "clamping" the gap gauge really hard.
Right now, in fact, I have just changed the barrel and the gap gauge slid out pretty easily, but I cannot get it back in there. If I hold the gun up to the light, I can clearly see the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. I can see it for every chamber of the cylinder. So I guess it is OK...?
Please advise.
-cls
