you're 100% right about 'breaking' the tension - it would frighten a novice to see it performed on his favorite rifle, but some come easy (FN's usually) and some are nightmare - if its German or czech made headpacing is hardly ever an issue even with a straight barrel swap, and don't forget Ackley (don't think it was Askin) debunked the headspacing myths a long time ago - everyone interested in this topic should read those studies
to the other poster, re-aligning the sights is no major problem unless you have never soldered and lack confidence -'squaring' rear sight to action use a bubble level across action bottom and across the
bare rear base (leaf and spring etc removed ) , doing the same to get the front sight a perfect 90%
in relation to the rear sight (now fully assembled after base soldered )is a little trickier and (always ensure the 'korn' is centred on f/base before starting) and may require several tries - hint is just apply enought heat to reach the point where you can move the f/s base without
all the solder running out and having to restart from new - if the base is a natural tight fit on the barrel its going to be easier
the above method requires dispensing with the screw through front base - no great loss - its key purposes is to speed up alignment/soldering process during manufacture- only a properly equipped gunsmith could re-instal the screw (needs a small hole drilled into barell) in its exact location
how do you check if f/s is square to r/s - its so simple! .......................fix rifle in steady rest and with lowest rear sight elevation setting (and bore aligned) - centred the sights onto a 90% vertical linear object as distant as possible (a side of a building wall will do perfectly) , then raise the rear sight slide incrementally through whole range to max 2000 mtr and at every stage check that the sights continue to be aligned so as to follow the vertical linear object perfectly all the way thru the range - if any 'bias' left or right appears as you proceed thru the range of elevation your sights are not aligned properly - the test will tell you which way to compensate - so you then re-set/re solder
the front sight only to get that perfect vertical linear result from 100- 2000
sounds hard to do but its really not
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I couldnt agree more. Headspacing is important for safety and accuracy...and.... All gunsmiths are not created equal....like Doctors and lawyers,just because they have a shingle hung out in front doesnt necessairly mean they are particuarly good at what they do.
The seemingly simple act of removing a a mauser barrel can be a daunting task itself @ times. I had a byf 43 barrel and receiver sold and had to go to two separate gunsmiths to get them separated..
Those who think you simply put the barrel in the chocks and put on the receiver wrench and screw it off are in for a shock...breaking the seal can be no easy feat @ times. ...I watched both of those smiths pound away on the receiver wrench with a small sledge to get it off.
The first smith said he couldnt break it loose after 5 min of steady pounding and moving his bench across the floor.....After i left and examined the gun I could tell that he actually had moved it about 10 degrees so i went to another smith in the area and he broke the handle on his hammer after 5 or 6 smacks and had to retrieve another to finish the job. Bear in mind that the barrel was a fairly recent install so factor in a barrel that has been in place for 70+ years an you can get an idea of how much more difficult it can be.
Both of these Smiths are very respected , have been in business for decades,and take in work from all over the country based on their reputation, so its not like I walked in the first place I came across. The first smith told me that he has removed barrels off of just about every gun made and nothing is tougher than a mauser.
That was my experiece,other may have had otherwise.
I wouldnt be too quick to make a decision on barrel replacement until you come across a Smith who expresses confidence in his ability to do such a job.
Just my 2 cents.
