captive barrel wedge

[Winter Hawk]

Quite a while ago I bought a Lyman GPR and was talking to a fellow muzzle loader enthusiast at work about it.  He was getting ready to make an order from Track of the Wolf and suggested that I might want him to get a captive barrel wedge for my rifle.  I agreed and I really like the concept.  It is a wedge with a slot cut lengthwise with a pin holding it from coming out. 

You take the escutcheon for the wedge off, slide the wedge through it, put a pin through the slot behind the escutcheon, then screw it back into place.  I made the pin from a piece of paper clip I cut to be just as long as the escutcheon is wide, and relieved the wood where the pin lies so everything is smooth again.  I had to extend the slot both ways a little with a hacksaw blade so the wedge would go in all the way, and so it could be pulled out far enough to allow the barrel to be lifted out of the stock.

Okay, fast forward a number of years.  The Lyman has been sold and I am putting together a kit from Deer Creek for a Mountain Rifle.  I didn't want to make an order from Track and pay for shipping & handling.  So, I got out the trusty Dremmel tool with cutting disk and made my own slot.  I had to make several passes to get it wide enough but it worked great.  I did this also to the wedge for the T-C.  No more chance of losing the barrel wedge!

~WH~

[Ohio Joe]

Cool, and a great idea!!! 

[Hanshi]

I had a very nice Pedersoli percussion shotgun some years back that came with captive wedges.  They work great. 

[Bigsmoke]

I always used roll pins instead of the paper clip idea.  If for no other reason than the roll pin is pretty rugged.  I did think of using a nail cut off to the proper length, but the roll pin idea took first place in my fuzzy little brain.
Whatever you use, the idea of lost wedges becomes a non issue.
Works good and looks a lot better than electrical tape wrapped around the stock and barrel.
John