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1 - 19 of 19 Posts
I ended up messing my action bars up when I replaced it with magpul furniture. I to was trying to save the wood. In hind sight I guess I should have just popped the wood in half with a chisel to get it off. It would have cost less in the long run.
 
I have an 870 with a wood forearm and a plastic stock because of how stuck the forearm is. I'm not shooting it for looks, I just needed a full size stock on it.
 
I had this problem with an 1100 20 gauge that was stored for years in a rather humid part of the country. No amount of pulling would budge it. I finally tapped it very gently with a small rubber mallet. It moved and then it slid off.
That gun is now out here in Idaho, lower humidity and in a gun safe. Forearm slides right off. M guess is the wood swelled up just enough to stick it. Cover your rubber mallet with a rag is even a safer way to tap it…
 
Don't do what I did. Tried to tap the METAL out of the forend with a punch. Got it to move 1/2 inch and put one heck of a ding in the threaded end of the forend tube. Luckily a file got it to where I could put the nut back on and I didn't goober the action bars enough to mess it up. Tap the WOOD, gently.
 
I have done this many times. I leave the castle nut on at the top of the threads to protect the threads. Then I use a socket that fits loosely and tap the nut. Unthread a little, tap, unthread a little, tap.. That will get you 1/2 to 3/4 inches of the way. If the wood is already split along the top, like most are I use a large flat blade screwdriver to lightly spread the wood by twisting the screwdriver and pulling on the action bars. Usually that's enough to get the most stubborn ones. The worst one I put the action bars in a vise so that it gripped the bars on the tops and bottoms, like if it where installed in the receiver ,not the sides so it pinches them together. And then used that flat blade screwdriver to pry the wood up a little , then lower it in the vise, and pry some more. A little at a time. Never damaged any wood, or bent the bars either way.
The plastic ones always seem tougher to me too remove than the wood.
 
I have done this many times. I leave the castle nut on at the top of the threads to protect the threads. Then I use a socket that fits loosely and tap the nut. Unthread a little, tap, unthread a little, tap.. That will get you 1/2 to 3/4 inches of the way. If the wood is already split along the top, like most are I use a large flat blade screwdriver to lightly spread the wood by twisting the screwdriver and pulling on the action bars. Usually that's enough to get the most stubborn ones. The worst one I put the action bars in a vise so that it gripped the bars on the tops and bottoms, like if it where installed in the receiver ,not the sides so it pinches them together. And then used that flat blade screwdriver to pry the wood up a little , then lower it in the vise, and pry some more. A little at a time. Never damaged any wood, or bent the bars either way.
The plastic ones always seem tougher to me too remove than the wood.
I wish I had this advice a few year ago.
 
1 - 19 of 19 Posts