Barrel nut not loosening enough

[Joseph007]

Hi all....long time lurker, first time poster.

BLUF: Barrel nut will not screw "onto" the barrel far enough to allow the key in the recoil lug to disengage from the receiver.

So, I have a Model 12 LRPV right bolt handle, left eject, single shot, large shank, barrel nut with square...splines? IDK....

I got it used in .223, 1:7, but I want to up it to 6.5 Creedmoor. Therefore, barrel change is necessary, and so is the bolt head. So far so good?

I acquired or have all the necessary tools:
Wheeler barrel vice with oak inserts on secure mount. I made an oak insert with a 1 1/8" bit, the closest I have to the heavy contoured barrel.
Wheeler barrel wrench
Breaker bar
2lb sledge
rosin core solder (for friction)
PB Blaster
GO and NOGO gauges.

I popped it out of the stock, took it down to a barreled action, and then got it all set up in a vise.
I was able to easily get the nut popped loose, and was able to screw it about a turn and a half onto the barrel and away from the recoil lug/receiver.
This is where I ran into a problem.

I cannot screw the nut onto the barrel far enough to allow the receiver to spin off.
I've almost broken the teeth off the wrench, but I am getting nowhere fast.
A torch has not loosened up things, and I have it soaking in PB Blaster right now.

Any others have this problem? Any ideas? I'd rather not saw off the nut, but at this point, if it is giving me this much of an issue, I am wondering if I should even reinstall it along with the new barrel.




###Solved###

The reason the nut couldn't thread up anymore was that it was simply not able to, nor designed to.
The action was held in place by a damaged thread from a scope base screw, and it took more effort to remove it with a strap wrench.
The problem could have been avoided in the first place if I simply loosened the barrel nut slightly, then started to crank off the action.
Thanks,
Joe

[Robinhood]

It has been my experience if you have the barrel nut backed away from the lug at least 1/4th of a turn the action will unscrew. You are either turning the action the wrong way or you left the scope mount on and you have the front screw tightened into the threads. If that is the case the threads are damaged and you need to tread lightly.

If you have nearly stripped the teeth off of the wrench your nut is probably crap. At this point you should realize that you should not be working on a gun without supervision of an experienced mechanically inclined individual. Im not trying to hurt your feelings but the next thing you will want to do is stick something in the actions loading/ejection port and twist on the action. At that point the trash can will be all that is left for your twisted piece of junk.

I'm sorry for being harsh but dang man....I hope your kidding. Take some pictures and post them, then describe the problem.

[Joseph007]

It has been my experience if you have the barrel nut backed away from the lug at least 1/4th of a turn the action will unscrew. You are either turning the action the wrong way or you left the scope mount on and you have the front screw tightened into the threads. If that is the case the threads are damaged and you need to tread lightly.

If you have nearly stripped the teeth off of the wrench your nut is probably crap. At this point you should realize that you should not be working on a gun without supervision of an experienced mechanically inclined individual. Im not trying to hurt your feelings but the next thing you will want to do is stick something in the actions loading/ejection port and twist on the action. At that point the trash can will be all that is left for your twisted piece of junk.

I'm sorry for being harsh but dang man....I hope your kidding. Take some pictures and post them, then describe the problem.

Thanks for the reply.

The issue is the recoil lug has an indexing pin that fits into a keyway in the threads of the barrel AND the receiver.
I must be able to back the nut off enough to allow the pin on the lug to retract from the indexing recess in the receiver.

See pics....this is about as far back as the nut will go, and I cannot rotate the receiver until this pin is pulled far enough back from it's recess...and dont mind the galling on the barrel, it is lead, and I wont be using the barrel any more.

[Joseph007]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/z44mK6iy7hRRd8wK2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xtxhBTNSls2PkzNI3

[NicfromAlabama]

I'm not very experienced in this matter since I have only installed one barrel so far. But, have you tried a back and forth motion on the barrel nut...........tightening and loosening. Perhaps you might be able to achieve enough clearance that way if something is binding it up. Of course, there are more drastic steps you can take.

[geargrinder]

The recoil lug should not have to spin with the barrel to remove the barrel. That's why it has a pin in it to begin with.

The recoil lug should be able to spin freely around the barrel threads.

As said above by Robinhood, something is wrong and you are working very hard to make it worse.

[NicfromAlabama]

The recoil lug should not have to spin with the barrel to remove the barrel. That's why it has a pin in it to begin with.

The recoil lug should be able to spin freely around the barrel threads.

As said above by Robinhood, something is wrong and you are working very hard to make it worse.

Ah, OK. I was not understanding the problem. Joseph, do you have a scope base installed on the receiver? If so, a long base screw protruding into the receiver may be binding against barrel threads.

[snowgetter1]

The action will unscrew with the lug attached. You might need an action wrench to unscrew the action, but if it was that easy to loosen the nut it should come off. And, as stated make sure there are no scope mount screws in. Looks like you have a thick lug and have no more threads to spin the nut on.

[Robinhood]

Joe, Neither of those pictures shows if you have a scope base mounted. Have you removed the base? If so that thing should screw right off. Flush it with some aerosol cleaner and maybe some penetrating oil before you go to far. If the thread is damaged try to get some Neverseez in the hole and turn it a bit each way back and forth and slowly work it until it comes off. The recoil lug will rotate with the action until there is clearance.

[Joseph007]

All, thank you for the input.

No, I do not have a scope base installed any longer. I have an F Class scope base that extends over the nut, and I was compelled to remove it to get the wrench on.
Yes, I believe my understanding of how the receiver and recoil lug were attached was fundamentally flawed. Closer inspection of my pictures shows there is no keyway for a lug to fit in. I should be able to spin the action and recoil lug off, with a bit more oomph, but since I was sure there was a keyway before, I didn't attempt it. I'll try this tomorrow.

Thank you everyone with your experienced inputs.

[RustyShackle]

You should* be able to thread that bbl off that receiver. With the bbl in your vice try rocking back and forth on the receiver. (Clockwise and counter-clock and see if you can get that receiver to thread off. Probably blast media stuck under the bbl nut threads that caused the stoppage.

[Robinhood]

That is a good point Rusty, It looks like a target action or at least a ss one. I have not seen blast media in those before. At least not in my experience. I think he has go it now.

Good luck Joe. Sorry for the thrashing in my fist post.

[243LPR]

Try grabbing the action with a strap wrench to turn it off the barrel.

[Joseph007]

Problem solved.
I cranked the action off with a strap wrench (did it before I saw 243LPR's reply. I guess great minds think alike :) ).
There was a buggered up thread from a slightly too long scope base screw preventing it from easily spinning. Once I got past that, everything was golden.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and support.

Also, I didn't see any blasting media in the threads on the action, nut, or barrel.

[RustyShackle]

That is a good point Rusty, It looks like a target action or at least a ss one. I have not seen blast media in those before. At least not in my experience. I think he has go it now.

Good luck Joe. Sorry for the thrashing in my fist post.

I didn’t even look at the pics, although I have a 116 that was media blasted? It has almost a satin appearance. Factory rifle with no mods. Maybe I’ll see if I can get a pic of under the edge of bbl nut. There are still a few remanents of media I think stuck there.