Help with Winchester Model 37A

[George S.]

A friend of mine just gave me a Model 37A 12 gauge to go with my Model 37 Steelbilt.

I want to remove the barrel but it does not want to come off in the same fashion that my US-made Model 37 does. The forearm on the 37A will not stay on as though something is broken. The metal in the forearm on the 37A does not look anything like the 37 .

The barrel will break open easily but with the forearm off, I can't get it to separate from the receiver like I can with my Model 37.

There is light surface rusting on the metal so I'm probably looking at a complete reblueing but the wood looks to be in great shape and will clean up nicely. I assume that the metal parts were blued; the trigger appears to be brass. The engraving is sharp and clear

Any help will be appreciated!! TIA

 

[JohnBT]

I've never had one apart, but I did turn up the following post about the forend retainer. John
__________

"Gordon April 23rd, 2003, 11:41 PM

The model 37a ect are worth $50 and routinely break the trigger return spring, the foreend plastic retainer breaks so fore end won't stay on , and the pot metal top lever snaps off. "

 

[George S.]

I still cannot get the barrel to release. I did find that the small clip that holds the forearm is gone (probably had broken off at some point and the previous owner just removed it and replaced the two screws back into the forearm).

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get the barrel off? It should simply slide off by holding the release lever and pulling up on the barrel but it just sort of bounces around at the pivot pin.

Eveything is very dirty and I want to do a thorough cleaning before I try to shoot it.

 

[kirbythegunsmith]

Description of problem

The most likely condition is that the cross-pin for the ejector release has walked to one side. There is a cut-out in the frame of just enough width for a centrally located pin to be able to clear with an upward motion of the barrel. The barrel is free to be withdrawn slightly in the direction of the breechface and let the pin through the slot only when the forearm is removed.
When the barrel is positioned by the forearm and retained against the hinge pin, the cross-pin hits the lower lip to the front of the frame cut-out. This trips the shell ejector when the barrel is lifted enough to allow the spring-assisted empty to fly out over the top edge of the frame.
The cross-pin is supposed to have tension in the hole to keep the pin in place, but best-laid plans and all that.
I fix this sort of stuff and many more complex problems at my shop.
I may decide to do an article about Win. 37, 37A, and derivatives sometime.


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[George S.]

THANKS!!! That was it. I managed to move the pin to get sort of centered and the barrel came off. The question now is how to prevent that from happening again. The pin will move with a slight tap with a plastic mallet so it probably is not as tight as it should be.

 

[gezzer]

I'd just tap it with the mallet when it needs it. You can however put some lock-tite on it before you tap it, that will keep it in position.