Replacing Beretta 950 barrel?

[Tailgate]

I have searched all over the web, and can not find a single page discussing how to remove the barrel on a Beretta 950 pistol (or the 21A, etc.). I have heard comments such as "be careful, you can bend the frame" and "send it to a gunsmith," etc.

HOWEVER, the whole point of this thread is I plan on replacing the short barrel with a longer barrel, and to do it myself...but don't know how to remove this barrel. It looks like the pin the barrel hinges on simply needs to be punched out (the pin does NOT appear to be staked). If that's the case, which direction is the pin supposed to travel...out from left to right, or vice versa? Is there some other trick to removing it?

I know this can be done, as I've seen guys posted pics of the gun with the barrel removed, or guys selling replacement barrels. Just need to know how to remove it.

All relevant comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[rcmodel]

Gun pins & sights are traditionally driven out left to right.
In right to left.

But I don't know how traditional Beretta was the day they made your gun.

rc

 

[Tailgate]

OK...found the answer from another site's forum. For anyone else here who has a similar question about their 950 or 21a, here's a quick compilation of the answers:

"Yes, the trigger guard is the barrel tilt spring. On the 21a, the trigger guard slides forward out of the grip....it may be the same on the 950. It's a rather stout spring so it will take a firm grip to pull it forward. It helps to use thumb pressure towards the trigger on the guard to relieve pressure in the slot, and to keep the spring from raking the edge of the slot as it comes out of the slot. Be careful....it's a spring. IIRC, reinserting the front of the trigger guard is easier with the barrel tilted up.....then work hard to get that rear part of the trigger guard back into the grip slot without marking the frame."

and

"I have removed barrels from the 21a and 950 guns a number of times. The pin is not staked, not loctited, at least from the factory. It is a straight pin, you can remove it in whatever direction you want. However they are often quite snug.

The key to not damaging the frame is to not knock it out with a punch. You should use an arbor press. You get some extra safety in pressing the pin out if you also make a fixture to support the frame ears (in a "U" shape, basically) with a cutout for the pin to move out. You can beat on the pin with a hammer and punch, but you are almost guaranteed to mess the pin up, and you run a decent chance of damaging the frame.

Before removing the pin I remove the trigger guard. As noted it is the spring that pops the barrel open also, and it puts pressure on the pin where it passes through the barrel."

 

[Tinman357]

Where did you find a longer barrel for the 950? I'd love one.....

 

[Tailgate]

Don't know. This is a project for my friend's pistol, and he said he bought the longer threaded barrel many years ago, but had never installed it. I have seen on a few other forum type websites guys who were selling longer barrels. If I'm not mistaken, there were two lengths of OEM barrels sold.

Heck, you may even be able to buy them from places like Brownells, Numrich, etc. Who knows...I haven't looked.

 

[Tinman357]

I'll dig into it further. Thanks.