How tight is tight?????

[Olle]

Like I have told GT in private conversations, I believe that many are making this more difficult than it really is. I work on Colt revolvers on a regular basis, and I have encountered factory installed barrels that were so loose that it only took a light tug on the wrench to get them off. Still, they had stayed put, despite the repeated beating from .357s and .44s.

When I do revolver barrels, I set them back to index by hand at about 10 o'clock, cut the crush area (about 50% or so) and torque them with a barrel vise and action wrench. They do "float" once they reach a certain torque, but that's the whole purpose of the crush area. They are easy to install and they don't come loose, and I would do a Luger barrel the same way.

Really, it's just a screw and there's nothing magic about it. I believe too much torque is more detrimental than too little.