Larry, you're exactly right. Not just Winchester but some Brit makers followed that practice. The removable pin is made in a way so that a new one can be a few thous. thicker and still have the same shoulder and head diameter as the original. If you remove one of these pins and examine it you will see that the actual bearing diameter where the hook contacts is smaller by about .020" than it's other diameters thereby allowing several increases of size before the frame needed reaming. Even then only the portion of the holes supporting the pin need to be enlarged, not the cap size nor the thread diameter. Obviously a great advantage for guns used heavily for driven shooting and usually overhauled every few seasons. I've never understood why this aspect of good design isn't more widely known and appreciated. It's lack in the average Brit boxlock is a flaw that's not often heard about. The Spanish took note and even their low end guns corrected the error. AYA used to advertize that all their guns had replaceable hinge pins. Of course if one is dealing with a "monstrous horrendum" one's options are limited. Fire up the TIG or break out your shimstock and solder. A perfectly acceptable solution but not one you would be happy to see on a really fine gun. If I were limited to that fix I'd spend the money and send the gun to Ken Eversull and have it lazer welded.
nmp
