pulling axle shaft

hi to all
i have a full size chevy rear. i need to pull the rear axle spline to install brackets for my disc brakes. does anybody know if i need to remove the pumpkin or can i just remove the 4 bolts that are on the end of the tube and use a slide hammer to remove the axle shaft
see photos
thanks for the help

That looks like a '55P axle. Considering the fact that you can't remove the pumpkin without removing the axles, looks like you're right on.