What vehicle are you working on? If there are 8 bolts with 3/4" heads in the center of the hub, that's a 3/4 ton full-flosting axle, and the bolts are holding the axle shaft in. Loosen the bolts about 2-3 turns and smack the center of the axle HARD with a big hammer- - - -the axle will pop loose from the hub.

If you've got a 6-lug wheel with no bolts in the center, that's a 1/2 ton axle. The drum just slides off the wheel studs, but it could be rusted tight to the wheel-centering flange in the middle. Soak that area with penetrating oil and tap the area between the wheel studs repeatedly with a hammer- - - -the drum should come loose eventually.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!