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Van man

32 Cal
Joined
Feb 17, 2020
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Ever have a problem you just can’t let go? Well, here’s one. I own a Traditions .32 Crockett Rifle, it’s my squirrel gun. About 6 months ago a copper cleaning brush got stuck in the patent breech. I tried a few common solutions but to no avail. I took the barrel to my local gunsmith. He tried blowing it out with 3,000 lbs. of air pressure and tried to drill it but no go. We even talked about removing the breech plug but of course it’s a Traditions so a complicated endeavor. So we decide, hey we’re beat. Move on. So, I called Traditions and ordered a new barrel, only cost $206 but took 120 days to arrive. I got the new barrel in February and put it together and all is swell.



Except one thing, I put the old barrel back in the box and put it way up on a shelf in my workshop. It keeps calling to me, I’m still usable for something, you can clear the blockage and do something with me. Any ideas? Talked to a buddy in my long rifles club and he said put something down the barrel to dissolve the copper and maybe you can get the remaining pieces out. I said and then what? He said, build another rifle?? So guys ideas????
 
Maybe dump a bit of ammonia down the bore, just enough to fill the hole in the patent breech. Give it a few days or a week to eat away at the bristles. Then try to pull it. I don't know if it will work but it may be worth a try.

If successful build another gun around it.
 
I once removed a brush that broke off in the breech by finding a long piece of thin walled tube, that fits in the breech and over the brush. Just pushed it in, it collapsed the bristles of the brush as the tube went over it and out it came in the end of the tube as easy as.
 
I once removed a brush that broke off in the breech by finding a long piece of thin walled tube, that fits in the breech and over the brush. Just pushed it in, it collapsed the bristles of the brush as the tube went over it and out it came in the end of the tube as easy as.

This.

Go to Home Depot and get some 1/4” or so (or whatever will fit in your barrel) tubing a little longer than the length of the barrel. Put it in over the brush and tap with a hammer if need be. The bristles will collapse in on themselves and the brush will get stuck inside the pipe. You can then pull it out super easy.

I learned my lesson with bore brushed and muzzle loaders about a month ago. I had a cleaning patch wrapped around the top and was able to shoot it out by filing the flash channel and drum with powder.
 
Thanks for all the great input. I think I may have a piece of thin wall tubing laying around. A guy at the range said vinegar and hydrogen peroxide will dissolve the copper brush bristles.

Van man
 
You could cut the barrel of behind the drum and install a new breech plug. This would have the added benefit of getting rid of that troublesome patent breech. It wouldn't fit in your Crockett rifle but would make an interesting project barrel. You would also have the option to go with a flintlock. Anything you use to dissolve that brush will destroy the bore.
 
1585437624526.jpeg

Hello All:
I didn’t have a thin wall tube but I did have some brass rod. I drilled it out and made a 2” sleeve with 10/32” threads in the other end and screwed it on to the ramrod. I filled up the bore with lubricant and pushed the hollow brass sleeve down the barrel. It took some working to get it down into the area where the brush was but it bottomed out. I fired up the compressor and put the rubber tip air gun in the nipple hole and gave it a blast. Wow, sweet success, out came the brush. Actually, what was left of it after the gunsmith ran his bearing drill down the bore. Glad I aimed the barrel into a bucket of sand with a towel on top, it came out with some force. Anyway, THANKS for all the ideas and help.
1585437624526.jpeg
 
The drill he used had some support bushings that centered it in the bore. The idea was to catch the brush and back it out. Unfortunately, it looks like it just twisted the brush. The bore looks pretty good, rifling looks good under the bore light.
 
Not sure what l will do with barrel now. As they say lock, stock and barrel but all I have now is a barrel. Since I put the new barrel on the Crockett rifle. Gonna have to give it some thought. I’m not a fan of the patent breech design. However, my TC has one and never had any issue cleaning that rifle but it is .50 Hawken.
 
Future reference, the thin walled tube method works well but can be difficult in those CVA recessed breeches. I have had good luck by creating a "corkscrew" out of stiff wire, a.k.a. coat hanger and screwing that around the brush. You need to take some time and form the corkscrew well or it is very difficult to get it to thread around the brush.
 
For future reference, IF you take some of the really aggressive copper fouling remover for modern rifles, it will do a hurt on a copper brush. It won't hurt the steel of a barrel.

Build a new gun or send the barrel to Bobbie Hoyt and have him make you a 36 or 45 out of it. Bored to 45 you would have an extra barrel to put on to use as a deer rifle.

Check your state regulations, as a .45 barrel for that rifle is a nifty idea, but you might find that a .40 is legal for deer, and that might be a viable alternative.

LD
 
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