Pulling loads

I'm new to this forum. I like it a lot, though.

Excuse me if this has been discussed, but does anybody have advice or plans for making a fitting to blow out a charge with an air compressor?

I like my co2 device but I have a small air compressor where I shoot. Air would be convenient alternative to mechanical removal or co2 expulsion. TIA

You'll need to specify whether you have a cap-gun or a flinter.....

2571 said:

I'm new to this forum. I like it a lot, though.

Excuse me if this has been discussed, but does anybody have advice or plans for making a fitting to blow out a charge with an air compressor?

I like my co2 device but I have a small air compressor where I shoot. Air would be convenient alternative to mechanical removal or co2 expulsion. TIA

Click to expand...

I have a 6HP/30gal tank/140psi air compressor in my garage. My experiences have been that I have to unscrew the nipple or vent and press the tapered rubbed cone shaped nozzle into the threaded seats to get the volume needed to blow out a load...the orifice in a nipple or vent didn't allow enough air through.

IMO, an air compressor is the handiest tool a man can own, particularly for muzzleloading...don't know how Daniel got along without one :grin:

I have both flint & percussion rifles.

I just assumed that use of an air compressor would not work with a flintlock but only with a cap ignition system.

The second response seems to confirm my guess although I guess you might remove the flash hole liner if the rifle had one and try the air.

Thank you.

If you dryball a gun, you are going to need to remove the touch hole liner, so you can use a small( 1/8" wide blade) screw driver to lever the PRB forward enough to put powder, or your air, behind it. Then you can push it out with CO2 or air, or shoot it out with 2-5 grains of powder. Just pour the powder in, then reinstall the touchhole liner, prime, and fire the gun in a safe direction. If the ball does not exit, it should be moved forward enough in the barrel to allow you to take the touch hole liner off again, and then pour in a larger charge of powder. It doesn't take much. We put about 5 grains of 4Fg powder behind a PRB in a .62 rifle, and the ball hit the target he was aiming for at 25 yards! We could see the ball flying through the air, it was going that slow! It bounced of the bangplate, but it hit it dead center! Who would have bet that would happen??? :youcrazy: :rotf:

Be sure to ram the round back down onto whatever small powder load you are able to sneak through the flash hole.

The area of a .45 cal bore is .159 square inches. A .50 cal bore is .196 sq in and a .54 is .229 sq in.

With a air compressor set at 130 PSI, the force it can produce on a stuck ball is 20.7 pounds in a .45, 25.5 pounds in a .50 and 29.8 pounds in a .54.

That should be enough to blow the stuck ball out of the gun but it doesn't come close to a CO2 cartridge with its 800+ PSI (I've been told) pressure.
zonie

2571 said:

I have both flint & percussion rifles.

I just assumed that use of an air compressor would not work with a flintlock but only with a cap ignition system.

The second response seems to confirm my guess although I guess you might remove the flash hole liner if the rifle had one and try the air.

Thank you.

Click to expand...

Yes, I have to remove them in either case...

"...my experiences have been that I have to unscrew the nipple or vent and press the tapered rubbed cone shaped nozzle into the threaded seats to get the volume needed to blow out a load...the orifice in a nipple or vent didn't allow enough air through..."

The Co2 Discharger works fine. Most of my rifles have the Chambers W/L vent unaltered flash hole. The small tip of the fint lock converter fits very tight in this hole.

One shot from the Discharger fires the ball out with a loud crack, about like the sound of .380 pistol. The gun must then be cleaned. It is important to note that if the ball does not discharge ram it back down and reseat it. Be very careful, if the ball does not come out. Don't try to use powder under it before reseating the ball to the chamber. This can ring your barrel.

The gun should be put on a padded surface vent facing up so you can put enough pressure on the charger to hold its push back away from the vent.
Some times the PRB will not seal the gas and leak not letting the ball to move out. In this case pour some water down the barrel. Then press the CO2 in the vent, the water will often seal and lube the barrel just enough to move the ball out.

You will find some of the flint lock converter tubes leak gas. This usually happens at the port where the tube is inserted into the device not the gun vent. Take a small "O" ring slip it over the tube base where it inserts into the device. This added seal makes a big difference. You can find these rubber rings at any auto supply store. Never try to remove the vent from a flint lock and use this device, or the nipple from a cap lock. They are very good tools. They do take a little thought before using. :thumbsup:

I made my own from a tubeless tire valve stem. I removed the Schraeder valve so it wouldn't restrict air flow, then stripped off all the rubber, leaving the core, and then threaded it for my T/C nipple size (1/4X28 if I remember correctly). Here's what it looks like:



Larry

feyx0006 said:

Be sure to ram the round back down onto whatever small powder load you are able to sneak through the flash hole.

Click to expand...

Yes! The ~3 grains I got under the nipple of my .45 moved the ball 3''! Definitely a barrel blower with a full power charge! :shocked2:

ldykeman said:

I made my own from a tubeless tire valve stem. I removed the Schraeder valve so it wouldn't restrict air flow

Click to expand...

I'm not understanding something...if the schraeder valve is out, what depresses the valve in the air compressor hose attachment?

I completely forgot that part. I have an air hose attachment to fill tires that has no innards. It originally came with a tankless compressor, and was made to flow straight through so as not to shut off the air supply. I connect that to my trigger controlled blow gun.
Larry

ldykeman said:

I completely forgot that part. I have an air hose attachment to fill tires that has no innards. It originally came with a tankless compressor, and was made to flow straight through so as not to shut off the air supply. I connect that to my trigger controlled blow gun.
Larry

Click to expand...

I just keep one of those black rubber tapered tips on my trigger control, spin out the nipple or vent, hold the rubber tip tight in the threaded seat and "bloop"

Yep, I agree. And, If I hadn't lost the tip to my blow gun I could probably do the same thing. So, being the frugal (nice word for "cheap") person I am, I rigged up something else from stuff I had laying around. BTW, I reread my previous post and realized I wasn't very clear. What I have is the handle from a trigger controlled blow gun without the aforementioned tip. I screwed a short length of threaded tubing on it, and on the end of that pipe I screwed on a tire chuck without any innards in it. I hope that makes sense.
Larry

Well, it turns out theory and reality did not meet in this instance. I made up my aforementioned ball blowing device but I had never tried it. I was just waiting for the opportunity to come along and then say "HAH! I anticipated this!". Well, Roundball, you got me thinking about the Schraeder valve thing, which, if present, would simplify the whole process. I wouldn't have had to make up a free flowing chuck, just use a standard one. So, I screwed in a Schraeder valve, and proceeded to load a lubed, patched round ball with no powder. I then screwed in my little device with the valve installed and proceeded to apply air with my regular air chuck. It didn't blow the ball out, in fact, it didn't even start to move it. Well, I felt sort of validated at this point, so I unscrewed the Scraeder valve, and applied air with my homemade, freeflowing chuck. THE BALL STILL DIDN'T MOVE! Well, that pretty much deflated my ego. So much for theory. My air compressor only goes up to 110 lbs., so that may be part of the problem. At any rate, my CO2 discharger blows it out with aplomb. I guess that's why nobody sells an attachment like I made!
Larry

:grin: