Dry ball

[Adui]

Hi, My name is Terry, and Im a member of the dry ball club.... :redface:

Was at my first club shoot. Had my first ever dry ball . Thankfully a club member came over with a CO2 discharger cause I don't have a ball puller... I do have the co2 thing, but not the nipple attachment for it.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Dry balls are good for the soul.

You should pull it without the CO2 as part of the penance. Restores your Karma.

 

[mooman76]

A pinch of powder under the nipple will work too.

 

[meanmike8665]

Welcome to the club of blackpowder shooters. If you don't dry ball once in awhile you are not shooting enough.

Michael

 

[Adui]

A pinch of powder under the nipple will work too.

Done this once to clear a wet charge.. Hunted all day in the rain, didnt keep my powder dry...

 

[George T.]

This is a very large club you have joined! Geo. T.

 

[crockett]

I think a good CO2 dispenser is mandatory equipment. The first time I had to deal with a dry ball I used the screw tip "ball puller" It really didn't screw that well into the ball and I think the ball was spinning in the bore- not sure on that. I finally got the thing screwed in and pulled out the ball but the CO2 is so superior and saves so much time. The other thing on the CO2. It is only black powder residue that is corrosive- not the black powder, so if you are out hunting and never fire the gun you can use a CO2 dispenser to empty the gun and save yourself a lot of clean up. When I go that route I usually still wipe down the bore but it only takes a second or two.

 

[rafterob]

Hunted all day in the rain

:hmm: Somethin aint right here. Mesa AZ., Hunting in the rain?

 

[Sharps1863]

Amen to that.

 

[Adui]

Hunted all day in the rain

:hmm: Somethin aint right here. Mesa AZ., Hunting in the rain?

Well I thought about explaining but figured the story was too long..
You see, I am a transplant to Mesa. I moved here in October of 2010. I used to live in Sunny Monmouth Oregon. The greater Portland metro area, encompassing as far south as south Salem. It rains an average of 300 days per year up there, and that year was a really wet one.

I didn't quite understand the basics of keeping your gun dry in such wet weather, I tried, but I failed miserably. At the end of the day, (thankfully I didn't see a buck to shoot at) I went to empty the gun because I knew it needed a good cleaning, and popped two caps with no effect.

By now it was getting dark, I removed the nipple, managed to drop it on the gravel logging road we were on, frantically searched using half dead flashlights and the car headlights, found the nipple.. I then used the nipple pick to clear the drum as far in as I could get it to. After that I stuffed as much powder in the hole as I could manage, about 10 grains I am guessing, recapped and fired.

"POP!!" a full second later "FFFFFFFFFwhooosh... Crack!"

The final cracking sound was the ball hitting a tree noticeably after the discharge. The tree was less than 10 feet away...

 

[bpd303]

I don't remember ever having a dry ball...
This little story is funny though not at the time.

I had just started shooting a new (to me) 40 cal under hammer pistol when after about a dozen shots when snap but no bang. I thought manure I forgot the powder. I didn't have a ball puller or CO2 dis-charger with me so I removed the nipple and drizzled some 4f powder in and replaced the nipple. The next time there was snap...fizz...but no ball came out.

After repeating this several times with the same results and much verbalization, a very wise woman (my wife) came walking up and asked "are you sure you loaded a ball". I gave her the look and she took the ram rod and dropped it down the barrel. I kinda cringed with the metallic clink. She then measured the depth the rod went in, comparing it outside to the breech plug. Smiling she handed the pistol back and said "why not load it & have fun" and walked away.

 

[M. De Land]

Sounds like a good idea but a ball puller is much smaller to carry in the field and certainly is traditional. MD

 

[M. De Land]

Yes it is and the membership renewal would swoon the heart of any constituent organization. :rotf: MD

 

[Wes/Tex]

Dry balls are good for the soul.

Funny thing is that in 40 years of front stuffin', I've yet to dry ball...just lucky, believe me! To make up for it though, twice I've forgotten to hold the muzzle out far enough so that shooting fast I got a powder flash when pouring the charge that made me look like Al Jolsen in 'black-face', made me smell like a scorched chihuahua, and created a wild up-roar amongst the group!! :youcrazy:

 

[Hawgeye]

Not to worry, I dryball enough for the two of us. Getting real expert at nipple removal, powder packing and logical excuses. :grin:

 

[Mad Professor]

The pinch of powder method under the nipple works fine, but I also have used a ball puller.

In my early days shooting ML I also have gotten dry patches/jags stuck in the bore (before I knew about proper lubes and wet patching after a few shots to get the fouling out.....).

I used the same method to shoot the patch/jag out. Left the rod attached and shot straight up so I could recover the jag. Wooden rod so was not worried about hurting rifling.


Reminded me of my foolish childhood days shooting arrows straight up........

 

[Wes/Tex]

Reminded me of my foolish childhood days shooting arrows straight up........

You too, huh? Did you also try running around trying to get the arrow to come down between the bow staff and the string??!! It's a wonder we lived this long!! :rotf:

 

[S.Kenton]

I don't remember ever having a dry ball...
This little story is funny though not at the time.

I had just started shooting a new (to me) 40 cal under hammer pistol when after about a dozen shots when snap but no bang. I thought manure I forgot the powder. I didn't have a ball puller or CO2 dis-charger with me so I removed the nipple and drizzled some 4f powder in and replaced the nipple. The next time there was snap...fizz...but no ball came out.

After repeating this several times with the same results and much verbalization, a very wise woman (my wife) came walking up and asked "are you sure you loaded a ball". I gave her the look and she took the ram rod and dropped it down the barrel. I kinda cringed with the metallic clink. She then measured the depth the rod went in, comparing it outside to the breech plug. Smiling she handed the pistol back and said "why not load it & have fun" and walked away.

NOW thats funny!... :rotf:

 

[50cal.cliff]

Hi, My name is Terry, and Im a member of the dry ball club.... :redface:

Was at my first club shoot. Had my first ever dry ball . Thankfully a club member came over with a CO2 discharger cause I don't have a ball puller... I do have the co2 thing, but not the nipple attachment for it.

Welcome to the club my friend. I try to keep a routine when loading, the minute you get distracted is when you are going to get a dryball! :grin:

 

[Heelerau]

Gentlemen,
I to have never had a dry ball, other than in the shower. Ha Ha! but have sure had a few stuck jags over the years. Have used the pinch of powder to remove more than a few, but since having an air compressor in my workshop, just holding the air gun to either touch hole or nipple bolster seems to shift certainly the stuck cleaning jags, just make sure where your muzzle is pointing , as whatever comes out is pretty quick.!! We had a bloke at a black powder range event, must have been talking, fail to seat a minnie, and blew a big chunk of his Enfield rifle muzzle off.

Cheers

heelerau