Stuck ramrod in .45 cal pistol barrel

Yesterday was cleaning this pistol,cva percussion. Water down the barrel a couple of times. Some solvent after that. Put a dry patch on the ramrod and pushed to to the bottom to dry the barrel some and it stuck there. Got some pliers to grip the brass cap on the rod and it came off breaking the wood part of the rod with it. Nothing will budge. The rod is about a quarter of an inch from the end of the barrel and can't get a purchase on it with anything.

Any ideas on how to get an entire rod less cap and a stuck patch holding it out of the barrel?
I know someone had to have had this problem before and got it solved.

Pressure.
Is it percussion or flint?
I have used just compressed air to push a ball, but i fthat is not enough, the CO2 blasters work great especially in a percussion gun where you can remove the nipple.
Get some oil down the barrel and slick it up good.
If the jag and patch stuck on drying, you may not have gotten the barrel as clean as you think you did.

I hope the end of the rod that's stuck is also brass and not steel.
I tried pumping grease but that just made a mess.
Soak it well and try a long nose locking pliers?

I had similar problem with a early 19th century percussion rifle, stuck metal range rod. The breech plug was completely socked in, appeared to have not moved in more than 150 years and I was reluctant to force it... didn't want to break off the tang! Heating would also change the color of the metal, I thought. After three days of cursing, soaking with gun oil, and in line pulling, I finally soaked the barrel with Kroil, with a toothpick in the nipple, for 24 hours. A little pull, with the barrel in a vise, and it came out. Not sure what happened but I felt I just won the Super Bowl! Perhaps that with specialty pliers would work.

"Chinese finger trap"/expandable braided sleeving to slip over the ramrod and grip it. You'd want to avoid getting lubricant on the ramrod to use this.

Mushka,

You could probably shoot it out by removing the nipple and putting a small amount of 4Fg or 3Fg black powder in the flash channel replacing the nipple and popping a cap on it. The rod won't go far, but don't try this in your kitchen!

This is a "teachable moment" The wooden rod that comes with production guns is for show only, or to check for a load. They are dangerous to load the gun with as they often break. They also break when you get a patch and jag stuck in the breech. Had the rod not broken, you could have simply dribbled a bit of water or bore cleaner down the barrel to dampen the patch and it would have come out. Dry patches are notorious for getting stuck. I also suspect you used a patch that was too large or too thick.

A proper range rod/cleaning rod is unbreakable and threaded to accept jag or worm. It should also be of sufficient length to get a good hold on it should the need arise to pull some resistant object like a patched ball loaded without powder. I make my range rods from solid brass rod available in most good hardware stores.

Bummer, I feel your pain. Yes, kroil. Time. I try to warn people to NEVER us the tulip-shaped end as a jag, in a 1861 Springfield. Don't ask me how I know that.

I second shooting it out! Be careful and think as you do this.

curator said:

I also suspect you used a patch that was too large or too thick.

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That, plus the jag was probably too large. Once you get it out, and you will after exhausting your vocabulary of non-family friendly words, replace the rod and the jag.

I also agree with the shoot it out plan. Just a little powder and aim into a folded towel or something soft.

Years ago I did the same thing in .50 CVA rifle. I proceeded to put a little powder in the nipple hole and shoot it out. Then I tried some more powder and nothing. Then I put some more in and it come out. My ramrod turned into about a thousand toothpicks as I had it pointed into a loader bucket. It was a good learning experience. Never happened since.

I've seen rods shot out...didn't hurt a thing..

If it is close to the muzzle, drill a proper pilot hole into the broken piece. Screw in a long drywall screw. Clamp screw head in vice and pull it out. Been there' done that.

Well I got it out. Not the way I intended. I did some filing on the nipple to better seat the primer caps. First attempt didn't set the cap off, second attempt set it off and I noticed that the rod had moved a tad up the barrel. Grabbed it with some hemostats I use in cleaning guns and pulled it right out effortlessly. All it too was the cap going off. Problem with the cock being mis aligned but I tapped it with a brass hammer to line it up with the nipple and it seems to be straight now. All's well now far as I can see. Ordered a bench pistol from Dixie Guns Works so we'll be ready to go soon.

Thanks for all the advice given.

curator said:

You could probably shoot it out by removing the nipple and putting a small amount of 4Fg or 3Fg black powder in the flash channel replacing the nipple and popping a cap on it. The rod won't go far, but don't try this in your kitchen!

This is a "teachable moment" The wooden rod that comes with production guns is for show only, or to check for a load. They are dangerous to load the gun with as they often break. They also break when you get a patch and jag stuck in the breech. Had the rod not broken, you could have simply dribbled a bit of water or bore cleaner down the barrel to dampen the patch and it would have come out. Dry patches are notorious for getting stuck. I also suspect you used a patch that was too large or too thick.

A proper range rod/cleaning rod is unbreakable and threaded to accept jag or worm. It should also be of sufficient length to get a good hold on it should the need arise to pull some resistant object like a patched ball loaded without powder. I make my range rods from solid brass rod available in most good hardware stores.

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I agree with the above statements as I done a similar thing with one of my Dad's rifles when I was a teenager. The ramrod was stuck, so I used a piece of leather and one of the old "hinge on the end" style nutcrackers as pliers on the ramrod. Thanks to the leather I didn't damage the ramrod, but I did manage to get enough grip, with both hands on the nutcracker, to pull the tip off of the ramrod. At that point I stopped and waited for Dad to get home. We took the nipple out, put in a little powder and reinstalled the nipple. He shot it off in the back yard into the ground and I was supposed to see where the ramrod tip went into the ground, needless to say we never found the ramrod tip again...didn't stop me from the chore of digging up half the yard in an attempt to find it. It wasn't long after that Dad brought home a solid brass ramrod. He was a foreman in maintenance at a local factory, he said one of the fellows in the machine shop at the factory he worked had assembled the brass ramrod for me. It had a brass handle on one end, a bore protector and was threaded for common attachments. I still use it today while at the range.

waarp8nt said:

It wasn't long after that Dad brought home a solid brass ramrod. He was a foreman in maintenance at a local factory, he said one of the fellows in the machine shop at the factory he worked had assembled the brass ramrod for me. It had a brass handle on one end, a bore protector and was threaded for common attachments. I still use it today while at the range.

Click to expand...

These are the types of tools that mean the most. Made by family, given with love. Useful for a lifetime. It doesn't get any better than that! Thank you for sharing that. It made my morning.