Cleaning the .32 Kentucky. oops!

I'm re-doing my Pedersoli KY and somewhere along the way the bore picked up some rust. Even though I oiled it before stripping and putting a French gray finish on it. Maybe the heat from running the barrel under hot water did something to the oil.

Anyway, I'm swabbing away with .32-.40 cleaning patches and the appropriate jag. And 12 patches later one came off. About 6" below the muzzle.
First thought was to shoot it out. Or maybe try air again. I'm sure it would work on a patch, even if it did not on a rnd ball. But I grabbed my patch worm instead. The one from TOTW that is long and spirals with a point on the end. I've used one just like it on a larger caliber gun.

No go. It would not grab hold of the patch to where I could pull it out. But it did manage to get stuck on something when turning it. Maybe the rifling? And turning the rod the opposite way I could feel the worm unscrewing from the rod tip.

So I grabbed the rod puller I bought. And of course it doesn't work on a small diameter rod. Not .32 anyway.
So I clamped onto the end of the rod with vise grips and tapped the vice grips with a small mallet. Out came the worm, but still no patch.
One more try. I know the patch is in there. Still no patch... and now the worm has pulled out of the brass ferrule and is stuck, too. You gotta be kidding me.

So just a short while ago I shot everything out. What I should have done in the first place. And the light charge of 4F seems to have gotten the last of the rust off. Just a normal cleaning cleaned her right up.

So. Note to self: Nothing but jags or brushes into this .32. That tiny bore is just too fiddly. You can't maneuver anything else in there to see if it would snag or unscrew the worm from whatever it was caught on. Larger bore diameters at least give you options.

Just a heads up. If you have a .32 and a patch worm for it, hide the worm somewhere so you won't be tempted to use it.

just a patch I would have blown it out with air first. If you use brushs use nylon or search/read all the horror stories here. Stuck brushs can cost ya. Money and or brain cells.

Are you using a patch puller with the wire ends? The one with a screw is a bullet puller.

azmntman said:

just a patch I would have blown it out with air first.

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Yep. Those patch worms just don't work. Not in a .32 anyway.

Des52 said:

Are you using a patch puller with the wire ends? The one with a screw is a bullet puller.

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No. I'm using the one I described.
I think the one with the wire "ends" are TC or Traditions patch pullers. Totally different animal.

And yes, the tip with a screw is indeed a bullet puller.

I'm just speculating, but maybe you could have pushed it all the way to the bottom of the bore where it would have been all bunched up and the patch puller coil would have had more material to grab on to? I wouldn't try it as an experiment though unless pulling the breech plug (always the proverbial Plan C) is an easy thing to do on your gun.

Col. Batguano said:

I'm just speculating, but maybe you could have pushed it all the way to the bottom of the bore where it would have been all bunched up and the patch puller coil would have had more material to grab on to? I wouldn't try it as an experiment though unless pulling the breech plug (always the proverbial Plan C) is an easy thing to do on your gun.

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That's a good speculation.
The patent breech on this gun is very shallow. And the point on TOTW's puller did appear centered. If the patch had gone into the breech it still should have been able to grab it, but the lack of material in a .32 patch and the worm getting stuck on something prevented it from working like it should.
I never should have grabbed it.

Now that I'm thinking about it some, maybe if you have a similar caliber / breech size cartridge gun (like an M1 Carbine) that might be a decent gun to try the (previously mentioned) experiment on. If it doesn't work, just open the bolt--voila. Of course, the end of the receiver being closed will not allow you to push it back out the muzzle if you have to go that route. Maybe a 32 cal semi auto pistol or revolver or a tip-up gun like a Thompson Center Contender would be better. Of course, cartridge guns are not rifled all the way to the breech face the way ML'ers are, so it may not be a fair test if you want to avoid the tip point getting stuck on the rifling. Maybe the pointy end of the tip (that skewers the patch) needs to be bent in toward the center?

As you said earlier, the small caliber and large rifling depth to total bore size ratio contributed to the problem.

I use the patch jag from Deer Creek made for .32 and .36. It has never failed to get a patch out of my .36s. Went to TOTW and looked at that patch puller they offer and am not suprised it did not work.

https://www.deercreekproducts.net/store/p1940/.32/.36_Cal_Patch_Puller.html
I can see that working in a .36 if it is also sized to fit a .32.

pacanis said:

Yep. Those patch worms just don't work. Not in a .32 anyway.

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It worked for me in my Crockett Rifle the only time I have every tried to use it. However, it was only a patch the came off down towards the breech. Loosing more than just a patch down the small bore of a .32 is something I try to avoid thinking about.

ETipp said:

It worked for me in my Crockett Rifle the only time I have every tried to use it. However, it was only a patch the came off down towards the breech. Loosing more than just a patch down the small bore of a .32 is something I try to avoid thinking about.

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You got lucky, LOL

Seriously, I'll never use one again. Not in my .32.
Next time, if there is a next time, I'll use a .22 brush and see if I can't snag it. And it would probably hold tow just as well.
Not that I've used tow to clean this rifle, but I have swabbed other rifles with tow between shots and that particular worm works well.

I’ve had good luck in a 32 with the 22 brush as suggested.

pacanis said:

You got lucky, LOL

Seriously, I'll never use one again. Not in my .32.
Next time, if there is a next time, I'll use a .22 brush and see if I can't snag it. And it would probably hold tow just as well.
Not that I've used tow to clean this rifle, but I have swabbed other rifles with tow between shots and that particular worm works well.

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Perhaps so. I hope I never run into that issue again.

The main factor I have ran into with my .32 is, when cutting the patches, cutting them the right size. That small bore can be picky and there isn't much room for error either way.

I know one thing that is definitely going on my list of purchases..........one of those Co2 cartridges with the proper nipple to blow out anything in the bore. Might not work on everything but it is suppose to work on some things.

I don't use jags in muzzleloaders. The jag doesn't grip the patch well and it can come off. The only use for jags is for unmentionable rifles where you can push the patch out the other end. Then a jag is fine. I use a brass brush smaller than my bore diameter and wrap a patch around that. The patch grips to the bristles and won't come off. That patch/brush combo has worked well for me for years for cleaning the barrel. I don't think I have a patch puller for my .32.
Ohio Rusty ><>

ETipp said:

The main factor I have ran into with my .32 is, when cutting the patches, cutting them the right size

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I have been using ready made patches. Both dry and lubed.
The problem is, they are sized for .32 to .39, so I have just a wee bit of patch showing. Pretty much as if I was using ticking and cutting them off myself.

But in this .32, that wee bit of patch material is enough to make using the short starter hard to push the ball down the extra 5" (whatever it measures). The patch material is enough to go up around the short starter, which must be a slightly larger diameter than the ram rod. If I'm thinking, I go around the top of the ball with my finger and fold the patch over so the starter rests on top of the patch. There's still a good amount of lead showing, that's how little the patch excess is. But it's enough to make things tight when it goes up around the starter.
Another fiddly thing with the small caliber.

This rifle would be a good candidate for coning. At least that would help things at the muzzle end.

I think a Kibler .40 is in my future... if I ever set aside the money.

pacanis said:

I have been using ready made patches. Both dry and lubed.
The problem is, they are sized for .32 to .39, so I have just a wee bit of patch showing. Pretty much as if I was using ticking and cutting them off myself.

But in this .32, that wee bit of patch material is enough to make using the short starter hard to push the ball down the extra 5" (whatever it measures). The patch material is enough to go up around the short starter, which must be a slightly larger diameter than the ram rod. If I'm thinking, I go around the top of the ball with my finger and fold the patch over so the starter rests on top of the patch. There's still a good amount of lead showing, that's how little the patch excess is. But it's enough to make things tight when it goes up around the starter.
Another fiddly thing with the small caliber.

This rifle would be a good candidate for coning. At least that would help things at the muzzle end.

I think a Kibler .40 is in my future... if I ever set aside the money.

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Actually, and this was my error, I meant cutting cleaning patches. With the small bore size, its real easy to cut them too big, thus causing problems, such as stuck patches.

So far, with this particular ML, the only size shooting patches I have used are cut to the size of whatever the first .010" cotton patches I ordered were. I do not remember what the label stated. Using a .310 RB, .015" ticking with TOTW Mink Oil I have no problems getting the ball started with just my fingers, and running it home with the ramrod. I may be able to obtain a little more accuracy by finding a tighter fitting combination but dang, the one that I'm using now has been working out so well, especially when squirrel hunting, I'm about afraid to change anything.

You've been doing a fine job on those squirrels.

pacanis said:

You've been doing a fine job on those squirrels.

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Thank you. Quite the challenge but very enjoyable for this ole boy. Its about over for the early season here, at least for me. No doubt they will be out in force this fall, thus should be easier to locate.

ETipp said:

Actually, and this was my error, I meant cutting cleaning patches. With the small bore size, its real easy to cut them too big, thus causing problems, such as stuck patches.

So far, with this particular ML, the only size shooting patches I have used are cut to the size of whatever the first .010" cotton patches I ordered were. I do not remember what the label stated. Using a .310 RB, .015" ticking with TOTW Mink Oil I have no problems getting the ball started with just my fingers, and running it home with the ramrod. I may be able to obtain a little more accuracy by finding a tighter fitting combination but dang, the one that I'm using now has been working out so well, especially when squirrel hunting, I'm about afraid to change anything.

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If you’re happy, I wouldn’t change anything. As I told you before, I use a tighter combo in my Crockett and did just cone it. But I still need a short starter. I’m happy with how mine it is working and shooting. It’s all good. Fun little guns aren’t they.
My daughter and grandkids are coming in from Michigan next week. I’ll have my grandson shooting it. I just ordered him some shooting glasses. Don’t want a piece of cap hitting his eye.