I hate to tell this on myself; I drove 50 miles to the local public range a couple of weeks ago, got my loading sequence off and put a wool wad down before the powder. My gun went off but blew the wad into the white lightning liner from the inside, blocked it and made subsequent shots impossible.
I didn't know what was in my bore at the time, I could just see fibers sticking out of the touch hole. I didn't have a patch worm with me.
I had reloaded but my gun wouldn't go off, I tried to pull the ball but but had an 8/32 range rod and a 10/32 ball puller. I tried to pull the ball with my 10/32 wooden ramrod but couldn't get a grip on the stubby end and get the ball out.
I took the gun home and pulled the ball with another range rod and found the errant wool wad when I looked down the bore with my bore camera.
When I saw this thread I got more than a little sheepish because then I remembered an accessory I always have in my possible bag but had forgotten about; my stuck ramrod puller, dang.
I had it in my bag the day I couldn't pull the ball at the range but had forgotten about it. It will pull any stuck ramrod or ball and is light and easy to carry.
I bought the puller initially after sticking a ramrod while reloading to take a second shot at a lust crazed buck below my stand.
A dying friend gave me his rifle, it was the rifle the rifle that turned me into a flintlock shooter and builder.
He had his set trigger set so light that one only needed to touch the side of it to set the gun off. As I had just started hunting with the gun I didn't want to change anything on this fine gift so I left the trigger alone.
I had a nice 8 point come in one morning chasing a doe all around me but not offering a shot because he was running wide open all the time.
He chased the doe out of hearing but showed up a half hour later walking back the way he came, he was broadside 10 yards from my stand and in the open. As I leveled the gun on him my cold finger must have tapped the side of the trigger without me knowing it, BOOM!, right over his back.
Now this buck was a lust crazed babbling idiot, eyes rolling, slobbering and completely oblivious to his surroundings.
He walked over to a nearby bush and started rubbing it as I frantically reloaded. Down went the powder, I grabbed a strip of lubed ticking, started the ball and took a swipe at the ticking with my patch knife leaving way too much material above the ball.
I rammed the ball home and tried to withdraw my ramrod but the extra patching had the rod locked in place. The buck was still rubbing the tree.
Frantically I pulled and twisted on the ramrod, no go, the buck was still rubbing the tree.
Finally I felt something give a little, the buck had worn out the tree and was walking slowly toward the thick pines. The ramrod came out, I reached for my pan primer and primed the pan.
I raised my gun just as the buck took that last step into the thick pines, he was gone, dang.
So, I bought the rod puller so this would never happen again and adjusted the trigger on my gun so I actually had to pull it to make it the gun go off.
Unused for at least 15 years, when I needed it again I forgot I had it until I saw this thread.
Yep, 100 mile round trip to the range to take one shot, all because of several interacting senior moments.
