dry balled

[Spikefrb]

All this makes me wonder what the Mountain Men did when they dry balled during a disagreement with the Blackfoot. Probably lost some hair and that was the last we heard of them. Probably weren't too many who lived by the handle "Ol' Dry Ball".

On those occasions your rifle converted to a club...and 'hawks and Bowies became gamechangers...or not.

 

[tom_in_vt]

Good to know. Not too bad of a screw up overall.

 

[French Colonial]

Use the proper puller and
1, you will not screw all the way through the ball.
2, the brass collar will insure you screw in to the center of the ball, no collar and you screw in to the side of the ball and possibly damage the rifling and you are pulling on the side of the ball trying to rotate it while pulling.

One more thing, devising a way to secure the ramrod ("T" handle, cordage attached to ramrod etc.) and then pulling on the rifle makes it very easy to do.

All that aside, I still recommend trickling a little powder in and shooting them out.

 

[Whitworth]

All this makes me wonder what the Mountain Men did when they dry balled during a disagreement with the Blackfoot. Probably lost some hair and that was the last we heard of them. Probably weren't too many who lived by the handle "Ol' Dry Ball".

"Ol Dry Ball" sounds like a washed up porn star.

 

[LME]

This has me thinking that maybe someone ought to come up with a airgun conversion for a muzzleloader. A large caliber airgun is quite potent in its own right. So there might be something to it. But maybe it’s the crazy ramblings of a old guy that hadn’t had enough coffee yet.

It is a little late for that. The air rifle was used during the Napoleonic wars. I read that any of the enemy caught with an air gun was excecuted on the spot? I have seen pictures of the air rifles used and the air chamber was on top of the rifle? I wonder how they were aimed?

 

[Hiddeninsmoke]

With percussion ignition, I clear the barrel by putting an "O" ring or two over the nipple and removing the "fine" nozzle from my air gun. Once you have the right match of those two, barrels are easily cleared.

 

[deerstalkert]

You obviously don't live on the Mexican border!

What you see in that picture is mostly British Columbia, Canada! Eh?

 

[flntlokr]

There are worse things than dry balling.
Spike

Which is why one shouldn't use a wood rod to pull a ball.

 

[Craig "Wildcat" Wilcox]

only if you point it at the TV.
which i don't have! won't have! and further more i HATE!

i still haven't found the ball in my shop mess. want to see how the rifling engraves at that point.
maybe i should clean the shop more and shoot less?

NAW! ain't in me.

Hmmmmm. Seems we have the same numbers of TV sets!

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

2, the brass collar will insure you screw in to the center of the ball, no collar and you screw in to the side of the ball and possibly damage the rifling and you are pulling on the side of the ball trying to rotate it while pulling.

One more thing, devising a way to secure the ramrod ("T" handle, cordage attached to ramrod etc.) and then pulling on the rifle makes it very easy to do.

All that aside, I still recommend trickling a little powder in and shooting them out.

Some good advice, but I don't think I have ever shot one out. Imbed a collar ball puller as you show while the bullet is snug, then dump a teaspoon amount of WD40, wait 5 minutes. Slicker than snot on a door knob!
Larry

 

[deerstalkert]

Hmmmmm. Seems we have the same numbers of TV sets!

if i want to see perverts, weirdo's , murderers and politicians,(repetative, i know) i just drive 55 miles to Sandpoint! not interested in bringing them into my home!

 

[Cvkotvkse]

only if you point it at the TV.
which i don't have! won't have! and further more i HATE!

i still haven't found the ball in my shop mess. want to see how the rifling engraves at that point.
maybe i should clean the shop more and shoot less?

NAW! ain't in me.

The patch engages the riflng, so there may not be any rifling marks to examine...
I guess CSI-type forensic ballistics were a little tougher area of study in the 18th century!

 

[Cvkotvkse]

that's why i was looking. had to move half the shop but found it. nice engraving all around. .535 with a .010 patch.

Really? Rifling marks all the way through the patch? Well, as the kid in the Stride-Rite shoes said... "I stand corrected!"