Minnie Ball Stuck 1861 Springfield

[Erwan]

Getting the sizing of the minie is vital and a boon is a lube suitable to your climate that is neither to hard or to runny. But definitely favour wet over hard. I know it's messy to handle but anything that keeps the fouling softer than dry and crusty is a boon.
BPCR shooters always look for a wet muzzle, wet from lube that is. Whether it's via bullet grooves carrying enough lube or by using a grease cookie under the bullet.

That's right, I shoot a lot of Minié bullets and do it the way Britsmoothy described...
The bullets are always undersized for the bore and generously greased with soft grease to keep the fouling soft and impregnated. The rifling is always with a little grease at the mouth of the barrel : if the mouth of the barrel is not greasy, we do not know if the grease works well (we can also have a grease too hard that does not grease at the beginning and greases only at the end or vice versa) and this is why we must prefer soft and sticky greases based on beeswax, tallow, lanolin and good oil in the kind Neatsfoot oil but not only that : more type of oils are good (depending on the temperature put more or less oil in the preparation of the grease). If the grease is good and the balls well calibrated, you will never have any problem with Minié bullets...
As for the grease cookie in the skirt or under the bullets, I'm not in favor of it, but everyone has his own way of doing things...

And wouldn’t the subsequent powder charge get caught in all that bore-slime and not properly fill the breech? (without a funnel drop tube)

Without funnel it is part of the art of shooting properly the Minié...

 

[deermanok]

Success!

 

[Grenadier1758]

Now @Winters, what are the changes to your loading procedure to prevent this from happening again?

 

[APG]

So, even with the ball about halfway down the barrel, you were able to shoot it out with no issue?

I thought you were never supposed to fire the projectile unless it is seated on the black powder? Am I wrong here?

 

[Dude]

Aw, cut yer complainin. At least a page or two must be filled with comments how long this has taken.

I'm sure that after the fifth time this topic comes up, more than a few posts is wasted breath - or seems that way. But for the new guy it helps a lot. So consider that before posting deprecating comments.

Making fun of the new, inexperienced, member isn't conducive to growing a larger group, and doesn't make you look good either.

Besides, the ball is now out, so the topic has morphed into handling the root causes. It's not eight or nine pages of trying to remove a stuck ball and a joke of "why so long???"

 

[dave951]

Well, well, we found one with the medical condition, "OLD FARTS SYNDROME".
BTW: It would not have taken more than 2-3 posts, from someone with common sense, to help this fellow out.
This thread and many like it, are like cutting down 10 trees to make a toothpick

The way I see it, there has been lots of completely WRONG info posted here by some who obviously have never ever worked with minies. I'd also bet a fair amount is by guys who have never ventured beyond a round ball in a muzzleloader. A BFH is a very poor answer as is electricity. If the OP chooses to follow bad advice, he can injury himself or damage his rifle but that's no skin of the noses of the pundits.

But what do I know, I've been slacking this year and only shot about 2500 minies in competition and instruction. Many round ball guys don't shoot that much in 10 years.

 

[deerstalkert]

my minie's and lube. the excess rings the muzzle and i thumb it off and smear it on my loading block carrying my PRB's.
the lube is mostly Frontier's lube with about 15% bees wax added to stiffen it up for the hot weather we are having.
these go down the hole easy and come out wet. and straight!

 

[ZUG]

I'm glade that you got the minie out and safely . It sure looked mangled. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this arc and did not look at it as being ridiculous or some stupid suggestions but as information some of which is good and some of which is not so good. Your the one to decide which of them will work for you in your situation and ability. Now you KNOW what NOT to do -- you have been educated by experience!!!!

 

[Dude]

Ok, so there were odd ideas, and a lot of messages for something so simple. Thankfully the OP used a simple, normal, solution for a resolution.

You know, here's a little truth - the inexperienced make things more complicated than they really are. Simple fact - just the way it is. Want to recruit new faces? Then expect things like this.

You old timers probably get really exasperated and tired of the struggle. "For Pete's sake, just pull the damn thing and load another!" Not go on for days wondering what to do, ordering parts or tools and worrying about it.

So have a little patience and put on the teacher hat trying to remember what it was like in the beginning for you. Help us sort out the goofy solutions and the order of importance - if 'that' doesn't work, then do this. Making snickering comments doesn't promote a friendly atmosphere. I'm ok with being laughed at - I have no dog in this fight, just a bystander - but I am new to BP and learning all I can from you guys. Thank you!

 

[Celticstoneman]

Ok, so there were odd ideas, and a lot of messages for something so simple. Thankfully the OP used a simple, normal, solution for a resolution.

You know, here's a little truth - the inexperienced make things more complicated than they really are. Simple fact - just the way it is. Want to recruit new faces? Then expect things like this.

You old timers probably get really exasperated and tired of the struggle. "For Pete's sake, just pull the damn thing and load another!" Not go on for days wondering what to do, ordering parts or tools and worrying about it.

So have a little patience and put on the teacher hat trying to remember what it was like in the beginning for you. Help us sort out the goofy solutions and the order of importance - if 'that' doesn't work, then do this. Making snickering comments doesn't promote a friendly atmosphere. I'm ok with being laughed at - I have no dog in this fight, just a bystander - but I am new to BP and learning all I can from you guys. Thank you!

Dude,
Well said!

 

[rhett45acp]

Ok, so there were odd ideas, and a lot of messages for something so simple. Thankfully the OP used a simple, normal, solution for a resolution.

You know, here's a little truth - the inexperienced make things more complicated than they really are. Simple fact - just the way it is. Want to recruit new faces? Then expect things like this.

You old timers probably get really exasperated and tired of the struggle. "For Pete's sake, just pull the damn thing and load another!" Not go on for days wondering what to do, ordering parts or tools and worrying about it.

So have a little patience and put on the teacher hat trying to remember what it was like in the beginning for you. Help us sort out the goofy solutions and the order of importance - if 'that' doesn't work, then do this. Making snickering comments doesn't promote a friendly atmosphere. I'm ok with being laughed at - I have no dog in this fight, just a bystander - but I am new to BP and learning all I can from you guys. Thank you!

I second the "Well Said!"

I am new to MLs except minor experience 30 years ago. I am NOT new to reloading in the smokeless world. My consumption rate per year is around 20K rounds.

I joined this group to for educational purpose - to learn things. I have been very hesitant to ask what I am sure are basic questions. I started with the percussion rifle group at the very first page. I think around page 360ish and read forward probably 50 pages. Then did the reverse with starting with new post. I did this to get a feel and to try not to ask questions that have been discussed. I am 100% sure I will ask a question that has been asked many times before. I will not apologize for such.

The more a noob correctly learns the more one is less of a noob, right? The noob can then become a veteran and pass the experience to the next noob. It is how things work.

Maybe one day I can "give back",

Oh, yeah 8 pages worth - and I learned some things.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Yes!!!!

How did Grand Dad or the blacksmith in 1870 remove the ball without access to compressed air, grease gun, long shanked drill or levitation?

Being the bad asses that they were they just removed the breech plug and knocked it out from the rear if all easier normal methods failed . That's what I would have done on day one had turning the rifle upside down as someone else suggested not worked . I have removed the breech plug from every rifle and pistol that I have ever owned and so far have not damaged anything in so doing . I don't understand the fear ?? My pap taught me how to take a plug out over 50 years ago , it ain't in no way complicated .

 

[Eddie Southgate]

I thought you were never supposed to fire the projectile unless it is seated on the black powder? Am I wrong here?

No , you are absolutely not wrong . You should never do that . Do not say you can't but the chance of a damaged or burst barrel is as likely as not . Because it has been done a number of times with no harm is not a sign that it will always work that way . I won't do it .

 

[Okie Hog]

The blacksmith would have removed the breech plug and driven the stuck ball out.

The blacksmith hat access to iron rods used to make fireplace pokers.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Not to mention that the blacksmith had a sturdy vise with smooth grips for the barrel and the tool to remove a breech plug. And of course the long iron rods and a choice of hammers to drive the stuck ball out. Since it was a Minie' ball, he would have put a dull point on the rod.

 

[Okie Hog]

The way I see it, there has been lots of completely WRONG info posted here by some who obviously have never ever worked with minies. I'd also bet a fair amount is by guys who have never ventured beyond a round ball in a muzzleloader.

i've owned several original Civil War Springfield rifles, including the one carried by my G-Grandfather that hangs over the fireplace in my sons home. Fired thousands of rounds through those rifles and their replicas. i've used aluminum and steel rods to drive the bullet down the bore with no effect on the rifles.

As stated earlier, battlefield pickup bullets attest to the fact that Civil War soldiers sometimes had trouble loading Minie bullets into dirty bores They whanged the bullets down and fired them out.

You recommended killing the powder charge. IMO: You eliminated the easiest method of removing the bullet.

None of this muzzleloader stuff is rocket science.

 

[Stantheman86]

Sizing is absolutely vital.

I've fired 60 or more .575 Minies lubed with numerous concoctions without any thought of a need to punch a bore.

Sizing is the key factor.

 

[2 shots]

i feel like i have been here before. can this really be happening ????????????

 

[appalichian hunter]

dejavou, perhaps

 

[dave951]

i've owned several original Civil War Springfield rifles, including the one carried by my G-Grandfather that hangs over the fireplace in my sons home. Fired thousands of rounds through those rifles and their replicas. i've used aluminum and steel rods to drive the bullet down the bore with no effect on the rifles.

As stated earlier, battlefield pickup bullets attest to the fact that Civil War soldiers sometimes had trouble loading Minie bullets into dirty bores They whanged the bullets down and fired them out.

You recommended killing the powder charge. IMO: You eliminated the easiest method of removing the bullet.

None of this muzzleloader stuff is rocket science.

Aaaannnnnd the necessities of war are NOTHING like being safe on a one way range. Last I checked, nobody’s on a two way range with Civil War guns anymore, no reason to take unnecessary risks, especially with dubious advice.