Pedersoli Bess breech plug removal

[mikee51848]

I've removed breech plugs on other guns, but not this one. When I "pinged" the barrel the other day, I got a good bounce, per usual, but I also used to get a sharp "ping". Instead, I got more of a "thunk", but still a good bounce. My friend noticed the difference right away. I cleaned it again today, and nothing came out except a little flash rust on the patch sides from winter's non-use. I cleaned that up, and re-oiled the barrel. Again, a good bounce but not the sharp ping I'm used to. Remove the plug?

 

[Macmac]

Not to sure i would, as it won't line up well after you tighten it again. It will tend to want to go past where it is now.

I would make a breech face scraper first and make sure the breech face is really clean.

The way I make these is to use a TC worm, that is broken, and saw out the wire that is always left in the crimp that held the wire worm. Then I use a small bore size tab of roofing copper soldered in the slot.

I doubt the plug is loose, but if it somehow is, that would change the ping sound to much duller.

 

[paulvallandigham]

A thunk suggests you have a bare ball down that barrel. Only lead seems to change the sound that much( from a ping, to a thunk!) Use a ball puller jag to do some exploration to see what you find. You will certainly know if the end of the jag is rubbing against steel, rather than lead!

 

[theDuck]

I've had the plug out of my Pedersoli Bess. I did it when I polished out the machine marks in the barrel. It was no problem with it lining up again with the witness mark.