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Something Stuck in your Barrel?

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Is
Something Stuck In Your Barrel?


by Zonie
Is something stuck in your barrel?
This is a lot more common than most folks would suspect. Even the folks who have
shot muzzleloaders for 40+ years sometimes end up with this problem.
Under only the most desperate condition
should you ever think of removing the breech plug.
The breech plugs in traditional
muzzleloaders are not made to be removed. Besides there are other ways to remove
things that were stuck down your guns barrel.
Stuck Balls/Bullets/Cleaning Jags
If you are at a range or out hunting
and dry ball (load without powder) the quickest way to fix the problem if you
are shooting a percussion gun is to remove the nipple and put the 5 grains of
powder down into the hole that connects the nipple with the breech. Then reinstall
the nipple, cap it and point the gun in a safe direction and shoot it out.
If you are shooting a flintlock,
pour the 5 grains of powder down thru the vent hole, prime the pan and shoot
the ball out.
The second method takes a bit of
planning.
Go out and spend some money to
buy a CO2 ball discharger. When you buy one of these make sure it has the proper
fittings to match your nipple hole or vent on a flintlock. They sometimes don't
have these adapters and they will have to be bought extra. Also, get a few CO2
cartridges that fit the device. Some of them use special sized cartridges so
check on this before you end up out in the boondocks with the wrong gas supply.
By the way, these little things
are powered by a CO2 cartridge with a pressure that is at about 800 pounds per
square inch so they drive the ball out at a fairly high speed that can break
things. Be careful.
The third method that can be used
at a range or out in the field is to use your ball screw installed on your cleaning
or ram rod.
A ball screw looks like a wood
screw, usually with a brass collar around it to keep it centered in the bore
and it screws onto the end of your ramrod or range rod.
NOTE: If you are using a metal tipped
ramrod the metal tip MUST be pinned to the wood with a small pin that goes thru
both sides at the rear of the metal tip and it goes completely thru the wood.
If your ramrod tip is unpinned
you should pin it and, no, epoxy won't do the job nearly as well as a cross pin.
Unpinned metal tips will pull off
of the ramrod and you will end up with a stuck ball and a stuck ball screw and
metal ramrod tip down the bore.
To use the ball
screw, install it on your ramrod or cleaning rod and run it down the barrel to
the ball/bullet. Give the exposed ramrod a good "tap" to start the
screw into the lead. Then, while pushing down on the rod, rotate it clockwise
to screw the ball screw into the lead ball or bullet at least 2 1/2 turns.
Now you just pull it out, right?
Well, sometimes yes but sometimes no.
The screw will often expand the
ball a bit, kinda like the lead plugs folks put into their wall and drive a screw
in for hanging a picture. This can make a fairly snug ball/patch tighten up and
it can be very difficult to remove.
If you are using a patched ball,
a good trick here is to pour a bit of water down the bore and let it soak into
the patch. Water will soften the fouling in the bore and will allow the patch
to soften and compress a bit more which will loosen it up a bit.
Caution: Treat the gun as if it
was loaded by removing the cap or cleaning the pan and lower the cock/hammer
to the fired position before placing any part of your body in front of the muzzle.
It often takes a good hard pull
to get the ball out of the barrel and there are some tools that can be used to
grab the ramrod to give some extra force. Some of these can crush the wood on
your ramrod so if you are using one, go as easy as you can and still get the
job done.
If you are using a range rod instead
of a ramrod you can often hook its handle into some stout piece of construction
where 2X4's come together or if it's handy, the crotch of a tree limb will sometimes
work. Hook the handle into it and then pull on your gun to remove the ball/bullet.
If you are out hunting and have
a long leather strap you can tie the strap around the ramrod using one of several
different knots and then tie the strap to a stout limb and pull on the gun.
Back in town, sometimes high pressure
air at a filling station or from your home air compressor will blow the ball/bullet
out but these things are usually limited to about 110 PSI and if the ball/bullet
is really stuck they might not have enough power to do the job.
If all fails and you can't get the
stuck ball/bullet out until you get home you can use the old Grease Trick.
This involves buying a grease fitting
at your local auto part store. These fittings are used in places on your car
that need greasing and they usually come with a 1/4 inch threaded end to screw
into the part and a grease gun fitting on the other end.
WARNING: These grease fittings
often have tapered threads so when you screw them into the vent hole or the nipple
hole do not use a wrench. Use your finger pressure only to tighten them. Your
fingers will provide more than enough tightness to allow the high pressure grease
to be pumped in behind the ball/bullet without blowing out the fitting.
Once installed, use a hand pump
grease gun or take it to your local Lube Shop and ask them to pump in the grease.
It will drive the stuck ball/bullet out in no time.
Cleaning up afterwards is a chore
though because all of that grease has to be removed from your gun.
Stuck Loose Patches
These will sometimes be lost while
your cleaning your gun.
To remove them use a patch screw
or patch worm on your ramrod.
These can look like a corkscrew
or a brass disk with one or two spring steel prongs sticking out of the end of
them to screw into the patch.
They are pretty simple to use. Just
put one on your ramrod, run it down the bore and turn it clockwise two or three
times and pull the patch out.
They don't have to be a close fit
in the bore of you gun. They just must be smaller so they will fit freely down
the bore.
Stuck Brushes
Stiff wire brushes are made for
modern thru bored guns. When they are stuck down your muzzleloaders bore the
bristles bend backward towards the muzzle. Then, when you try to pull the brush
back out they wedge against the bore and lock the brush in place.
When this happens,
try turning the ramrod/cleaning rod clockwise without pulling on it. You will
feel the brush "slip".
Then, giving a slight upward pressure turn it clockwise again to cause the bristles
to bend down towards the breech. When they do, you can pull the brush back out
of the barrel.
I've heard of folks who used too
much pull and managed to break off their brush or even their ramrod trying to
get a brush out.
If this happens, the grease trick
or the powder trick won't work because the brush is so porous.
You will need to go to your local
hardware store, barrel in hand (to check the fit) and see if they have some tubing
that will fit into your barrel.
Either brass, steel or copper tubing
will work although the thin walled stuff is much better than the thick walled
tubing. Get a piece that will fit all the way down to the breech plug plus a
few inches of extra length.
Run the tubing down the bore until
it hits the brush. Then, while giving the breech of the barrel some support use
a mallet or block of wood to drive the tube further down the barrel and over
the bristles of the brush.
After the tubing hits the breech
plug face, give it a little pull and out will come the tube with the offending
brush stuck inside of it.
Brass Jags
If one of these falls off of your
cleaning rod or the screw on them fails you can use any of the methods mentioned
above for removing a stuck balls/bullets.

While I'm at it I need to warn some
of you about some cleaning jags.
The ones that are made from one
piece of brass and have brass threads are headaches waiting to happen. These
brass threads have a habit of breaking off usually when the jag is patched and
has been run half way down the bore.
If you have some of these either
replace them with brass jags with a steel stud sticking out of them or cut off
the brass threads and make your own steel stud.
To do this, file the brass threads
off so the back of the jag is flat. Then center punch a mark in the center of
the back with a punch or a nail. This small dimple will guide the drill bit when
you drill the new hole.
Buy the correct tap drill and tap
for the threads you want to have, usually #10-32. Also buy some long steel screws
with the same size threads and something like a hack saw to cut off a piece of
the screw to serve as your new steel stud.
You can also sometimes find a long
set screw in the right thread so you won't have to cut anything.
Drill and thread the hole using
the correct tap drill. To thread brass you can use a light oil for a lubricant
or even thread the brass dry.
After the threaded hole is finished,
cut off a length of the screw for a stud and thread it into your modified jag.
It is a good idea to use a thread
locking compound on the threads inside the jag to keep the screw threads/ set
screw from working itself loose. Just don't get the stuff on the 'working threads'
that are sticking out waiting for your ramrod.
Have fun.
 
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