worst stuck ball ever

[Billnpatti]

If you want to read some of Larry's work, just go to the "Members" tab and click on it. Then type in "Pletch" and it will take you to his bio. Then click on his topics and it will give you a list of topics that he has posted. You can also send him a personal message by clicking on that tab and asking for his experiment on placement of powder in the pan.

One of his experiments had the powder banked so as to cover the hole but not fill it. In this experiment he compared placing the powder so that it covered the hole, laying flat in the pan and banked away from the hole. In this experiment he found that the powder banked over but not filling the hole was the fastest followed by the powder banked away from the hole and the slowest was with the powder flat in the pan. But I am sure that he did another experiment in which he measured the time with the powder banked up to the hole but not covering it and found that to be the fastest way of all. I am pretty sure about this but you had better ask Larry about that. I've been wrong before......just recently, in fact.

You can read some of his experiments at www.blackpowdermag.com

 

[Baxter]

I've dry-balled once, on my second shot at the range a few weeks ago and recalled from my veterinary studies days the shame of spaying a tomcat. I always use 10/32 threaded steel rods and steel-shanked "parts" for my FL and percussion rifles' rods - I see no reason to use 8/32 AND I NEVER use accessories with brass threaded shanks; steel only. I've more than once had brass threaded shanks become loose or fail in CF arms and don't trust them in a ML. Ball-screw with a bore-size guide always since my range-rod has a fixed handle - so I have the best chance of grabbing that screw again if I need to. After that dry-ball event, I found myself paying a lot more attention to the next dozen shots and silently talking myself through the process. baxter

 

[Snakebite]

One thing I haven't noticed when people try to pull a stuck ball is to try to soak the patched ball by pouring some lube or solvent down the barrel and maybe soaking the patch some. I once had a ball that I could not pull, after breaking the trigger guard by trying to use it as a wedge (not smart, definitly a learning experience ), I poured some blacksolve down the barrel and let it sit for several hours. My range rod and ball puller were still in the ball. After the soaking, I was finally able to pull the ball.
Anyone ever done that?

 

[Black Hand]

I used water on a few occasions to facilitate the removal of a stuck ball. I've also found that to go up you must sometimes start by going down - I push down on the rammer before trying to pull up.

 

[Zonie]

A teaspoon of water down the bore and let it soak in for a minute always works well for me.

It also works if a dry cleaning patch gets ornery and doesn't want to come back out of the barrel.

 

[jerrywh]

When I first read this thread I laughed for 5 minutes. Can somebody tell me why can't he just pull the breech plug ??? It's lots easier that trying to remove the touch hole liner. That's crazy.

 

[M. De Land]

I agree in general as most plugs are just not that hard to remove. Sure beats screwing up a bore with some of the contraptions made to get a stuck ball out.
Makes me wonder just how good of shape the bore is in back by the breach, to stick a ball that good.Mike D.

 

[M. De Land]

I think what is sticking these ball in flint locks is the back side of liners that are either proud or not flush with the bottom of the grooves. Even this still leaves a corner ledge top and bottom either side of the liner diameter for a patch to catch on.
I have a match pistol with the liner so configured and it needs to be relined at some point to correct this although the breech plug is made to be routinely removed for cleaning so as to pose no stuck ball problem. It still is a pain to clean the back of the liner threads through the barrel wall because the liner was not fit to the bore orbit or at least flush with the bottom of the groove on that side. MD

 

[mccarthy.tf]

I may be way off. But are we sure there is a ball stuck? My father once thought he dry balled but after a little while of trying to extract the ball he measured how far the ram rod was going into the barrel and realized he never even put the ball in.

I don't mind mentioning it here cuz he never goes on the internet, but I never remind him of it in person.

 

[SpottedBull]

Once was handed a half stock CVA that had a ball stuck in a RUSTY barrel. Had to bend my range rod from a triangle end to a hooked end. Slid a piece of 1" iron pipe onto the rod and then screwed the puller into the ball. Stuck the whole thing into a bench vise. Used the piece of pipe like a slide hammer to pull that ball out. Used a pressure washer with a long piece of 1/4" stainless tubing to clean the barrel. Shot good after that!

 

[bpd303]

Had a similar experience with an underhammer pistol. Thought I had dry balled it so I pulled the nipple and tried the powder under it to shoot it out...no luck. After several tries, my wife walks up, takes the rammer & drops it down the barrel. I kind of cringed when there was a metallic clink when the rod hit the breech plug and she measured the distance the rod went in, handed the pistol back, smiled and said why not put some powder & ball in and have fun then walked away. Good thing I love that gal. :slap:

 

[54ball]

Update...

For the more recent posts, the OP was able to pull the ball from the muzzle with a repaired puller.

 

[necchi]

Thank Goodness,
this has been a very confusing, albeit interesting thread to follow

 

[wmaser]

I worked for the National Park Service at Gettysburg back in the seventies. On one occasion, while preparing artifacts for display in the museum, a Springfield rifled musket was found to have two powder charges and two minie balls loaded one on top of the other. They were'nt stuck, but reloaded not realizing that the first charge had not gone off. I was told that this was not an isolated case, but guns had been found before with multiple loads.
I guess, with the noise and confusion of battle, a misfire might not be realized.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Think the worse case of that showed right after the Gettysburg battle when the Union troops were policing up all the drech left behind by Bob Lee and his band of merry men! As I recall, the champion in the decision had 9 to 11 loads still in it, coming within 6 inches of the muzzle! That must have been one serious case of buck fever or even more pathological distraction!!

 

[54ball]

It's not as hard to do as you might think. I was in a squad firing a volley salute at Fort Jackson. We did well as our volley sounded like one shot. Most of the time it's a little ragged.

As I was still holding my rifle in the air I was not real sure it went off. I glanced into the pan and could see smoke coming from the vent (right handed rifle left hand hold) but I was not 100 percent sure it actually went off until I pinged the barrel with my ramrod.

That experience made me think how easy it would be to charge one multiple times in a battle situation.