ball stuck in barrel

[bcompton35603]

I have a 50 caliber Hawken style rifle that has a ball lodged in the barrel. I had loaded it for a deer hunt, but did not get a shot that weekend, and went the following week. when I shot it the percussion cap went off, and there was a small flash from the nipple but the main charge did not go off. I tried shooting it again but all the went off was the cap. I tried the screw on the end of the ramrod but it won't screw into the lead. I thought about removing the nipple and pouring ten grains of FFFg into the hole and seeing if that will ignite the charge, but am hesitant to blow something up. I was on a range at Grafenwoher, Germany when a 120mm main gun round on a M1A1 tank in 4/8 Cavalry went off in the turret, killing the gunner and TC, so you can understand my caution were gunpowder is concerned. Does anyone have a suggestion? I have heard you can screw a grease fitting in place of the nipple and pump enough grease to push it out but not sure I want to clean up the mess.

 

[newtewsmoke]

as long as the ball is seated on the powder, trickling a few grains under the nipple and shooting will be fine.

 

[Dphar]

You need to get it out since there is now fowling in the bore and maybe wet powder.
You need a real ball puller and a metal rod or a CO2 ball ejector. If you have other MLs in your area one of them should be able to help.
Before loading for hunting the bore has to be completely dry of any oil or water and the patch lube has to be something non-corrosive that will not migrate into the powder charge. I use denatured alcohol to clean out any oil and dry the bore if its been oiled. When I am sure its dry I load it.
When a bore is oiled with an oily patch a surprising amount of oil can pool in the breech and/or run out the nipple or vent so care has to be taken if the gun is to be loaded for any length of time.

Dan

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Dont mess with a CO2 gas charger, if the ball is away from the powder they may not work.

A pancake compressor at 160PSI will blow it down range many yards. Aim it in a safe direction.

Most rondies in these parts have a compressor station for them flatlanders whom dry ball

 

[nit wit]

Take the nipple out, make sure you can see through it,clear the flash channel with a piece of small wire, pour in fresh bp and fire away!
Nit Wit

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I thought about removing the nipple and pouring ten grains of FFFg into the hole and seeing if that will ignite the charge, but am hesitant to blow something up.

My understanding is that 10grains would be for a Dry Ball if it were I, I would remove the nipple try to clean things up with a pipe cleaner, put no more then 3 grains in (I'm sure when I had to do this last, it wasn't much over 1 1/2 Grains & worked fine.) you can at that point if you wish tie it to a tire & pull a string to fire it.

I had to do this on my .32 about a month ago because I saw a wrabbit :grin: and loaded without first running a cleaning patch to remove storage oil

PS I didn't do the Tire thing but I do understand your feelings. Do what you think is safe.

 

[Billnpatti]

I can only add to what others have already said and assure you that it will be quite safe to remove your nipple, clean out as much "stuff" as you can and then work in some fresh powder. Get as much in there as you can, you can't hurt anything. Replace your nipple and then fire it in a safe direction. Done correctly, the powder that you work in behind the nipple will, at the most, just ignite the charge that is already in there. If that charge has become contaminated, the new powder that you work in there will provide enough power to blow out the old charge and ball even if it doesn't ignite the old charge itself. In either case, the old powder and ball will safely come out and you can then go about your business of cleaning your gun.

 

[bcompton35603]

Thanks for all the tips. I put 10 grains behind the nipple and shot at the ditch 10 yards away, it went bang and now the barrel is cleared.

 

[William O.]

Thanks for all the tips. I put 10 grains behind the nipple and shot at the ditch 10 yards away, it went bang and now the barrel is cleared.

:thumbsup: Good deal!

 

[boker]

I hate to tell this aloud but I had a cleaning brush come off in the bore at camp the other day. I tired every thing but since I was miles from home. I did the same. I doubt it was good on the bore but I didn't have much choice.

 

[Billnpatti]

Naw, it was most likely brass so it wouldn't hurt anything to shoot it out. Others have gotten a stuck brush out that way before. Personally, I don't recommend the use of a brush in your bore just because of the likelyhood of that happening. Also, it would be a good idea to cross pin the fitting on the end of your cleaning rod so it won't pull off.

 

[Baby Huey]

Next time try twisting a much smaller brush past the stuck one and then pull both of them out.

 

[Billnpatti]

I sure wouldn't try that technique because, most likely, the real reason that the brush was stuck in the bore is because when he tried to pull it out, the bristles jammed in the bore preventing it from coming out. If the brush had not come off the rod, he may have helped himself by twisting the rod clockwise to cause the bristles to lay down allowing the brush to be removed as he continued turning it. Once the brush has come off the rod, the next best technique is to get a piece of metal tubing just small enough to fit into the bore and long enough to reach to the breach with enough left over to grab with your hand to withdraw it. You then push the tubing into the bore and down over the brush capturing it and allowing it to be removed. Pushing another brush, however small, into the bore will just complicate matters and likely cause both brushes to become stuck. The idea sounds reasonable until you know why the brush is likely stuck in the bore to begin with.

 

[wulf]

I took a empty shell and run an 8/32 screw through the base and cut the shell off where it
necked down. Then I screwed that to the working
rod and slid it down the barrel The jag it was
screwed into supplied the center. brush came out
no problem.
Wulf

 

[Baby Huey]

Nope. If my suggestion had not worked a couple of times for me I wouldn't have made it. It also works rather well if a patch becomes lost in the bore. If trying to engage bristles of the lost brush with one well secured to the cleaning rod does not work, then blowing both out could well be the only alternative.