Barrel blocked - help!

[Sir Boniface Harrison]

Sirs, a series of misfortunes has befallen me! The other day whilst shooting (Hawken replica .45) I had a charge which didnt go off. Once home, I attempted to remove the ball, but I think there are bits of it left in the rifling. So i attached a brass cleaning brush to get this out. The brush head came off, and will not drop out of the barrel, due to said bits of ball keeping it there. The powder is also still present, although hasn't been subjected to moisture. What do I do? I do not want to go down the road of removing breach plugs etc.

EDIT: Since posting this I have seen a couple of other old threads dealing precisely with this. Apologies for my non observance. II have also taken heed not to use cleaning brushes in future!

 

[jdw276]

Use an old arrow, brass tube etc long enough to get to the breech. Insert down the barrel, opening will go over the brass brush compressing the bristles and effectively grab the brush. Should come out. May take a bit of pressure to compress the bristles but you get the idea. Others will chime in shortly with other solutions I bet. Good luck....

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

Once you get the brush out with the aforementioned tube compressed air or one of the CO2 ball dischargers should get the rest out. Out of curiosity what did come out of the bore that makes you think pieces of the ball are still in it?

 

[dave951]

Once you get that cheapo brush out, get a quality one. Clean the barrel, then let the affected area soak in Kroil for a while. Then use your new quality brush to remove any remaining debris.

 

[Sir Boniface Harrison]

Once you get the brush out with the aforementioned tube compressed air or one of the CO2 ball dischargers should get the rest out. Out of curiosity what did come out of the bore that makes you think pieces of the ball are still in it?

When I extracted the ball, it seemed like a core came out rather than an intact ball, and when I put the brush in there was still some resistance where the ball had been.

 

[Sir Boniface Harrison]

Use an old arrow, brass tube etc long enough to get to the breech. Insert down the barrel, opening will go over the brass brush compressing the bristles and effectively grab the brush. Should come out. May take a bit of pressure to compress the bristles but you get the idea. Others will chime in shortly with other solutions I bet. Good luck....

Will do thanks!

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Dont mess with those ball dischargers, use a 160lbs from a compressor, just have a good back stop.

 

[Grimord]

Use an old arrow, brass tube etc long enough to get to the breech. Insert down the barrel, opening will go over the brass brush compressing the bristles and effectively grab the brush. Should come out. May take a bit of pressure to compress the bristles but you get the idea. Others will chime in shortly with other solutions I bet. Good luck....

Here is another option of the tube method described. I have taken a 45-70 brass case and ground the rim down to the case width. Popped out the spent primer, drilled and tapped the primer hole to a 10 X 32 thread size. I put the 47-70 tube on the end of my range rod and do as described in the quoted post. Has worked well the few times it has been used. No need for a barrel length tube, just one long enough to cover the brush. Smaller diameter brass centerfire cases can be used for the smaller bores.

 

[Bad Karma]

Here is another option of the tube method described. I have taken a 45-70 brass case and ground the rim down to the case width. Popped out the spent primer, drilled and tapped the primer hole to a 10 X 32 thread size. I put the 47-70 tube on the end of my range rod and do as described in the quoted post. Has worked well the few times it has been used. No need for a barrel length tube, just one long enough to cover the brush. Smaller diameter brass centerfire cases can be used for the smaller bores.

I might do this but add a 10x32 nut inside the 45-70 case in case the threads in the case head were to fail. Sometimes I wear a belt AND suspenders.

 

[user 48702]

I might do this but add a 10x32 nut inside the 45-70 case in case the threads in the case head were to fail. Sometimes I wear a belt AND suspenders.

So did Chester on Gunsmoke.

 

[Bunk]

Will do thanks!

A slightly smaller that bore diameter brass brush makes a dandy jag. Wrap the patch around the brush until it is a snug fit.
COVER ALL THE BRISTLES
that way you can't lose the patch or get the whole shebang stuck.
In my .50 Green River Rifle a .45 caliber brush that works fine. Oil down when finished with a cotton mop. I don't trust patches on jags in rag nose barrels as far as could throw a piano.
respectfully submitted
Bunk

 

[Frontier's]

You can use cleaning brushes. The brush can not be the pressed in type.

 

[J dirt]

Remove the nipple and get some ffffg powder down the firing chamber. Replace the nipple, tap down the material on the powder and shoot the whole mess out.

 

[Iceman]

Remove the nipple and get some ffffg powder down the firing chamber. Replace the nipple, tap down the material on the powder and shoot the whole mess out.

This is the answer to your problem, I've never seen it fail.

 

[Bunk]

then don't do that again
A smart man learns from experience (a hard teacher) a wise man learns from others experiences.
Bunk

 

[TDM]

Sirs, a series of misfortunes has befallen me! The other day whilst shooting (Hawken replica .45) I had a charge which didnt go off. Once home, I attempted to remove the ball, but I think there are bits of it left in the rifling. So i attached a brass cleaning brush to get this out. The brush head came off, and will not drop out of the barrel, due to said bits of ball keeping it there. The powder is also still present, although hasn't been subjected to moisture. What do I do? I do not want to go down the road of removing breach plugs etc.

EDIT: Since posting this I have seen a couple of other old threads dealing precisely with this. Apologies for my non observance. II have also taken heed not to use cleaning brushes in future!

It’s a good practice to spend the time to read at least the previous 10 years of threads and post here to prevent common mistakes.

I never did, so I still make the common mistakes.

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

Sirs, a series of misfortunes has befallen me! The other day whilst shooting (Hawken replica .45) I had a charge which didnt go off. Once home, I attempted to remove the ball, but I think there are bits of it left in the rifling. So i attached a brass cleaning brush to get this out. The brush head came off, and will not drop out of the barrel, due to said bits of ball keeping it there. The powder is also still present, although hasn't been subjected to moisture. What do I do? I do not want to go down the road of removing breach plugs etc.

EDIT: Since posting this I have seen a couple of other old threads dealing precisely with this. Apologies for my non observance. II have also taken heed not to use cleaning brushes in future!

To get a brush out of the bore I use a wire clothes hanger. Straighten out the hanger, make a small 'V' hook on the end, then go fishing. Has never failed me. Semper Fi.

 

[Sir Boniface Harrison]

Well, chaps. I got my 3ft. length of brass tube, which extracted the brush just as described! I then got my wire coathanger made into a hook, and it turns out there still was part of the ball and an overlubed wad in the chanber. I then cleaned out the touch hole, put a blank charge in the gun, and blasted he remains of the whole damned mess out! Judging by the 'shotgun' pattern on my target there was still quite a lot of rubbish in there. Many thanks to all who spent some time helping me out here, I now have a functioning rifle again! As an Englishman living in France, muzzleloaders are a bit of a rare animal in these parts - not many people to bounce ideas off or get advice from, so I appreciate all your valued comments.

 

[stikshooter]

Sirs, a series of misfortunes has befallen me! The other day whilst shooting (Hawken replica .45) I had a charge which didnt go off. Once home, I attempted to remove the ball, but I think there are bits of it left in the rifling. So i attached a brass cleaning brush to get this out. The brush head came off, and will not drop out of the barrel, due to said bits of ball keeping it there. The powder is also still present, although hasn't been subjected to moisture. What do I do? I do not want to go down the road of removing breach plugs etc.

EDIT: Since posting this I have seen a couple of other old threads dealing precisely with this. Apologies for my non observance. II have also taken heed not to use cleaning brushes in future!

Use (GOOD) brushes no problem/Ed

 

[LME]

Sirs, a series of misfortunes has befallen me! The other day whilst shooting (Hawken replica .45) I had a charge which didnt go off. Once home, I attempted to remove the ball, but I think there are bits of it left in the rifling. So i attached a brass cleaning brush to get this out. The brush head came off, and will not drop out of the barrel, due to said bits of ball keeping it there. The powder is also still present, although hasn't been subjected to moisture. What do I do? I do not want to go down the road of removing breach plugs etc.

EDIT: Since posting this I have seen a couple of other old threads dealing precisely with this. Apologies for my non observance. II have also taken heed not to use cleaning brushes in future!

If you need a brush to clean your barrel you would be better off to get a new gun.
Reprime and shoot the rifle and don't worry about lead left behind it will come out although I have never heard of this happening? You need to get all your brushes and throw them away, they are nothing but trouble .