I know this is not what happened because I had just fired a round. When I reloaded the ball got halfway down and stuck. I had only fired one round that day before this one, so the weapon was not fouled. I believe, I accidently got a hold of a ball a bit larger than what I usually shoot and it jammed, or I wasn't watching and got 2 patches on it. Whatever I did, I will find out shortly. It is not the first mistake I have ever made, but maybe it will be the last. Although I doubt that.
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Can I Shoot Out A Stuck Ball
- Thread starter wpjson
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I'd remove the barrel and heat it up with a torch and when it softens up or melts you can push it out.
I hand lap barrels with lead slugs and when one gets hung up I just melt it out and start over.
No damage will occur to barrel or steel temper.
It won't harm a decent blue or browning job either but if it's a cheap hot blue it might.
Barrel steel is normalized at 1200 degrees before it is worked and you can't get a barrel hot enough with a propane hand torch to effect the temper in the slightest.
I hand lap barrels with lead slugs and when one gets hung up I just melt it out and start over.
No damage will occur to barrel or steel temper.
It won't harm a decent blue or browning job either but if it's a cheap hot blue it might.
Barrel steel is normalized at 1200 degrees before it is worked and you can't get a barrel hot enough with a propane hand torch to effect the temper in the slightest.
wpjson said:
I did that once. Grabbed too big a ball. By the time I noticed it was in too far and I didn't have any tools to get it out. Had to take it home to get it out.
Mooman76 said:
Soft lead shouldn't matter. Once in it is formed to barrel and will go down. Might take a bigger hammer but will go.
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I have forgotten how many Minie Ball Barrels I have heated with a propane torch to melt the separated skirt from a Minie Ball at the NSSA Nationals over the years. Makes a pretty, silver puddle on the ground when you tilt the barrel down. Never tried it on a complete ball or lead lap, though.
Gus
Gus
wpjson said:
If your lead is truly soft there is no worry it will go down. I have used oversized balls many times. And, I have seen experiments with grossly oversized balls seated and shot just fine.
Advantages/disadvantages is a whole 'nuther discussion.
eaglesnester
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yes U can. I have done it a couple of times. start out with 5gr of 4f. it should just ploop out. Do not use any more than 10 grains.
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I've lapped quite a few barrels and every once in a while I won't get enough lube up the bore and will stick a lap slug.
Pounding on them is the wrong approach because the lead up sets and lapping grit latches on to the bore wall with a death grip.
The right kind of fouling ( carbon from petroleum use) will latch on as well and the torch method is quick and easy resulting in no damage to your bore from rod flex while trying to pound it out, which bangs into the land corners if not arrested in some mannor.
I use electricians tape every few inches of bore diameter to prevent this.
Oh, don't think for a moment that a brass rod cannot bang up your land corners if it gets enough head of steam from being pressure flexed into them by pounding.
Pounding on them is the wrong approach because the lead up sets and lapping grit latches on to the bore wall with a death grip.
The right kind of fouling ( carbon from petroleum use) will latch on as well and the torch method is quick and easy resulting in no damage to your bore from rod flex while trying to pound it out, which bangs into the land corners if not arrested in some mannor.
I use electricians tape every few inches of bore diameter to prevent this.
Oh, don't think for a moment that a brass rod cannot bang up your land corners if it gets enough head of steam from being pressure flexed into them by pounding.
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Found that very interesting. Thank you.
Gus
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If you have a cut off section of barrel, put it in a good vice and tap on the cut off end with a soft brass hammer and watch the steel expand and peen over from soft brass hammer blows.
A brass rod substantially smaller than the bore can do the same thing to the edge of a land corner if unprotected an it flexes into it from a heavy hammer blow on the end.
I learned this many years ago while using a soft brass drift to drive in sight blades.
It would distort/peen them if much pressure was needed to drive them into place.
A brass rod substantially smaller than the bore can do the same thing to the edge of a land corner if unprotected an it flexes into it from a heavy hammer blow on the end.
I learned this many years ago while using a soft brass drift to drive in sight blades.
It would distort/peen them if much pressure was needed to drive them into place.
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M.D. said:
I learned it back in the early 70's when trying to drive cartridge clip guides onto M14 Rifles and Rear Sights onto M1 Carbines with brass drifts. So I do understand it. It is just that I have never had a ball or lap stuck that hard in a barrel that needed melting to get it out.
Gus
He probably seated the ball with a range rod & shot it out. :grin:
He took the breach plug out and then drilled the ball. If I understand what he said, once there was a hole through the ball it released the pressure and he just pushed it out. He says the rifling is in excellent shape. As long as he had it he went through the lock and all the mechanics of it. He did some work on the breach so the powder could reach the spark or the spark could reach the powder a bit better, I guess. :thumbsup:
He doesn't charge me. One of the few places where I actually get more than I pay for. He is working on an old gun that I recently bought, as well. An Ohio Valley style rifle. He is digging into its history. Getting it all ready for me. And he doesn't change me a dime. :v
Alden said:
As the OP reported the ball was stuck about a foot from the muzzle, you would possibly have a bulged barrel.
You also possibly might have gotten away with that practice.
Or the small charge wouldn't have moved the ball at all.
I think wpjson made the right choice to have the breech plug removed and the gunsmith did the best practice to remove the stuck ball.
