Clean out screw on a T C

[Rudy Thompson]

I have bought a Thompson Center 45 and I cannot remove the clean out screw
Any suggestions as to removing it short of drilling and retap?

 

[SDSmlf]

I have bought a Thompson Center 45 and I cannot remove the clean out screw
Any suggestions as to removing it short of drilling and retap?

Leave it alone. Real purpose of that screw hole was for a manufacturing process when TC made the barrel. It is not a clean out. Newer TC barrels have the hole coming in from the other side of the barrel with the screwdriver slot ground away.

 

[Rudy Thompson]

Thanks , it is just the thought that there is a screw that I can't get out!!

 

[SDSmlf]

One of the reasons TC relocated the hole was because so many people buggered up the screw trying to remove it and were making warranty claims, so I’ve been told. Here are two photographs of both sides of a ‘newer’ TC barrel. No hole or screw (aka, a ‘clean out’) in the snail, and you can see the factory ground down screw on the opposite side.

 

[deermanok]

One of my muzzleloaders has a buggered up clean out screw. Got tired of trying to fight with it.
You can clean the drum area just fine with some Q-tips and pipe cleaners by just removing the nipple.

 

[Bledfor Days]

A piece of guitar string will flex enough to go down the nipple hole and into the flash hole with a bit of wiggling. Use the A or D string with the brass wrapping and it'll clean the the channel easily. It's a good way to clear the path to the breech in case of fouling. Then a few grains of 4F and demon be gone. Leave the screw alone.

 

[Cowboy]

I, like so many other’s buggered up my share of those clean out screws when I was new to muzzleloading. At the time I didn’t realize that it wasn’t necessary to remove them in order to thoroughly clean out the firing channel?

Guess we all have to start from somewhere? Just one stop along the Black Powder road.

Respectfully, Cowboy

 

[Mark Herman]

If you pull the nipple and "flush" the Barre you are getting the flash channel clean.

 

[Cowboy]

If you pull the nipple and "flush" the Barre you are getting the flash channel clean.

Yep!

 

[Okie Hog]

While the nipple is out clean the flame channel with a bristled pipe cleaner.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Leave it alone.

Amen, Bro. And read the other posts for some good advice.

 

[Phil Coffins]

We need to stop calling these a “clean out screw” that term is leading people astray. As was accurately stated it is a hole made for easy manufacturing and not for cleaning. So let’s come up with a better name. Bunghole is taken but surely this collection of clever people can suggest a good one.

 

[Grenadier1758]

We could try to call that screw in the side of the breech or in a drum a manufacturing plug.

My manufacturing plugs haven't been removed in about 40 years.

 

[ord sgt]

I removed the ugly slotted screw and replaced it with an #8/32 tpi set screw. This is a kit rifle from 1983.

 

[nkbj]

You could call it an extra screw.

 

[Eddie2002]

I've used a Harbor Freight hammer impact screw driver on some stuck side drum screws after buggering up my share with a regular screw driver. Sometimes there is a need to pull one and the impact screw driver hasn't failed me yet.

 

[Zonie]

Often, those screws get rusted in place but another thing that can cause them to be difficult to remove is, the threads on the nipple can jam into the end of the screw.
If a person is bound and determined to remove the screw, it is a good idea to remove the nipple first. That will remove any interference the nipple threads might make with the "clean out screw".

The best plan, IMO, is just leave the little screw alone and use a wire pipe stem cleaner, shoved down thru the flame channel to clean that area of the gun.

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

I found this out when I buggered the screw once. To clean the snail/flash channel, I first remove the barrel from the gun, remove the nipple and toss it in a jar of Windex, set the barrel, breech end into a small bucket of (water, solvent, what have you) and let it soak while I clean the nipple and the lock etc. I like to let it sit for a half hour or so. Then go back and swab the bore. A snug fitting jag and patch will suck the water in and out like a piston. I run the rod up and down, blasting solution in and out, about 25-30 strokes. I feel it is sufficient to clean the bottom end

 

[Intosomthin]

I solved this problem totally and completely. I cut the drum off, drilled n tapped it, put a flash hole liner in it, tossed the lock and added a flint lock... but thats a differnt thread... but it dont have that screw no more...

 

[Stony Broke]

I really don't understand what all the problem is with those screws. I have been shooting for many years, and never have had a problem with one. I like removing them and using a wire pipe cleaner to clean the flash channel. When I put the screw back in, I put a little bore butter on the threads, and it gives me no problems.