Cleaning jag getting stuck

[Phil Coffins]

Another tip that often isn’t mentioned till the problem happens is to pin your ramrod tip. Theses are examples that insures the tip comes out with the rod.
IMG_0556 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Fin2Fur]

Another tip that often isn’t mentioned till the problem happens is to pin your ramrod tip. Theses are examples that insures the tip comes out with the rod.
IMG_0556 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

Thankful I seen a post about that and did it when I first got it.

 

[morehops52]

I would add that in my rifles 3f seems to leave less fouling than 2f. also varies by mfr. I personally find Schuetzen to be the worst offender but others have found differently.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

Another additional thought about pinning your ramrod tip, make sure the thread you are using for your brush or jag matches the thread in the ramrod tip. An 8/32nd threaded end will thread into a 10/32nd ramrod tip. But it can loosen up and it can come out of the oversize ramrod tip and get stuck downbore.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[user 63887]

I'm new to muzzleloaders so I don't want to mess this up and don't know a whole lot other than the basics. I have a T/C renegade. Ive only shot 3 times. Every time I've cleaned it my cleaning jag gets stuck. The first to times it was just hard to pull out. This last time I had to put the end of the cleaning rod in a vice just to pull it out. It goes down the barrel perfectly fine until about 2 to 3 inches before the breech and gets suck. From day 1 it was also difficult to seat the ball against the powder. 50cal 495 ball 10 patch. Cleaning with hot water then ballistol water mix till patch is clean then light oil when done. What could be wrong?

First, you are using the wrong size ball. The ball for the TC Renegade in .50cal is the 490 round ball. Not the 495. I own three .TC Renegades. Two being percussion and the third being flintlock. All three use the .490 round ball. I have owned my first Renegade since Christmas of 1983.I inherited the other two Renegades three years ago. I also use the same size ball in my three traditions .50 cal Patriot pistols. Get a round ball mold in .490 and melt those .495 down. Me I like the Speer .490 best as they have had the sprue removed from the round ball. Let me know how this works out for you. Next get yourself a .45 caliber jag. You can use one patch and or use two patches together to clean out the junk from when you are out shooting. When I get home I use a brass brush and a five gallon bucket of the hottest water with soap I can get and then scrub scrub scrub with the brass brush. Do not forget to remove the percussion cap nipple. Then after cleaning use the hottest clean water you can get to rinse the soap away. Then use your .45 jag with oiled patches or a .50cal wool brush soaked in a little oil. I have been cleaning my rifle this way for 41 years and My barrel is still very nice no rust or pits.

 

[BP Addict]

There are two types of jags out there. One has a tapered top and the other is just the end that holds the patch. The patch can ball up in the tapered area and become stuck. Since I've switched to the other referred to as a "Button" Jag, I haven't experienced that problem again. If yours is tapered, try a smaller patch. I use 1" for 32, 36, & 40 and 1.5" for 45, 50, & 54.

Good Luck!

Walt

 

[Ohio Rusty]

Notchy Bob said:

If a former owner failed to clean it properly, especially if he was using Pyrodex,


Why so quick to blame pyrodex ?? Real BP that is not cleaned out of your bore will quickly rust your bore and cause rust and corrosion to form. Hot water in a bore when it dries causess immediate flash rust. I have seen barrels completely ruined by real BP that was never cleaned out. The issue is the lax habit of the previous owner to not clean the barrel in time and properly. doesn't matter if it is pyrodex or real BP.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[Grenadier1758]

We blame Pyrodex because when it was first marketed as a substitute for black powder one of the positive attributes was that it didn't foul the bore as black powder did. It is true that there is much less apparent fouling, but that fouling is far more corrosive than black powder fouling. Of course, cleaning the fouling from black powder was always instructed as necessary for maintaining a black powder firearm. Not so much so for a firearm using Pyrodex. Many a rifle has had the bore rusted beyond salvation when after a hunting season using Pyrodex for one shot there was so little apparent fouling that the rifle was superficially cleaned at best. The result was a ruined bore by the next hunting season. Now many users do properly clean the Pyrodex and other substitute powders and have well maintained guns. Huzzah to them. @Ohio Rusty is quite correct in stating that the corrosive effects of black powder fouling (or any other fouling) will ruin a barrel.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I appreciate all the advice from everyone. I got a lot of good information here. I did a big clean on the gun last night and got alot of manure out of it even after geting clean patchs. A dry patch slides beautiful all the way down the barrel now.

Great! Thanks for the update!

Maybe it was just the dreaded "crud ring," and all that was needed was a deep, thorough cleaning.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Oldbear63]

At the range I usually clean between shots and I have experienced a lot of stuck cleaning patches. I finally realized that my patches were too large and were jamming against the taper on my cleaning jag. Trimming off the corners of my wipes and using a smaller wipe helped a lot, don't use too large a cleaning patch. If they do get stuck run some cleaning solution down the barrel. One of my compatriates showed me his trick of jamming the cleaning rod against a table to force it out and that has helped.

 

[TonyC]

Last week I was shooting my 40 SMR and ran a dry patch to swab the barrel using a tapered cleaning jag. The patch jammed up behind the jag and got stuck. Luckily I had a friend there that helped me get the rod and patch out. I made two mistakes….first I used a patch that was too big and second I used a dry patch. I won’t make that mistake again!

I might take the advice of a previous poster here and chuck my jag in a drill and run it across a file to reduce the diameter a bit.

 

[Mad L]

I'm new to muzzleloaders so I don't want to mess this up and don't know a whole lot other than the basics. I have a T/C renegade. Ive only shot 3 times. Every time I've cleaned it my cleaning jag gets stuck. The first to times it was just hard to pull out. This last time I had to put the end of the cleaning rod in a vice just to pull it out. It goes down the barrel perfectly fine until about 2 to 3 inches before the breech and gets suck. From day 1 it was also difficult to seat the ball against the powder. 50cal 495 ball 10 patch. Cleaning with hot water then ballistol water mix till patch is clean then light oil when done. What could be wrong?

Let's back up a moment.
Look at 86Dragon's post above!

I shoot 50cal too.
You ball and patch are too big; for a beginner, some hard core shooter may tell you otherwise - don't listen to them.

Start with a .49 ball and a .01 patch.
Or make it easier and go .485 ball and a thicker patch.

Now that will solve seating the ball.
Next listen to the others about the jag.

 

[Rob M.]

Patch too thick or , jag bit too big , barrel inside too rough ( polish that sucker no matter what !!! Shiney !! Youll appreciate it later !! ) , or barrel obstructions .....just start checking it all out ....youll find the reason ....

 

[Mad L]

Patch too thick or , jag bit too big , barrel inside too rough ( polish that sucker no matter what !!! Shiney !! Youll appreciate it later !! ) , or barrel obstructions .....just start checking it all out ....youll find the reason ....

The 'reason' is posted in his description:
.495 ball with 10 patch
(I presume ".10" patch..but even if he meant to say .01 patch)

The ball + patch should = barrel caliber
Otherwise you will have a lot of pounding to drive it in.

Then; a 50cal jag would not be considered "too big" however some find going one size down resolves a lot of "Stuck Jag", especially at the range.
Going one size down you can wipe at the range with any thin patch, then at home or camp pull out the nice heavy cleaning patches.

If with the above methods you Still get stuck jags or trouble seating the ball, then something else is at play.

*and polishing never hurts either.

 

[Rob M.]

The 'reason' is posted in his description:
.495 ball with 10 patch
(I presume ".10" patch..but even if he meant to say .01 patch)

The ball + patch should = barrel caliber
Otherwise you will have a lot of pounding to drive it in.

Then; a 50cal jag would not be considered "too big" however some find going one size down resolves a lot of "Stuck Jag", especially at the range.
Going one size down you can wipe at the range with any thin patch, then at home or camp pull out the nice heavy cleaning patches.

If with the above methods you Still get stuck jags or trouble seating the ball, then something else is at play.

*and polishing never hurts either.

LOL .... No ,no ....I understand ....ive seen folks mallet their loads down ! Crazy but ....if thats what you want ....go for it . Just most folks need a load that is fairly accurate but not a beast to load. It really doesnt take to much experimentation to find the correct , or a favorable ,ball patch combo that is not a chore to get down the tube each time , or the 10 th time , then experiment with the powder charge . To each their own ....

 

[oldramrod]

Yep cleanign out the crude makes a big difference, I always use an alcohol dampened cleaning patch not too large!

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Man, I suddenly have a craving for heavily buttered popcorn.

With a good dose of Tony's Creole Seasoning!

 

[waksupi]

Just posted this on another thread, same solution.

I'm going to give you some advise, gained by decades of experience.
A couple things to avoid getting a jag stuck.
First, before you ever put the patched jag down the bore, pour in some water, put your finger over the muzzle, and tip it back and forth a half dozen times or so. Dump, and repeat. Do this until the water is coming back out fairly clean.
Then you can use your jag. You will have already eliminated the majority of the fouling in the bore.
If you would get a good tow worm and some tow, you would eliminate 95% of your cleaning problems, especially for those with patent breeches.

 

[Mad L]

Just posted this on another thread, same solution.

If you would get a good tow worm and some tow, you would eliminate 95% of your cleaning problems, especially for those with patent breeches.

Sometimes there is just no reason to teach an old dog new tricks...for an old dog has seen a few things, he has been there and done that...a few times over

 

[Blitz]

Common new guy mistake, don’t push it in all the way to start cleaning. With a wet patch go in about four inches then back out. Each time you push it in go a bit farther than back out till you work your way all the way down. These short strokes with wet patches will make it easy to do the cleaning.
Clean with just water or add a drop of soap will do a perfect job, don’t use anything else to start. Once clean dry and oil well. I prefer Barricade oil inside and out. You don’t need any special mixtures or equipment. Read all the posts about wire brushes getting stuck too!