-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
co2 dischargers do they work?
- Thread starter Wink
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2004
- Messages
- 15,602
- Reaction score
- 19
Mine does. :thumbsup:
They most definitely do and yes they are. I have one that is from TC that I've used for about 16 years now. For unloading or blowing a stuck prb out they can't be beat. Just seconds and your ready to reload. I shoot a TC Renagade cap lock. Mine has never failed me.
They work great. I've heard that screwing a rod tip into a lead ball is hard, may take hours to get it out. You may be standing in front of a loaded gun the whole time, which isn't the safest. I've also heard that screwing the ball-pulling thing into the ball expands the ball, making it tighter. By contrast, the CO2 discharger takes about two seconds to use. The ball does come out fast and with some force, and though I wouldn't count on it to knock down game, I also wouldn't want to get hit by it.
I acquired one in a trade....
had a guy come up this past weekend with a stuck rod, "they" tried everything up to breaking the rod off flush with the barrel, they had t pullers, pliers, thong, rope...
loaned to them and they put the co2 deally on it and launched the rod 30 yards!
...yep, they work!
made a believer out of me.
had a guy come up this past weekend with a stuck rod, "they" tried everything up to breaking the rod off flush with the barrel, they had t pullers, pliers, thong, rope...
loaned to them and they put the co2 deally on it and launched the rod 30 yards!
...yep, they work!
made a believer out of me.
GreyWhiskers
69 Cal.
U bet they work. Had one fer a couple years before I finally dryballed and had to use it. Have helped a few others clear their barrels. Am going to get an adapter fer them flinlock gun too. GW
Maestro
Moderator
Yessir! I've used mine quite a few times for both unloading and dry-balling.
In fact, just last week, I realized I dry-balled right after short-starting a prb. I tried blowing it out from where it was and it wouldn't go... 'til I rammed the ball all the way down toward the breech. I guess it couldn't build up enough pressure in the whole length of the barrel.
It's the one modern piece of muzzleloading equipment I won't get rid of!
In fact, just last week, I realized I dry-balled right after short-starting a prb. I tried blowing it out from where it was and it wouldn't go... 'til I rammed the ball all the way down toward the breech. I guess it couldn't build up enough pressure in the whole length of the barrel.
It's the one modern piece of muzzleloading equipment I won't get rid of!
Maestro
Moderator
I don't carry it in my hunting pouch - that would be a sacrilege. (But it is hidden in the deep recesses of my shooting box.) :surrender:One more thing it prevents. I gather from folks who've pulled stuck bullets the old fashioned way that that process often takes hours or days, or longer.
There is a problem with that, in my opinion, that goes beyond inconvenience. A hung-up ball that ends up taking hours or days to get out is a STRONG temptation to leave a loaded gun around. In fact, I'd hazard the opinion that many people who find their shooting session or hunting trip interrupted by a ball that won't fire will, of necessity, find themselves lacking the necessary hours to get the ball out.
The result of this is going to be a gun sitting around with a charge in it--even if you're an otherwise-safe shooter, you just may have no choice; it gets dark, the range closes, etc., etc.
Now, life has a way of marching on, and it's easy for that "I'll-fix-it-when-I-get-home" project to turn into one more of those "I was going to get to it but never had time" projects. Two months ago, one of the guys I work(ed) with dropped dead of a heart attack, at age 55. No warning. We're still cleaning up the projects he left in various stages of completion.
This was much on my mind when I realized that a secondhand muzzleloader I'd found turned out to have an obstruction in the barrel about 2 inches in front of the breech. Loaded? I couldn't tell. I certainly didn't have the time to drop everything and spend half a day pulling a ball. And the thought occurred to me: what if I had an accident, or a heart attack, and that barrel were found by one of my little boys ten years from now, when they're capable enough to know what a rifle barrel is, but not yet wise enough to foresee all the dangers. What if they, like the pawnbroker who sold me that gun, didn't think to run a ramrod down the barrel and see if it were clear? What if they downloaded the instruction manual from the internet and saw where it says to fire a few caps before loading the gun for the first time, to ensure that the fire channel is clear? If an unpulled ball is an accident waiting to happen, isn't it incumbent on us to resolve such things before forgetfulness, mortality, and/or busy schedules turn our problems into other people's problems--possibly the problems of other people who may or may not have the sense to deal with them?
This is what prompted me to get, and use, a CO2 discharger. And in under 5 seconds, a potential trap for who-knows-whom was resolved and rendered safe. Hard to beat that, eh? If I'd had to wait until I could make time to pull a ball the old-fashioned way, it'd potentially become a safety issue down the road, even decades later.
There is a problem with that, in my opinion, that goes beyond inconvenience. A hung-up ball that ends up taking hours or days to get out is a STRONG temptation to leave a loaded gun around. In fact, I'd hazard the opinion that many people who find their shooting session or hunting trip interrupted by a ball that won't fire will, of necessity, find themselves lacking the necessary hours to get the ball out.
The result of this is going to be a gun sitting around with a charge in it--even if you're an otherwise-safe shooter, you just may have no choice; it gets dark, the range closes, etc., etc.
Now, life has a way of marching on, and it's easy for that "I'll-fix-it-when-I-get-home" project to turn into one more of those "I was going to get to it but never had time" projects. Two months ago, one of the guys I work(ed) with dropped dead of a heart attack, at age 55. No warning. We're still cleaning up the projects he left in various stages of completion.
This was much on my mind when I realized that a secondhand muzzleloader I'd found turned out to have an obstruction in the barrel about 2 inches in front of the breech. Loaded? I couldn't tell. I certainly didn't have the time to drop everything and spend half a day pulling a ball. And the thought occurred to me: what if I had an accident, or a heart attack, and that barrel were found by one of my little boys ten years from now, when they're capable enough to know what a rifle barrel is, but not yet wise enough to foresee all the dangers. What if they, like the pawnbroker who sold me that gun, didn't think to run a ramrod down the barrel and see if it were clear? What if they downloaded the instruction manual from the internet and saw where it says to fire a few caps before loading the gun for the first time, to ensure that the fire channel is clear? If an unpulled ball is an accident waiting to happen, isn't it incumbent on us to resolve such things before forgetfulness, mortality, and/or busy schedules turn our problems into other people's problems--possibly the problems of other people who may or may not have the sense to deal with them?
This is what prompted me to get, and use, a CO2 discharger. And in under 5 seconds, a potential trap for who-knows-whom was resolved and rendered safe. Hard to beat that, eh? If I'd had to wait until I could make time to pull a ball the old-fashioned way, it'd potentially become a safety issue down the road, even decades later.
Sharp Shooter
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
- Messages
- 540
- Reaction score
- 1
I love mine! I use it at the range every 5 or 6 shots to make sure the nipple and breech stay clear of fowling. I also use it to blow out my load at the end of the day when hunting. Best investment I made!
gmww
70 Cal.
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2004
- Messages
- 4,693
- Reaction score
- 4
I recently had a bad experience. For some odd reason mine got plugged up. Not sure why but I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it didn't work. Two Co2 cartridges later I gave up. Last time I used it was year or so ago.
Bought me another one. :thumbsup:
Bought me another one. :thumbsup:
pa woods roamer
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2005
- Messages
- 460
- Reaction score
- 22
Just a word of caution! Sometimes when a ball is blown out, when the load won`t go off, a lot of the compacted powder charge remains in the Breech. Learned this the hard way when i shot a cap to clear the Nipple!!! Now, I put a patch puller on the Ramrod and check or loosen up the compacted powder.
"I gather from folks who've pulled stuck bullets the old fashioned way that that process often takes hours or days, or longer"
I think that this would likely be an exageration or a very inexperienced shooter, the CO2 gadgets are fine if you want to use them but a ball can be safely and quickly removed with the proper puller rod setup or by trickling some powder behind the ball, let's not try to make them the best thing since sex or Maple syrup on hotcakes...
I think that this would likely be an exageration or a very inexperienced shooter, the CO2 gadgets are fine if you want to use them but a ball can be safely and quickly removed with the proper puller rod setup or by trickling some powder behind the ball, let's not try to make them the best thing since sex or Maple syrup on hotcakes...
Well not the Maple syrup on hotcakes anyway. :grin:
