CO2 load discharger

[nodakhorseman]

Hello!

I live in the country, so discharging my ML rifle at the end of a hunt (even in the dark) is not an issue.

I was wondering, however, if a round ball recovered after using a CO2 discharger can be reused? If so, this would be a double bonus--not having to do a full cleaning and being able to reuse the bullet.

Thanks. --Nodak

 

[rabjr]

Yep, I put some rags in a card board box and pop it off into it when I do it and usually turn right around and load the same ball with a clean patch after cleaning the gun.

 

[nodakhorseman]

Good to hear. I always feel wasteful when shooting to unload.

Thanks!

 

[nodakhorseman]

Sounds like folks typically clean the barrel after CO2 discharging--even if a shot was never fired. Is that true?

 

[rabjr]

I do, theres certain steps I do in loading for hunting to ensure reliability and I leave nothing to chance. So I treat the gun as I would normally and swab the barrel, making sure theres no left over powder, lube or condensation from the CO2 blast. When I'm sure it's clean and dry, I reload.

 

[Little Wattsy]

Sounds like folks typically clean the barrel after CO2 discharging--even if a shot was never fired. Is that true?

Give it a good swabbing with alcohol, let it dry out, load er up.

 

[smokehouseman]

In terms of peace of mind and reliability, once a ball has been in my gun and no matter how it comes out.........it goes in the recycle bin. Then after I've gone through my cleaning procedure, I always pop a cap and then reload it. :2

 

[DougMPhoto]

Swamp Rat is correct. Make sure that you have it pointed in a safe direction. The ball discharged does come out with a lot of power behind it.

Also, make sure you do clean afterwards. A friend of mine didn't and got another ball stuck. We had to discharge that one too. He learned his lesson.

 

[roundball]

Sure...I used to keep a box of old towels in the garage during hunting season and just blooped them out into that.

But I've since realized that its actually more expensive to use a CO2 cartridge about 3 times to save 3 balls, than it is to just pull the balls with a ball puller and save them for re-use at the range so I don't pop them out with CO2 any more.

Besides, it'll be just my luck that sooner or later with repeated use, that tiny step-down nozzle end of the Flintlock adapter is going to hang on the edge of the vent when I'm removing it and I'll end up snapping it off

 

[Harold1950]

Why couldn't you just put a couple of heavy old towels over the end of the barrel and remove the ball and charge with the CO2 unloader? The heavy towels should catch the ball and powder and noy let them go too far and the ball should be reusable.....just a thought, but again safety is utmost and need to make sure that the towels with the charge/ball won't hit anything if they do fly off the barrel and do it outside.............any thoughts?

 

[bucktales]

I have a CO2 discharger and the times I've used it, I use a small waste paper basket with an old towel or rags in it. I'll save the ball for range work.
I usually prefer, though, the traditional ball puller and have never had trouble pulling out a ball.
I do keep the discharger in my shooting box, just in case.

 

[Little Wattsy]

This year my huntin buddy and I stayed in a motel whilst hunting....it was VERY convenient to blow the load into the trash can w/ the CO2 discharger, swabbing w/ alcohol, and reloading VS shooting the gun.
I guess pulling the round would be OK but I have found that it only cost about $.25 a round to use the CO2. Well worth the convenience of it.

 

[Bob J]

In my experience, it seems after using a CO2 discharger OR pulling the load, it takes as long (or longer) to clean the barrel as it would to clean it after shooting. There always seems to be residual powder around the breech area.

 

[crockett]

Dixie: you might be cleaning for nothing. I thought black powder only became corrosive after it was fired, in other words, the black powder residue was corrosive not the powder. Maybe others know for sure.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Because Black Powder contains both Sulphur, and Potassium Nitrate, which combine with water at air temperature, to form acids( Sulfuric, and Nitric)at air temperatures( albeit slowly) its always wise to clean the barrel after dumping a load.

Also, unless you clean the barrel using a cleaning patch and your jag on the end of a ramrod or range rod, you can't possibly know if you have gotten all the powder out of the barrel. If some remains, and you add the new powder charge to it, you will see increased velocity, increased recoil, and probably a different POI. Particularly for shooters who compact their loads, by using the barrel as a " drop tube", or who lean on their ramrods after seating the ball, it can be difficult to get the powder to fall or be " blown " out of the breech area with that CO2 tool. The location where the vent hole, or the flashchannel enters the barrel differs from one model to another, and that can also affect the ability of that blast of CO2 to get all the powder out.

CO2 also makes the metal of the barrel so cold, that you will see condensation of moisture from the air in the barrel, and that needs to be wiped out to avoid rust over night.

With any black powder firearm, its always safer to clean it, than to take the chance that you are leaving something in the barrel you really don't want to learn about the next time you load the gun! :hmm: :hatsoff:

 

[omarick1948]

I've never used a CO2 discharger and don't claim to know anything about them. Can you use them on a flintlock? Do they make some sort of flintlock adapter for the CO2 discharger?

Thanks, Rick

 

[roundball]

Yes, there are several different adapters...jut order the one(s) you want at the time of the order...you can see the discharger and adapters up above at "The Possible Shop" link

 

[PreglerD]

The Log Cabin Shop in Lodi Ohio has them too.

Regards

Kirrmeister

 

[Sunkmanitu Tanka]

Oops! :redface:
Dryballed this morning on a local shoot :cursing:
Lucky for me I could pull out this CO2 thingy! I bought it about one year ago and never had to use it till today! Assemble the thing, blow out the ball ... I guess it only took me about a minute to get started again as happy as ever! :shocked2: Man this is a really easy to use foolproof tool! i wonder what I did all these years before! I warmly advice to get such a CO2 aparatus in your kit!

 

[PreglerD]

Silly Question!

How fast does the ball come out of the barrel?
Only like plopp I guess!

Regards

Kirrmeister