did something stupid tonight

[bbassi]

hey all, I need advice. I was at the range tonight playing with different PBR loads for my hawkins. In an attempt to get a couple of more shots out of her, I decided to run a nylon brush down it and then a patch. Problem is, I forgot my alum. range rod so I did it with my wooden ramrod. You can probably guess, but on trying to pull the patch back up, the brass end pulled loose of the ramrod. Now she's wedged about halh way down the barrel. DOH!

Can anyone give me some advice on the best way to get her out without damaging the barrel, the rod end, or myself? Do those CO2 addapters really work? I've gotten balls out of her that I seated without a powder charge before with a puller, but I doubt that would work here.

 

[IronMan]

I have one of the Co2 Unlaoders and it works great for balls but I dont know how it would work with a brush? Sorry I cant be more help.
IronMan

 

[roundball]

hey all, I need advice. I was at the range tonight playing with different PBR loads for my hawkins. In an attempt to get a couple of more shots out of her, I decided to run a nylon brush down it and then a patch. Problem is, I forgot my alum. range rod so I did it with my wooden ramrod. You can probably guess, but on trying to pull the patch back up, the brass end pulled loose of the ramrod. Now she's wedged about halh way down the barrel. DOH!

Can anyone give me some advice on the best way to get her out without damaging the barrel, the rod end, or myself? Do those CO2 addapters really work? I've gotten balls out of her that I seated without a powder charge before with a puller, but I doubt that would work here.

You didn't do anything stupid...it was just unfortunate.
My guess is that any kind of air discharge will blow right through the bristles and not blow it out, but it wouldn't hurt to try;

But if it was me, I'd go to a hardware store, and buy a very thin walled piece of tubing (stainless, copper, plastic, etc) that would just barely slide down inside the diameter of your barrel but be large enough internal diameter to be forced down past the bristles of brush.

The tubing will "capture" the brush inside it, then just slide the tubing out of the barrel...it may push the brush all the way back down bore til it bottoms out before the tube can be forced past the bristles.

If you can't find tubing, you might try a few foot length of "fish tape"...that strong 1/8" size flat steel that is used by electricians to slide up through a wall that a wire can then be taped to and pulled back down through the wall...heat and bend one end into a small hook shape...then slide it down past the brush, and pull it back up 'hooking' the brush and pulling it out

 

[amccall]

I have used the co2 discharger in a simular situation and it worked fine. Just make sure nothing is in front of it. They shoot out whatever is in your barrel with a lot of force and a surpising distance at least 10 to 15 yards, be safe.

 

[musketshooter]

Great solution! One of the most practical posts I have seen here. Congratulations. :RO:

 

Shoot it out into some cardboard boxes or something.

 

[bbassi]

Thanks folks, I'll get one tomorrow (hopefully). It's not the brush that got stuck, but a brass cleaning jag with a patch over it, so I think it made a good seal. I considered breifly trying to ram it back down, removing the nipple from the drum and trying to get a few grains of powder in the drum and capping it off, but thought better of it.

 

[750k2]

I would have probably would've tried that myself??
Sounded good to me??
and still does.

:imo:

 

[Riley/MN]

Yep, I've done it myself.

 

[jimbo15563]

Remove the nipple or touch hole liner, pour a little FFFF powder in, fully seat the Jag, and shoot it out. That's the easy way.

Jimbo

 

[dodgecity]

Works every time, even with flinters.

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Happens to all of us, sooner or later. good suggestions on removal above. To prevent this happening again, reinstall the brass tip on the ramrod and then drill a small hole through the brass end and the ramrod. insert a piece of copper wire of the same diameter, then peen it and file it off flush. The ramrod will break before you lose another tip.

Hope that works for you.

Gene

 

[musketman]

If you can't find the right size tubing as roundball suggested, try this, get a brass coat hanger and bend it as such...

Then work the tip past the brush and hook on and pull it out...

 

[Stumpkiller]

Dat Roundball - he be smart man.

Years ago I was relating my one experience in the remote past at removing a breech plug (pulled a brush apart at the breech, ye betcha) and, by gum, he gives that same idea. One of those slap yer own forehead and say "D'oh!" moments.

Thanks to him I went out and bought a couple bore brushes - first ones for a m/l I've allowed in the house in 20 years. (But I still prefer the cotton mops.)

 

[bbassi]

Well I got it out. Compressed air. I should have tried that first but I guess I was freaking. Thanks everyone for the good advice.

 

Had the same type of problem once. Put the wooden rod back into the brass fitting, unscrewed it from the brush then used a steel rod and screwed it on to the brush and pulled it out. Seemed simple at the time and still sounds pretty reasonable. :results:

Cheers from down under
Aussie Bob

 

[lanedh]

FWIW--If you haven't already plunked down cash for a CO2 'expeller', a friend of mine says he gets the same results with a device he found at his local bicycle repair shop. It's a gizmo that fits over the tire tube valve; you squeeze the handle to release CO2 into the tube. You might have to adapt the schroeder valve fitting to suit your nipple. He says it cost about $8, much less than the gadgets offered in gun catalogs, and works just as well.

As somebody else pointed out, make sure the muzzle is pointed away from you--the CO2 is 'bottled' at several thousand psi.