Dry ball help

[coloradoclyde]

There's only one difference between those that have dry balled and those that haven't......TIME!

 

[Snakebite]

Whether you use a grease gun, compressed air, powder or a ball puller, just goes to show there's more than one way to skin that cat in this muzzleloading game. I've used more than one way and they all worked sooner or later.

:2

 

[Billnpatti]

Remove your nipple again, check to be sure it is clear and then work some more powder in behind the ball. It takes very little powder to get it out. Only 5 grains or so will shoot it about 50 yards so be sure you have the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. After putting the powder in behind the ball, use your ram rod to be sure the ball is seated on the powder. NEVER fire the gun without the ball being seated on the powder, doing so can result in a bulge in your bore or in extreme cases, it can rupture your barrel with dire results.

Seldom have I seen a case that couldn't be shot out. However, if you can't get the ball out by using this method, the next best way is to get a zerk fitting that will fit where your nipple goes and use a grease gun to force the stuck ball out. Then all you have to do is remove the grease from your bore.

Some people have had good results using air but that can be dangerous because, due to the compressability of air, the ball can come out with a great deal of force and can be shot a long way. If you give this a try, watch out for where the ball goes because it can hurt someone badly. It is just like shooting a very large caliber air rifle. It can do a lot more than just put your eye out.

 

[VJM]

A couple days ago I walked out back to test fire a new GPR kit and about the fifth shot I left out the powder. Pulled the nip and put a little powder in, tapped the rifle to drop it a little more and did it again. When I shot the ball out I just picked out an 8" stump at about 20 steps and touched her off....that ball hit the stump bounced off and flew right back about four feet over my left shoulder. Couldn't make that shot again in a million years if I tried. I could just see me trying to explain that to the emergency room doc!

 

[Snakebite]

That definitely would have put a knot on your noggin.

When I was a young pup and had just got my first rifle, maybe the second time I had it out to shoot, I wiped the bore after several shots with a pretty wet patch (using Hoppes Blackpowder Solvent). Of course I didn't run a dry patch and/or fire a couple caps to clear it, poured a new load of powder down the barrel, loaded it and couldn't get it to fire. I tried the powder method but it just got wet too, I'm glad I did have a ball puller at that time. Definitely a learning curve.

 

[cynthialee]

That definitely would have put a knot on your noggin.

When I was a young pup and had just got my first rifle, maybe the second time I had it out to shoot, I wiped the bore after several shots with a pretty wet patch (using Hoppes Blackpowder Solvent). Of course I didn't run a dry patch and/or fire a couple caps to clear it, poured a new load of powder down the barrel, loaded it and couldn't get it to fire. I tried the powder method but it just got wet too, I'm glad I did have a ball puller at that time. Definitely a learning curve.

This is why I take butane or canned air with me. A good blast or two after you remove the nipple, let it sit a minute then load some powder under the nipple. The canned air is great because it comes with a long straw that can get into the rifle deeper. The butane is awesome because it dissolves oils and pushes it out.

 

[Sunkmanitu Tanka]

I also fell victim to the dry ball spell! Sadly several times! I now try to avoid this through the use of a sort of loading contraption that I made ... It consists of a block with tubes in the back row, and an equal number of small cups in the front row... I made the block with fourteen sets of tubes and cups (one fouling shot -13 shots for competition shooting)... In the tubes at the back I place my pre-loaded powder vials. In the cups in front I put the balls. So when I do get distracted, I can with one look check if I already put my powder in the barrel or not, before I load a ball... If there still is a vial in the block ... there is no powder in the barrel ... I also leave the ball starter in the barrel and only remove it when I grab the ramrod to push the ball down. The same with the ramrod... I only remove it the very moment when I put the priming powder in place ... I also burn a candle at home, in gratitude for each time I not had dry balled, shot away my short starter or ramrod :redface:

 

[Billnpatti]

....that ball hit the stump bounced off and flew right back about four feet over my left shoulder.

A couple of years ago when I was still a teenager, I was out at the dump shooting rats with a .22 rifle loaded with .22 shorts. We had hit a lull in rats and I saw a telephone pole sitting near the dump. It was about 20 yards away. On that pole, I could see a spot about the size of a silver dollar and I told my friend that I bet I could hit that spot with my .22. As it turned out, the spot was a hard knot in the pole. The .22 bullet hit the knot and bounced back and hit me on the stomach just above my navel. I thought I was killed. It really hurt but it had not penetrated the skin nor done any serious damage. But, for several days after that, I had a hell of a sore spot and a nasty looking bruise on my belly. I haven't had the urge to shoot a telephone pole since.

I expect a .22 long or long rifle would have penetrated the knot rather than bouncing off. Squib loads can be dangerous just because they don't have the power to penetrate or flatten out on the target and can bounce back.

 

[cynthialee]

This is why I don't advocate anemic loads or weapons that are only capable of holding anemic amounts of powder.
Ricochets are a real danger.

 

[M. De Land]

Next thing from your system will be a ramrod shot down range! :rotf:

 

[nhmoose]

Trees and wood is not a safe backstop EVER Duh!

Been known for many for years. I learned it 30 years ago test firing a 22Short pistol. Bounced of the tree shot at behind the shop. It returned instantly hit me in my upper lip bruised it but broke the tooth behind it. That cost me then $1200 to fix.

 

[M. De Land]

There is a video on U-tube showing a guy shooting a 50 BMG bolt gun at a gong several hundred yards away and the bullet bounces back and knocks his head set off without a scratch to his person.
Talk about a blessed man! Had it been an inch closer it would have killed him stone dead!

 

[FishDFly]

M/L??????

 

[Billnpatti]

This is why I don't advocate anemic loads or weapons that are only capable of holding anemic amounts of powder.
Ricochets are a real danger.

I understand that the cowboy matches have a minimum load requirement just for that reason. I have never shot in any cowboy matches but that is what I have been told.

 

[Zonie]

Don't believe everything you see on You-Tube. :shake:

 

[M. De Land]

No but it is dramatic evidence of how a projectile can come back and nail you.
I don't think it is a hoax as you can see the dirt kick up in front of the shooter as the rebounding bullet hits the ground just in front of the bench before knocking off his head set.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Well....let's see..... :hmm:

Bullets can ricochet in ANYdirection...

Sometimes it's not the bullet that hits you....

Yes!...Cowboy action, ISPC, USPSA and others all have minimum power requirements/ distances etc......

I've been hit so many times my middle name should be target....

Did I ever tell you guys about the time I got hit in the chest with a ricochet and the bullet landed in my shirt pocket?.....True story.... :haha:

 

[FishDFly]

Did I ever tell you guys about the time I got hit in the chest with a ricochet and the bullet landed in my shirt pocket?.....True story....

Wonder which I would rather have, the bullet or the shirt, think both would be nice as a pair.

 

[meanmike8665]

I knew a guy years ago who carried a medicine bag that was full of lead shavings that had hit his pant legs on ricochets. They were from metal targets on woods/trail walk's set to close to the firing line. When I go to shoots like that now, if I think there might be an issue with a target I don't shoot at it!

Michael

 

[FishDFly]

Makes perfect sense to me.

I only shoot next to folks that I feel safe with and places that I am safe with.