Ever feel like throwing your rifle in the drink?

[JKVirginia]

I swear... One more shooting session like this and I'm going back to cartridge guns. :curse: :curse:

Was testing out my new-to-me .22LR today (old Brno Model 1, which shot great... 5-shot groups about an inch at squirrel range), I decided to run a few rounds through my muzzleloader.

First shot came out fine. Loaded easy as pie. Second round was a bit snug down the pipe, shot a bit off, prolly cuz I mussed the ball with the ramrod.

And hten, I decided to patch out the bore. greased up a shotgun-size cleaning patch with olive oil, put on my jag tip, ran it down, and WHAMMO! stuck at the "chamber". Locked tighter than the gates of Hell. And to top it, I managed to snap the brass end off the rod trying to brute it out.

This is twice now. Am I doing some stupid newbie thing that causes this, or is it the gun?

 

[Ohio Joe]

What caliber of muzzleloader do you have? It may be that the patch your using to swab with is way too big?

I never run a swabbing patch all the way to the breech. I try and stay off the breech by about 1/2 to 3/4 inches, then remove the wiping stick, turn the wet patch over and repeat - going alittle closer to the breech. I then run a dry patch and turn it over as well and run it again. It has been a good system for me.

I don't use oil's to swab with. They can become gummy. I use a 70/30 solution of water and alcohol. This works good for me. Don't give up on your muzzleloader. Sounds like you just have to work out some bugs, so to speak... :winking:

 

well duh,,yer doing stupid newbie manure. for the last 350 yrs or so folks use muzzle loaders.. and you suddenley have trouble?? Guess what pal,,?? I don't really want to be rude so I'll try to spell this out,,"h,o,w,. c,a,n. w,e. h,e,l,p. y,o,u.?..
what part of using your bpml rifle is hard for you? What are you doing for loads, and what would you need or ask for too change the way your using your rifle??

p.s. it ain't the gun.

 

[Musketeer]

I swear... One more shooting session like this and I'm going back to cartridge guns.

Nooooooooooooo......!!!!!!!! Don't do it, please!!!! :shocking: You could be using a patch that's too big. You can ram a fairly large piece of cloth down a muzzzleloader barrel, but on the way back out the cloth will bunch up between bore and rod and lock like super glue!
Also, if the barrel is pretty fouled, you might wanna try running a slightly undersized brush with some good solvent downbore and scrape away some o' the fouling, before you use a cleaning patch. I've never had a problem with a stuck rod in a smoothebore, so I think it's the rifling that the patch gets caught up in :m2c:. :thumbsup:

 

[B.Habermehl]

First of all you need to switch to a water based cleaner to use on your wiping patches. Secondly I would run the patch down the bore and sort of feel my way past the ring of fouling that builds up at the point where the ball seats on the powder charge. If necessary by "bumping" the ring with the patch and jag, with a couple of passes with the rod to start to soften the fouling before pushing past it. If you ever do get a stuck rod pour some water based lube down the bore and allow it to soak a bit before you use a bunch of force to pull your rod. This will usually make things alot easier. Make sure the tip is pinned onto your rod as well as epoxied. Glue by itself is not enough. Hope this helps.

 

[[email protected]]

I SWEAR.... heck No I wouldnt ever think of throwin my rifle in the drink!!!!! If I had a problem ...I would FIRST
have the drink then sit down and figger the problem out...ha.
Do ya think ya might have a little pitting in the barrel that is snaggin the patches? This could be the problem..
Is the gun new ? Exactly what kinda of rifle are we discussing anywhay?
You came to the right FOrum fer answers...
***** WEST VIRGINIA SCROUNGER **** :redthumb:

 

[JesseJames]

Cleaning patch is to large. Been there and done that. Blow the jag out with compresser.

 

Cleaning patch is to large. Been there and done that. Blow the jag out with compresser.

I agree,.... then throw the "oil" in tha drink, and use spit on yore swab'n patch.
Don't run'er all the way down at once, use short strokes and work it down to near the breech.

YMHS
rollingb

 

[JKVirginia]

It's a .45 TC Hawken that I picked up used... I'm suspecting everyone's on the right track with the patches being too big... Now all I need is to find an air fitting to screw into the nipple hole and blow that damn jag out. Ya think one of those CO2 dischargers like Cabela's sells would have enough oomph to push it out? I have one on order already...

And buying some smaller patches!

:curse: :curse:

 

Yep!!.. The CO2 thingy ort'a spit'er out!! :haha:

YMHS
rollingb

 

[lonewolf5347]

I just use my new C02 discharger the other day to unload at the end of the hunt,I would think it was a little to dark when I got back to the car to fire a round that late,use the discharger (barrel pointed in a safe direction) worth every penny,works like a dream

 

[Huntinfool]

Not everyone here will agree, but everyone at my ML club swabs between every shot. I personally just use spit I've fired 40 shots and the last loaded about as easy as the first. Some use a water based cleaning fluid, some use alcohol based solvent.

If the patch get stuck most likely it's cause it's too dry. Or too dirty that's why we swab after every shot. If it happens again do like someone else said dump some sort of liquid down the bore wait a couple of minutes. It should come out easily I've poured coffee down mine more than once.

Most important thing don't get upset! eace:

YMH&OS,
Chuck

 

[kentucky bucky]

Send it to me.....I'll throw it away for you! :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

If you don't have access to a CO2 set up, drive down to your local gas station (if you still have one that actually works on cars).
Then tell the manager about your problem with the stuck jag and ask him if he will use his compressed air to blow it out.

Once he knows the reason, he won't object to your hauling out your ole TC and bringing it into his shop.

Be sure to have it pointed in a safe direction when he applies the air because the jag will discharge with a lot more velocity than you would imagine.
___________________________________________________________
The wiping patch should not be much bigger than the patch you use for the ball.

The oil you used will not desolve the powder fouling. Water or even a generous supply of spit will.
___________________________________________________________
Oh, when you get the jag and the end of your ramrod back, thuroughly clean the inside of the ramrod end and the outside of the wooden ramrod.
Use the Slow drying epoxy to glue the end back onto the ramrod. The slow drying epoxy is stronger than the 5 minute kind.
Go down to the local hardware store and buy a length of 1/16 diameter brass rod. If you don't have one, buy a 1/16 drill bit.
Using the 1/16 drill bit, drill all the way thru the brass ramrod end about 3/16 to 1/4 in front of the back end where the wood goes inside the brass.
You want to be drilling thru the brass and wood.
Cut a piece of the brass rod off the stock you bought. This should be about 3/8 to 7/16 long.
Using a small hammer, drive the cut off brass stock thru the hole you just drilled. File the ends of the stock down so they are about 1/32 outside of both sides of the ramrod tip. Use a small hammer to peen (pound) the ends of the stock into larger little rivet heads.
You can then file these almost flush, but leave a little material standing proud of the surface.

Now, you will have to break the whole ramrod before it gets stuck again. ::

 

[JKVirginia]

Zonie,

Thx for the good advice, but I think the rod's beyond salvage--Some well-meaning gent with a pair of channel-lock pliers tried to help pull it out, and ended up biting the actual wood in half with 'em. ::

Is the type of air-line fitting I'll need fairly common or should I plan to bring my own?

Jon

 

[Ohio Joe]

Zonie's idea is a good one... Since the rod is destroyed you may just as well pull the nipple, use some Q-tips and pipe cleaners, dry that area out through the nipple channel, put some 3f or 4f powder in the channel, reinstall the nipple, cap it and fire it out.... "At the range of course." You won't hurt the jag. Good luck. It'll work and it don't take much powder... :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

JKV: It's no great loss.
The ramrod on the TC Hawkens is the only piece of excrement on the gun IMO.
It is made for decoration only. I have three of these guns and the ramrods on all of them have the wood grain running out thru the side of the rod.
This is an invitation to disaster!!!
The wood grain must be a continuous run from one end of the ramrod to the other.
If the grain runs out the side (noticeable from the grain stripes which seem to move towards the outside of the rod and then dissapear where they are sanded off so the rod is round) it will break when heavy pressure is applied to it during loading.
This has been known to ram the splintered break (and rod) thru the shooters hand!!

Do yourself a favor and buy a well made replacement.

This advice applies to each one of you who own a TC Hawken or Renegade.

 

[JKVirginia]

K... are the TC Rugged Rods (the ones made of solid aluminum) a good sturdy replacement? Only trouble is they look about as authentic and period-proper as sabots and speedloaders.

Think I'm gonna try Ohio's suggestion and shoot the durn thing out. If ya don't hear from me for a few days, assume I'm in the hospital with an exploded gun in my dome lol

And smaller patches!

 

[nvbirdman]

Throw your rifle in the drink?
Why my friend if you throw your rifle my way, I'll even buy you a drink. And then I will NEVER use olive oil on a tight patch. Oil and grease have different properties. I cast bullets for centerfire rifles, and once tried a little bit of oil in my Lyman bullet sizing die. Locked up tighter than a drum. A friend tried using Crisco as a patch lube in hot weather (when hot, it turns to oil). His patched ball got stuck halfway down. BTW, I fixed his rifle by cooling down the barrel where the ball was stuck (turns the Crisco back to grease), then I could ram the ball all the way down and then shoot it out.

 

[musketman]

well duh,,yer doing stupid newbie manure. for the last 350 yrs or so folks use muzzle loaders.. and you suddenley have trouble??

JKVirginia: Sumtacks answer does not represent this forum's view of new members (or any member, for that fact), please disregard his less than helpful reply to you...