Ever shoot a stuck ball...what happened?

[Freedom]

No problems...a ball not setting on the powder will simply have a huge "case capacity"....so pressure just goes down. No harm done.

BUT(!)...If a wad is used, or if the powder column is compressed... the wad or the powder itself will become the projectile! This causes compressing of the air trapped in the middle between the stuck ball and powder. (the powder can compress itself on firing.. especially if the muzzle is pointed up.)

As the two projectiles meet in the barrel, the air between them is hyper-compressed before the ball can move,, and this puts a nice little donut ring inside your barrel.

 

[mushka]

We learn by doing, now if we could just pay attention to what we are doing we might learn better.

 

[Ed C.]

Hey worked for you this time so go and forth with new knowledge and try Not to make the mistake again.

That was a mistake plus a bad choice. The mistake may happen again but I will not ever make the choice to shoot out a ball with an air gap again.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I have developed a process that works for me at the range. After I shoot, I wipe the bore and run a brush through the touch hole. the dirty patch is visible on the bench beside the powder flask, funnel, and the ball and patch. I measure the powder and using the funnel in the muzzle, I pour the powder. The funnel remains in the muzzle showing me that I have powder loaded. I dampen the patch material for loading, the I remove the funnel to place the patch material at the muzzle and start the ball. I use a short starter so once the ball is started, the short starter remains in the barrel until I am ready to push the ball to the breech. The rod remains in the barrel until I am ready to go to the bench. The dirty patch is then discarded, and the ram rod is removed, and the priming flask is at hand. At all times there is a visible and physical state to tell where I am at each step of the loading process. While this works well at the range, doing a reload while hunting, is different. While hunting one must rely on a non-distracted process to avoid missing a step or being too hasty.

 

[Snydly]

The absolute safest way to remove a stuck object in a barrel is to not shoot it out, but use grease.

Tried the grease method , grease gun would not stay connected. Even took it to a regular mechanic who hooked it up to his hi pressure grease gun. Still would not stay on the zerk. Finally gave up,, the grease just kept creeping around the zerk and never moved anything in the barrel.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Tried the grease method , grease gun would not stay connected. Even took it to a regular mechanic who hooked it up to his hi pressure grease gun. Still would not stay on the zerk. Finally gave up,, the grease just kept creeping around the zerk and never moved anything in the barrel.

The grease zerk or the grease gun fitting is worn out.

 

[jimairwin]

Yep, years ago. Took off the nipple and added a trickle charge of powder in that sucker...

Yep a small charge (10-20 grains should be more than enough) and shoot it out is the way to go. Send a bit of moose milk down to soak the patch, if you want to. Try to seat the ball on the powder if you can. You'll need to clean & dry the bore before reloading & shooting normally.
The grease approach, while feasible, is absurd to me.
Jim Irwin
BP shooter & competitor over 50 years.

 

[ETipp]

I've often had to run the rod down to feel for powder or make sure I loaded because I've been distracted by someone coming up to talk or asking if they can go downrange.

Had that happen to me at the range about a month ago. Pretty busy place that day. Its a government range that is not attended. I have to really pay attention to what's going on around me, especially when I walk down to the 100 yard target. Between that and people wanting to talk about my ML, I lost track of where I was at. Fortunately, I had forgotten to load anything. Could have been worse. I have made up my mind that I am not going to be allowing myself to become distracted from now on. If it means no talking with folks, then so be it. Out of all my years with ML, I've always been out in a field or woods somewhere by myself.

With that said, this is the first government public range I have ever been to. All the others were much safer than this one. It is obvious that many of those people (mostly younger) have never been to a shooting range before. There is little to no coordination and one really has to watch and pay attention. In fact, its so bad that for shooting ML, I'm going to try to find another place to shoot. If for no other reason than it takes me 10X as long to work up a load due to other shooters. I have yet to see anyone else shooting a ML.

 

[ETipp]

The grease zerk or the grease gun fitting is worn out.

Yeppers.

 

[Stantheman86]

Had that happen to me at the range about a month ago. Pretty busy place that day. Its a government range that is not attended. I have to really pay attention to what's going on around me, especially when I walk down to the 100 yard target. Between that and people wanting to talk about my ML, I lost track of where I was at. Fortunately, I had forgotten to load anything. Could have been worse. I have made up my mind that I am not going to be allowing myself to become distracted from now on. If it means no talking with folks, then so be it. Out of all my years with ML, I've always been out in a field or woods somewhere by myself.

With that said, this is the first government public range I have ever been to. All the others were much safer than this one. It is obvious that many of those people (mostly younger) have never been to a shooting range before. There is little to no coordination and one really has to watch and pay attention. In fact, its so bad that for shooting ML, I'm going to try to find another place to shoot. If for no other reason than it takes me 10X as long to work up a load due to other shooters. I have yet to see anyone else shooting a ML.

The guys shooting AR's (which I do too ) sometimes think everyone caps off 60 rounds then goes down to hang new targets every 10-20 minutes

I'm like I'll take an hour to shoot my 40 paper cartridges at leisurely pace, at the same target then I'm ready to leave. So having just bit a cartridge off, and poured the powder. I'll get some guy in his truck giving me a thumbs up and driving to the 200...leaving me with a half loaded rifle that I can't now lay down on a bench , or continue to load . So I'll awkwardly lean it up against the bench and hold the Minie in my hand to remind me to finish loading

An empty range makes me happy

That being said, Most people are cool and courteous but the occasional person can be a distraction . Even well meaning people "whoa is that a musket " like yes I'm trying to keep this thing pointed away from my face as I pour powder down the pipe as some rando guy wants to know if it's a .50 and if I hunt with it

 

[Ed C.]

Had that happen to me at the range about a month ago. Pretty busy place that day. Its a government range that is not attended. I have to really pay attention to what's going on around me, especially when I walk down to the 100 yard target. Between that and people wanting to talk about my ML, I lost track of where I was at. Fortunately, I had forgotten to load anything. Could have been worse. I have made up my mind that I am not going to be allowing myself to become distracted from now on. If it means no talking with folks, then so be it. Out of all my years with ML, I've always been out in a field or woods somewhere by myself.

With that said, this is the first government public range I have ever been to. All the others were much safer than this one. It is obvious that many of those people (mostly younger) have never been to a shooting range before. There is little to no coordination and one really has to watch and pay attention. In fact, its so bad that for shooting ML, I'm going to try to find another place to shoot. If for no other reason than it takes me 10X as long to work up a load due to other shooters. I have yet to see anyone else shooting a ML.

I am lucky. I belong to a private range and if I go there during the week, I often have it to myself. I won't go on the weekends due to all the interruptions, people calling cold range, well meaning curiosity seekers, etc.. The freedom there is nice, but sometimes with the kids, and people teaching their GF's and grandma's how to shoot I can see the potential for an accident. Growing up, there always seemed to a place nearby to shoot....a rockpit, dump, or just a place in the woods. Not anymore!

 

[Rifleman1776]

A number of times but I always seated the ball at the bottom first.

 

[shorthair]

There is a you tube video where a guy tries shooting short started and balls half way down, his gun seemed to suffer no ill effects.
Sam Falada tried to blow up some barrels. He ran God Awful charges, and several fat minnies. He could only get a blow if he had an obstruction
Dixie Gunworks took a barrel and plugged both ends, charged it and lit it with a fuse in the touch hole. Barrel held.
It’s nice to know that my barrel should hold if I make a silly loading mistake
But I would never knowingly try it

Didn't Sam finally get one to burst with a minie on the overload of powder and then another about 6 inches short?
Seem to recall that he tried about an ounce of powder and 3 600 gr minies and couldn't find any measureable damage in the 1" 58 cal barrel.

 

[morehops52]

Back in the good old days I got a PRB stuck about half way. Fortunately I did know enough to seat the ball on the charge. I used a 3/8 dowel rod and had to pound it down with a hammer (or did I use a rock?). Anyway I did NOT want to fire that sucker not knowing what might result more than a major sore shoulder. ( again we were still in the modern dark age) The final decision was to wrap my wonderful Hawken in some burlap and stuff it into a ground hog hole with a long cord tied to the trigger. The Hawken jumped out of that hole about 2 feet and unfortunately it still wears that 3 in scratch on the stock today. That was over 40 years ago and still no problem iwith the barrel.

 

[Poguetx]

Just to show even the experts can screw up, when I took my NMLRA course the instructor didn't put powder in one of the chambers of his 51 Navy revolver. The cap blew the ball halfway down the barrel. He then proceded to fire the next live round which banana peeled the barrel like the old cartoons! He didn't do it on purpose, but it was a good learning lesson!

 

[Rudyard]

I did this useless E gajet lost it 'Your reply 'I E Mine just disappeared basically I said I carry a screw ball drawer with a collar to suit the bore plus a bit of rag on my ramrod to draw the ball rather than go home with a charge in .Though never asked you could say the guns loaded but unprimed so it's no worse than a cartridge unprimed . I did once come out of the bush after a ten day walk with my Wheelock I was all dolled up looking like Ben Gunn or Robinson Crusoe at track end & a police car drives by on a SAR mission .As he returns I says" Well youle not give me a lift but Ile open the gate for you " there used to be one one the Wangapeka start track he says hop in & as we ride I explain my long trip through the mountains popping 7 goats along the way .We drop off the SAR man on the road back .The constable say' s "Youd be a good man on Search & Rescue " .Iv'e been on SAR some 20 odd years since . But now lame I can't field a team but fund raise & write ammuseing accounts of our fund raising for the News letter .I later added Civil Defence radio checker , that I can manage . Just threw that in .probably should be thrown out .Its my typeing finger it gets carried away.
Regards Rudyard .

 

[Nuthatch]

I once dry balled & then used a screw puller to try and remove it. Too bad it was at the end of the day and the barrel was pretty well fouled. Then the screw puller stripped out of the cleaning rod. Thankfully, I was able to remove the vent liner, put in about 10 grains of powder, reassemble & shoot it out. It’s one of the few times I was glad to have that chambered breech where there was plenty of space behind the ball.

 

[Buckskinquin]

It didn't take me long being lazy and not swabbing the barrel often enough between shots to get a ball stuck halfway down the barrel. The delrin ramrod was too flexible to move the ball even with a "T" handle and hammering. I figured I'd break the hickory rod so I didn't even try using it. No steel range rod or ball puller so I took a chance and shot it out. 50 grains pushing a .490 ball with a 12" air gap. Fortunately for me it seemed like a normal discharge and the gun still is a great shooter. I don't want to take that chance again so I now have a steel rod to be used for an event like that. And I've decided that in the long run it's easier to swab every other shot. Probably helps accuracy also.
So I'm wondering if anyone done something similar and what happened?

Try seating your patched ball with a moistened patch on your jag. I do this and I actually flip it (for the next load) use both sides. While seating the ball, you’ll push some fouling down on the powder charge, and when you withdraw the moistened patch you’ll be surprised how much fouling you’ll pull out. And, your barrel will be in the same condition for each shot.

 

[Bad Karma]

Didn't Sam finally get one to burst with a minie on the overload of powder and then another about 6 inches short?
Seem to recall that he tried about an ounce of powder and 3 600 gr minies and couldn't find any measureable damage in the 1" 58 cal barrel.

Yes but even that was not in a steel barrel but a hard copper pipe…

 

[Idaho Ron]

Back in the good old days I got a PRB stuck about half way. Fortunately I did know enough to seat the ball on the charge. I used a 3/8 dowel rod and had to pound it down with a hammer (or did I use a rock?). Anyway I did NOT want to fire that sucker not knowing what might result more than a major sore shoulder. ( again we were still in the modern dark age) The final decision was to wrap my wonderful Hawken in some burlap and stuff it into a ground hog hole with a long cord tied to the trigger. The Hawken jumped out of that hole about 2 feet and unfortunately it still wears that 3 in scratch on the stock today. That was over 40 years ago and still no problem iwith the barrel.

My guns are simply too valuable for me to shove I to a hole and hope for the best.