friend's stuck ball with powder

[riarcher]

Was asked today what to do-
Has a TC with side lock. Appears that he sent a mini down the tube with 80gr. 2Fg without swabing out the oil(?). Thinks the oil soaked the powder so that it will not ignite. Has tried removing the nipple and installing some fresh powder but it still does not ignite. Tried a ball puller but the projectile is too hard to get started. What to do?
I suggested air from the gas station pump, a bicycle tire inflater from Benny's.
I've not seen this so can't verify there actually is a charge in it, but take his word for it.
I'll be sending a link of this to him and hope someone has other suggestions that may help.
Any ideas on what to do????
May have a new member here.

 

[Smoke_Ring]

Try putting some water or thin oil in barrel before you try to pull the ball. This should make it slide out easier.

 

[davy]

1) Mite try one of the CO2 dischargers .. they seem to work pretty well ...

2) Also mite try using a stout ramrod with a ball extractor and tap it with a rawhide or rubber mallet to gte the extractor started screwing into the ball.

3) Another post suggested using a drill bit on the end of the ramrod to drill a small hole in the ball to allow the extractor to take a bite into the ball and then pulling.

Davy

 

[AZ-Robert]

If you can't get the screw started, sounds like the best bet is one of those CO2 dischargers.

Log Cabin has them:[url] http://www.logcabinonline.com/item25276.html[/url]

I'm sure other merchants do too.

 

[davy]

Cabela's as well! :g

Davy

 

[faw3]

Or you can pull the nipple, very carefully wash out the powder, put a hair dryer to it till it really dry put 20 grs 2F in replace nipple push the bullet down on it and fire, that should work I wouldnt know .. because like everyone Id never forget to put powder in or get it oily or wet, (it works fine) good luck , Fred

 

[Gametracker]

Tried a ball puller but the projectile is too hard to get started.

Just a thought- Is the tip of the ball puller still sharp or is it somehow blunted? If so, it won't start easily. I'd first make sure I didn't just need a new puller.

 

[Blue Smoke]

Seen them in the shop pull the barrel off.Put something soft on the floor.Start just tapping the muzzle on the floor,eventually whatever is in the barrel will work out.

Blue Smoke

 

[Runner]

Pulling the clean out screw,cleaning that area out, filling it with powder, and popping a cap will clear it. It will bounce the ball off a target 20 yards down range. No problem blowing the wet powder out. You can also use one of the blowguns that go on an airhose that have the rubber tip. Remove the nipple or clean out screw. Push then nozzle against the hole while pointing the barrel in a safe direction. Squeeze the handle. If neither of these will remove the problem, then it is not just a wet powder problem.

 

[oldarmy]

I like BlueSmokes suggestion.
Just like using a kineckit bullet puller when you make some bad cartidges. Not that I have ever done that :haha:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Go to the hardware store and get a 1/4-28 "Zirk" fitting (you need the kind with the ball-bearing one-way valve feature; costs about 98¢).

Use a grease gun to "pop" the load out. It will free clogs that the CO2 & compressed air will not.

 

[ladysmithtrading]

Stumpkillers idea is a last resort but works very well! Ive had to dot that to a "friends" barrel once as I like every body else here have never ever dry balled or have had a wet charge! :rotf:

 

[john12865]

Have never had a ,"Friends" Dry ball or wet charge I couldn't get out by pulling the nipple and working as much powder as I could in with a tooth pick. Clean and replace the nipple, cap and fire in a safe direction. Tell your friend not to worry!! Typical reaction is puff,sizzle,sizzle and thunk of the ball. Your friend is lucky to have a nice guy like you to help him out. :thumbsup:

 

[fwshannon]

I had the same thing happen to me last night while shooting with my brother. We were having some fun then all of a sudden pop cap only went off. I had shot around 25 prb from my T/C .54 cal. and had just swabbed and must have used too much #13 and forgot to dry patch it out. That’s how I got wet powder. To make a long story short we tried another 2 caps. Tried Priming behind the nipple. Black mud coming from nipple. Not Pretty! Tried ball puller he and I just aren’t strong enough. While trying this, the nifty little T/C screw-on handle that goes on the ram rod broke and the little shaft that holds the plastic part of the handle to the threaded part got me good on the index finger. Be careful with that peace of junk. You will bleed! Also, from firing the caps the ball was pushed half way up the barrel. Make sure you reset the ball after each attempt. I finally said hell with it and went up to the house and finished doing some electrical work for my friends that own the farm. When I was finished there was about 5 men drinking and telling lies in the front yard, you know what I did. It took 2 holding the rifle and one big fellow pulling on the rod I had screwed into the ball. It held for a second then slid right out. Nice”¦ They said that was my pay for doing the electrical work and I was happy with that. :g

Good Luck,
Fred :g

 

[weirdjack]

Yep...a grease gun will pump that ball and wet powder right out.
BE CAREFUL THOUGH....the one time I did this, the ball released and came out very abruptly...and smacked with great force into the backstop I had the barrel pointed at.
Don't forget to thoroughly clean all the grease out of the bore afterwards.
Jack

 

[Mulebrain]

I have had this happen a few times, and shooting it out is the way I always do it. Remove nipple and poor some powder in the nippel hole. Install nipple fire and BOOM! Done

 

[riarcher]

Saw him again today, it's still stuck but he's waiting until this weekend.
Said it slid in pretty easy. I suggested folding a towel on the flood and try knocking it out by "thumpin' the barrel on the toweled floor (if it was that loose). I remember doing that with a TC Maxie once.
Now I have to get him to join in here. :hmm:

 

[Mr Nick]

I have had one stuck dry ball and a friend had one. I had made up a long brass rod that uses the screw attachment for stuck ball on one end and a sliding weight on the other. Like a slide hammer used to pull dents on car fenders. Worked like a charm in both cases.

 

[Stony]

I'm a range officer at my club's black powder range and I've seen lots of dry balls. We have two steel rods (1 for 50 & larger, 1 for 36 to 50) with ball screws and extra long so we can play tug of war. Some years back, I bought one of those CO2 dischargers, one of the best investments I ever made. They work so well, the first two have "disappeared" so I keep the current one in my range box instead of the shack. I strongly suggest that you get and use a CO2 discharger. Even if you only use it once this time for your self ( :rotf: sure you will), you will become very popular with the other shooters.

 

[Deadeye]

Had a customer bring in a TC .50 Hawken and said he had a ball stuck in the barrel. When I finally got it cleaned out, I found it had been loaded 4 times with 100 grs. powder and 500 gr conical and then another 100 grs. of powder on top of the last conical then oil on that which turned the powder to mud. Powder-bullet-powder-bullet-powder-bullet-powder bullet-powder. 500 grs. powder and 2000 grs. lead. What was he thinking, he could't or wouldn't say.