Gaaah! Help! Can't get stuck ball out

[Billy Boy]

At this point I am wondering if I ruined my barrel. 54 TC Greyhawk. Suppose if I have trashed it or can't get the ball out I can look for another New Englander barrel.

After not moving it with puller, I would have driven down the bore with proper sized dowel, till it rested on the powder charge, and touched it off. You did say you had a good charge down there, right?

 

[Atticus69]

I gone shot off this afternoon and the second ball stuck halfway down the barrel I broke the ramrod, tried a CO2 discharger, anchored the ball pulling screw in and pulled until I saw stars with the range rod when I got it home. Poured some ballistol down the barrel to try to grease the skids. It won't budge. I have been trying different things for hours now. Any suggestions?

I have been there---don't feel bad. I use flinters so can't do the grease gun bit, which sounds the easiest to me. When it happened to me I put enough olive oil down the barrel to soak into the patch good and let it set for a few hours to soak in. I had to screw the ball puller in multiple times as it would keep pulling out, bringing a little lead with it each time. I theorize that eventually you pull enough out to compensate for the expansion and then to maybe shrink the ball a bit. Finally, once I had it firmly enough that I couldn't pull it out of the ball, I got help. We put our feet together to brace, one pulled on the butt and I pulled on the ramrod and that worked. It was about a 2 day process. I am sure there are better ways, but this was my frustrating, but ultimately successful solution. I did periodically keep adding more olive oil. Hope you can do the grease gun or find a way easier than mine.

 

[Jay]

I would trade Dawn dish soap down the barrel much more slick than any oil good luck to you

 

[brewer12345]

I went to harbor freight for the first time in my life. What a dump. I will try the ball puller one more time and then it is grease gun time. I did buy a very long drill bit, so if it comes to that I have options.

 

[Jay]

Did you ever try heating the barrel maybe a heat gun and pour in some boiling hot water down there get it to expand the barrel a little bit good luck

 

[jdw276]

Did you ever try heating the barrel maybe a heat gun and pour in some boiling hot water down there get it to expand the barrel a little bit good luck

Problem with heat in the case is safety to me. He has a pretty good powder load in there. Dont want to heat to much and touch it off. I personally would not chance heat as can't control the level of temp.

 

[azmntman]

Is not the powder dampened well yet? Is so cant shoot it out. If not shoot it out. I have never tried the grease gun trick though?

 

[mooman76]

If you go the long drill route put something around the drill bit to keep it centered so it doesn't damage the bore.

 

[Howard Pippin]

I gone shot off this afternoon and the second ball stuck halfway down the barrel I broke the ramrod, tried a CO2 discharger, anchored the ball pulling screw in and pulled until I saw stars with the range rod when I got it home. Poured some ballistol down the barrel to try to grease the skids. It won't budge. I have been trying different things for hours now. Any suggestions?

What you need is a slight jar. Find a piece of pipe that you could slide over the rod that is sticking out. Take a small pair of vise grips and clamp on the end of the rod. Use the piece of pipe for a slide hammer. Using the piece of pipe, slide it up close to the vice grips and then hit the vice grips as with jarring effect. I think you'll find it will move an inch or so every time you hit it. It's the way mechanics remove bearings.
Squint

 

[azmntman]

What you need is a slight jar. Find a piece of pipe that you could slide over the rod that is sticking out. Take a small pair of vise grips and clamp on the end of the rod. Use the piece of pipe for a slide hammer. Using the piece of pipe, slide it up close to the vice grips and then hit the vice grips as with jarring effect. I think you'll find it will move an inch or so every time you hit it. It's the way mechanics remove bearings.
Squint

per my above post this worked for me. (was I shooting blk mz??}

 

[Carbon 6]

I went to harbor freight for the first time in my life. What a dump. I will try the ball puller one more time and then it is grease gun time. I did buy a very long drill bit, so if it comes to that I have options.

Do not use a drill bit, it is better to un-breach it.

 

[hopping]

Ballistol is just mineral oil and is not a very good penetration oil. To get out tough ones, I put two teaspoons of Kroil down the barrel and leave it overnight. You can also try using a strong rod and hammering it down further to break the "weld". The CO2 cartridge only works if the ball is at the bottom of the barrel, and then usually only after the Kroil is used.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I would simply drive it down with stout rod and mallet and shoot it out. A patched lead ball is not likely to damage a steel barrel.

 

[brewer12345]

Holy cow, what an Odyssey. So I tried the puller one last time and hooked up the grease gun. I know have grease pumping out of the muzzle and the ball is still where it was.

 

[azmntman]

Hole in the ball!!

 

[Atticus69]

Holy cow, what an Odyssey. So I tried the puller one last time and hooked up the grease gun. I know have grease pumping out of the muzzle and the ball is still where it was.

Ain't muzzleoading great!!! Most likely not a single person on this forum is completely sane lest we would not engage in this hobby.

 

[brewer12345]

Guess I will have to drill it, out of ideas.

 

[FishDFly]

I would take the drill bit back and get a refund.

Then I would wait very patiently for some good ideas for you to consider before you do anything else now that the ball has a hole in it..

 

[Archer 756]

Any good gunsmith would pull the breach plug, unload powder and push the ball and patch out of the barrel towards the muzzle. Ball and patch went in that way should come out.

 

[renegadehunter]

Get a piece of all thread. Fit the pulling jag to it. Put a washer under a nut on the all thread and draw it out.

If you can still get a ball puller to grab and hold, this seems like a pretty darn good idea.
If not, then it's probably time to get a gunsmith involved to remove the breach plug, knock it out, and then reinstall it.