HELP! Cleaning jag stuck

[Grenadier1758]

Tried the air compressor to no avail. Also tried unscrewing the breech plug but id did not budge. I assume it's welded or loctited. I'll try shooting it. Won't this be fun!

You haven't told us who is the manufacturer of your rifle. If it is a CVA, then it is likely that the drum is threaded into the breech plug. The drum would have to be removed to pull the breech plug. Due to the extreme difficulty in realigning the breech plug and drum, I don't recommend doing that unless you are a journeyman tool maker.

 

[bang]

Oh, Thanks.

Everyone should invest in a solid steel cleaning rod if they don't have one.
I've had to tie mine to a tree or stick it in a bench vise more than once.
Plan B is still to shoot it out.

Easy enough to put protection on the rod to keep from marring the bore.

 

[mahkagari]

The 3F didn't work. Fortunately, there were some guys at the range and one of them had a CO2 discharger. Blew it most of the way up the barrel. Enough to screw the rod back into the jag and yank it out. The patch was plenty burned so at least I know the powder was going off.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Good stuff but it looks like 3f was not the issue....just not enough of it ....right?

 

[Rat]

Any clue as to why it stuck so bad in the first place?

 

[Boomerang]

Any clue as to why it stuck so bad in the first place?

My guess is the patch was too dry and seized up when he went to pull it out.

 

[mahkagari]

Good stuff but it looks like 3f was not the issue....just not enough of it ....right?

Probably. I did 3gr and when that didn't work, I tried another 3. Couldn't tell if it was going off or I was just hearing the cap. Didn't want to risk more in case it wasn't.

My guess is the patch was too dry and seized up when he went to pull it out.

Probably. Is that a common issue when using patches in between shots? Usually my shoulder gives out after a few and I just brush it out. I've started shooting for longer and using the patch. Going to pin the rod tip but I want to minimize the risk of this again.

 

[azmntman]

swab bore with damp (not wet, if ya can wring any size drop out its too much) patch after every shot. Better accuracy, no mo stuck stuff, much easier end of the day clean up!

 

[45man]

My friend had his rod pull from the jag that was not pinned. I put JB epoxy on the rod and got it in the jag. He was running around like a nut and I had the thing out. But I stuck a minie' ball once after I lapped the mold. A few gr of FFFFG through the nipple and a reseat to the powder shot it out. I felt it go past my hand on the barrel with a POOF at the muzzle. The ball went full depth in a 2X4 bench leg. Be careful where you point the gun, Just a tiny amount of BP is lethal.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Yep.
As soon as I read folk say scary things like don't put much powder in or just a few grains I knew it wasn't going to happen.
Ten or 15 grain is where I would of started but hey, you know for next time.

B.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Probably. I did 3gr and when that didn't work, I tried another 3. Couldn't tell if it was going off or I was just hearing the cap. Didn't want to risk more in case it wasn't.

When you shoot out a stuck round, you need to make sure that the obstruction is on top of the powder charge. The 3 grains should have shot out the stuck ball. If it didn't shoot the ball out, then you needed 10 or a couple more grains and seated the ball on the fresh powder. Not seating the ball on the powder is the process for making a bulge in the barrel or with enough powder to burst the barrel. If the ball was not seated, the CO2 discharger might not have been able to push the ball out.

You have the stuck ball out now and your help on the range probably made sure the ball was seated properly and a couple drops of solvent added to the bore, but remember in the future that the stuck ball or dry ball need small volume and high pressure to get out.

 

[45man]

I picture a problem. The jag is blocking the nipple hole so powder can't get behind it.

 

[Stubert]

Most people don't realize that a jag needs to be sized to the bore of the rifle. It should go down loose and bunch up the patch coming out. Easy enough to do, chuck the jag in a drill and hit it with a file.

 

[Mad Professor]

If mine gets stuck I shoot it out ramrod atached, straight up in the air. Come back down no worse for the wear.