For the new to the sport of muzzleloading, how do you clean out a plugged barrel on a loaded muzzleloader?
It happens, you are hunting or just walking along with your smokepole and you trip/slip and down goes your gun, barrel first (if you are lucky)... You can lean a muzzleloader against a tree and the gun slips and falls, you drop it while crossing a creek, it could fall out of your tree stand even...
Now you have a loaded muzzleloader and an inch or so of earth inside the bore, how do you get it out safely?
Do not shoot it out!
First off, de-prime the weapon by removing the percussion cap or brushing out all of the priming powder in the pan... (hammer stalls or a leather plug over the nipple will add to the degree of safety)
Hold the muzzleloader downwards and away from you and carefully work the mud (or snow, depending on the time of season) out of the barrel with a stick or non sparking piece of soft metal... Holding the muzzleloader upright will just drop the dirt further down the barrel and become an obstruction...
Once the earthen plug has been broken up and removed, carefully shake the firearm to dislodge any leftover bits of sod...
Now, (while the barrel is still pointing downwards and away from you) run a few cleaning patches to remove any dirt from the lands and grooves, once you feel the riflings are free of foreign matter, shift the muzzleloader upright...
Do not stick your face over the barrel to look down the bore, remember, the gun is still loaded!
Now you have a choice to make, pull the ball or shoot it out...
Pulling is best, mostly because it is slower and more controlable...
A ball puller or a CO2 discharger will be needed to perform this step, keeping as much of your body away from the bore as possible...
If you decide to shoot it out, check the ball/bullet with the ramrod to make sure it is still seated on the powder, the jarred barrel may have recieved enough force to move the projectile forwards, thus causing a gap between the powder and ball/bullet... This gap is just as dangerous as shooting a plugged barrel...
Once it is confirmed "seated", prime and discharge the weapon...
Give the barrel a few wet and dry patched and inspect thoroughly before reloading...
Any cautions I may have missed?
It happens, you are hunting or just walking along with your smokepole and you trip/slip and down goes your gun, barrel first (if you are lucky)... You can lean a muzzleloader against a tree and the gun slips and falls, you drop it while crossing a creek, it could fall out of your tree stand even...
Now you have a loaded muzzleloader and an inch or so of earth inside the bore, how do you get it out safely?
Do not shoot it out!
First off, de-prime the weapon by removing the percussion cap or brushing out all of the priming powder in the pan... (hammer stalls or a leather plug over the nipple will add to the degree of safety)
Hold the muzzleloader downwards and away from you and carefully work the mud (or snow, depending on the time of season) out of the barrel with a stick or non sparking piece of soft metal... Holding the muzzleloader upright will just drop the dirt further down the barrel and become an obstruction...
Once the earthen plug has been broken up and removed, carefully shake the firearm to dislodge any leftover bits of sod...
Now, (while the barrel is still pointing downwards and away from you) run a few cleaning patches to remove any dirt from the lands and grooves, once you feel the riflings are free of foreign matter, shift the muzzleloader upright...
Do not stick your face over the barrel to look down the bore, remember, the gun is still loaded!
Now you have a choice to make, pull the ball or shoot it out...
Pulling is best, mostly because it is slower and more controlable...
A ball puller or a CO2 discharger will be needed to perform this step, keeping as much of your body away from the bore as possible...
If you decide to shoot it out, check the ball/bullet with the ramrod to make sure it is still seated on the powder, the jarred barrel may have recieved enough force to move the projectile forwards, thus causing a gap between the powder and ball/bullet... This gap is just as dangerous as shooting a plugged barrel...
Once it is confirmed "seated", prime and discharge the weapon...
Give the barrel a few wet and dry patched and inspect thoroughly before reloading...
Any cautions I may have missed?
