I preparation for the day I dry ball one

[Greg Blackburn]

I don't disagree but I wouldn't underestimate the distraction of just conversing with shooting buddies. When i shoot alone i have an almost rhythmic adherence to shooting protocols, the steps involved in shooting a muzzleloader. I'm thinking about it, not politics or our families or the guy in the shooting stall next to mine. That singular focus is probably why I've never dry-balled. But.
Shooting with friends or a group by definition means my attention is spread around, my focus diminished. For me the cell phone isn't even in the picture.
Just my own experience.

That's a very good point but come to think of it, I've never shot a muzzleloader with a friend! Very rarely have I done any practice (shooting) with a friend at all! I generally do these things alone because I never had that many friends that enjoyed shooting or hunting to the degree I did.

 

[ord sgt]

I have used two methods when the dreaded dry ball happens. Both with the flinter and caplock, a small amount of powder will be enough to push the ball out of the barrel. I also have a CO2 device that I use when someone else has forgotten to put the black stuff into the barrel first, before inserting ball and patch.
A friend called me one day, looking for some help. He was test fitting a minie in his .58 calibre Springfield. The minie slipped from his grasp and slid into the barrel. He tried to retrieve the minie with a threaded ball screw but kept stripping the threads out of the lead. This method was tried several times, with no success. This is in his basement. So, he says "let's put some powder behind the ball and shoot into a pile of rags. Powder goes in, cap placed and pppffffttt. No ball. There was a hole in the ball, letting the gas pressure escape. He takes a small piece of lead and pounds it into the nose of the minie.
Another small amount of powder goes in and a cap get placed. Muzzle goes into the rag pile and a small pop. Now the rags are on fire! The flames are extinguished and there is the minie, in the pile of rags on the floor.

We still laugh about that episode to this day.

 

[ord sgt]

Distractions while shooting will cause problems while loading and shooting M/L. Instead of dryballing, a friend lost track of his loading, at least twice, with some comic results. Two times, there was a louder than normal boom when he fired his shots. He has the record of losing TWO ramrods down range. One was found, one was not found. The recovered metal rammer was bent beyond any more use.

 

[Okie Hog]

Make sure the ball is seated, work 5-10 grains of powder into the flame channel or bolster, replace the nipple, cap and fire. i;ve done this many times. It failed once: The guy had loaded his rifle with Black Horn 209.

BTW: A small gap between a small powder charge and the ball will not make a pipe bomb.

 

[RB POWELL]

All good information. Anything more on ball removal on flintlocks, besides puller?

 

[Grenadier1758]

For clearing a dry balled flintlock, 4f powder can be poked through the touch hole. Sure some liners can be taken out but that means a small part can be running loose on the range. It make take a minute or two, but only a few grains are needed to clear a dry ball. There are also flint lock adapters for the CO2 dischargers.

 

[Ben Meyer]

I always keep a spare vent liner and a tiny tube of anti seize with some q tips and toothpicks in my range box. Taking the vent liner out is a risk I'm willing to take, because the one time i helped a buddy un dryball his flinter without a vent liner, it took at least a half hour getting enough 4f thru that tiny hole!

After removing a vent liner mid session, cleaning powder out of the threads and lightly applying anti seize to it before reinstalling is key on my gun. The one time i didn't, it was scary hard to re remove it!

For clearing a dry balled flintlock, 4f powder can be poked through the touch hole. Sure some liners can be taken out but that means a small part can be running loose on the range. It make take a minute or two, but only a few grains are needed to clear a dry ball. There are also flint lock adapters for the CO2 dischargers.

 

[Bledfor Days]

Seeing as you're getting ready for the occasion, you might as well ram one down there and have a go at it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Unfortunately, most of my flintlocks don't have vent liners. Some such as the Chamber's White Lightning are designed so they can't be removed and replaced. My Bess has such a large touch hole that it doesn't take long to get powder behind the ball. Most of the time I use a ball puller.

 

[longcruise]

Seeing as you're getting ready for the occasion, you might as well ram one down there and have a go at it.

I've done that for the purpose of showing new shooter's how to deal with it.

 

[Bledfor Days]

I've done that for the purpose of showing new shooter's how to deal with it.

Yup. Don't fear the reaper...er..the ball puller.

 

[Josephg]

I've dry balled many times. Always pull the nipple and trickled powder in. Always works. Last Thursday dry balled a 650 grain conical hollow base. Trickled some FFFF under the nipple and shot it out. I've not dry balled a flintlock yet. That will be different.

 

[jambuster]

Well fellow "Future Dry Ballers" I got my zerk fittings from McMaster Carr in 303 stainless . Fit just right as expected . The threaded part of the body is a little longer than the Lyman nipple I am using but it should work.

Now what else can I worry about!

 

[stink koat]

Work running a BSA camp range several summers.
We had 2 -Co2 - discharger's we used first on the dry balled rifles.
If that did not work had a small flask of 4F picked in 5-10 gr. after resetting the ball.
Then as a last resort had an T - handled rod with a ball puller on it.
Did see a guy pulling a ball one time and his rifle discharged from the friction.
Sent the rod 45 yards down range.

 

[stink koat]

Maybe I'm confused! I always thought that a "dry balled" load had 'NO POWDER", that is why it was called a " dry ball load" so how could it discharge and send the ramrod down range?

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I got distracted and dry balled a .54 last week. Thought I had a plugged vent at first until I ran the rod down the bore. Using my priming flask and pick I poked as much 4F as I could into the vent, primed the pan and touched it off. It made a soft "pop" and I was surprised to see the .54 ball had struck the 60 yard target dead center and about 14" low.

 

[Dave Cross]

Work running a BSA camp range several summers.
We had 2 -Co2 - discharger's we used first on the dry balled rifles.
If that did not work had a small flask of 4F picked in 5-10 gr. after resetting the ball.
Then as a last resort had an T - handled rod with a ball puller on it.
Did see a guy pulling a ball one time and his rifle discharged from the friction.
Sent the rod 45 yards down range.

Don't know how he shot ramrod without severe hand and face damage.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Dave Cross,Well I guess the ANGLES were on his side that day would you not say.

 

[Bad Karma]

Powder, possible gap, barrel obstruction, bomb.

I didn’t remember the last time I dry balled. Long time ago anyway... until last week.

I’d gotten a barrel back from the smith and I was so excited to shoot it that I just rammed a 500 grain paper patched bullet down on an empty breech. Knew it as I was running the ramrod down. Crap.
I pulled the nipple and started feeding powder into the bolster. It took a while but I finally got maybe 5 grains down there, replaced the nipple, capped it and popped the bullet out. No recoil, hardly any report. if I’m lucky I won’t do it again but the last thing I’ll worry about is blowing up my rifle with less than 10 grains of powder.

 

[mooman76]

I don't think friction caused it to fire, I just don't see how. I think more likely was he had it loaded and it went off while trying to pull the RB or he had a slow cooker that finally went off.