Minie Skirt stuck in barrel of 1861 Springfield

[jefair1]

BEnd a small hook in a coat hanger and use it to hook the skirt and slowly pull it out. I saw that done at a NSSA shoot many years ago.

 

[dave951]

Time for more information. Just a rough bore won't cause this.

Load data- lube type, powder (level and type), minie type (who made it and from what)

 

[Cannonman1]

Reported success!! I got an image that shows he had a lot of lead down there. I was picturing, in my mind, a lot thinner skirt but this appears to be the bulk of the bullet(s).
He ended up pulling the breech plug and driving this out. Now to prevent this from happening again..
I suggested really looking at his bullet casting process.. Pure lead only with a continuous pour at modest heat range.

Rifle is a Euroarms and has a nice bore I understand.. Charge is 55 grains of fffg Goex with a tallow beeswax lube in the groves.. Bullets are sized to .575. Bore has not been measured so this may be a factor..
I don't know mold maker .. Looks like a lyman 213

 

[Spillikins]

I don’t understand how all that could build up in the barrel without being noticed earlier.

 

[Kno-ie]

Golden rule number one, Mark your loading rod. That would indicate something has gone bad. I learned that lesson when I blew out the skirt on mine.

 

[Wawyasto]

I have to confess, I only clicked on this because the thread title sounded like a really bad ****o.

and now I'm disappointed...

 

[user 51067]

Having seen this happen before, I would be HIGHLY suspect of something that went awry in the casting process. When the mold is not quite up to temperature (or evenly heated), it has the tendency to cast "two-piece" bullets that are not visually noticeable. A friend of mine used to cast over an open campfire for "historical authenticity" with his original Mississippi rifle. In that particular instance, the only remedy was to successfully remove the breech and gently drive the skirt(s) out towards the rear.

 

[hawkeye2]

While not common I have seen several cases of this happening. It generally is the result of defects in the skirt. Minies aren't the easiest thing to pour and skirmishers often modify the mold to produce an even thinner skirt. The minie being undersized for the bore won't cause any problems and I've shot in rough bores without any problems. 55 grains of 3f won't blow a skirt out.

Cannonman1 I'm afraid I disagree with your statement regarding the temperature of the pour. Minies need to be poured at a high temperature and the mold, specially the base plug, hase to be up to temperature.

 

[ZUG]

Never saw this phenomenon before but I have not been to many shooting events where minies were shot. I have shot thick and thin skirted minies with a max of 60 grains of 3F and 2F Goex with no issues.

 

[dave951]

I'm with Hawkeye on casing minies and we shoot literally thousands a year in competition. Keep the lead as hot as the pot will go and pour it fast. The mold also needs to be at temperature for proper fill out and forming the skirt.

As to the load, 55g of 3f is heavy. I don't care what he thinks is the "service charge", that was of 2f. I also question sizing to .575. My experience with Euroarms is they generally have a large bore and take a minie in the .579+ range. Again, you can't go on what you think the bore is or what you think it is. It's a rare repop that is actually .575 and they're almost always Parker Hales.

I'd about bet the owner is a reenactor or hangs out with them.

But what would Hawkeye and I know about minies, it's not like we shoot them in competition-

 

[Stantheman86]

I had a separated skirt when I was shooting Foster slugs out of a .69 smoothbore. The slugs were too hard cast

I poured in a "blank" and shot the musket into the air , and blew the skirt out

 

[Cannonman1]

Great feedback... Thanks..
Love forums like this and the problem solving !!!

 

[fishmusic]

I have to confess, I only clicked on this because the thread title sounded like a really bad ****o.

and now I'm disappointed...

I agree. I had to wonder what he has been hunting.

 

[Big Bear Joe]

Short of pulling the breech plug is there a best method to remove a skirt (or 2) from the barrel of a Rifle Musket??

Track sells these things. I've had one in my bag for years but never had to test it, so who knows if they really work?

 

[dave951]

Track sells these things. I've had one in my bag for years but never had to test it, so who knows if they really work?

Not on a separated skirt. That's mainly for round ball. If the minie is still intact, it might work.

 

[yonderin]

In a recent thread I described how I use a hollow curtain rod to extract a stuck brush.
The the thought occurs to me, a variation on that would be to employ a curtain rod or tube that can get through the center of the skirt. Run your cleaning rod through it, put a bore brush on and draw it back into the tube. Run down the bore until you're past the skirt, push the brush out, twist cleaning rod in the direction of threads to unlock the bristles and hopefully draw everything out.