need to pick some brains

[Old Creek]

I went against my better judgement today and pulled the old girl out for some shooting even though I couldnt pind my vent pick or ball puller, bigger than @#** I have a load down the barrel that want ignite. I have cleared the vent, cleaned the frizzen anad primer pan and turned the rifle upside down to see if I could thump it and have powder com out. No powder came out so I am sure I didnt load out of sequence. Three questions:
ONE- How much trouble am I looking at having powder in the bore for the 2 or 3 days it will take me to get another ball puller?? I am worried about pitting the barrel.
TWO- are there any options to a ball puller that dont require machining or a engineering degree?
THREE- the rifle has been sitting for about an hour now ( 6:30 PM EST ) is the danger of cooking off passed enough to run a wet patch down the bore to get as much fouling out as possible??
The rifle is a Pedersoli frontier in .45

thanks in advance.
creek.

 

[Billnpatti]

The quickest and easiest way to remove a ball from your bore is to carefully trickle a few grains of 4f powder in through your touch hole and shoot the ball out. It isn't hard to get the small granules of powder to go in the touch hole. After working the powder in the touch hole, make sure your ball is completely seated on the powder and then fire it down range. If you don't see the ball come out, use your rod to see if it has come out, If not, first work some more powder through the touch hole, re-seat the ball and give it another try. it doesn't take much powder to pop it out but make absolutely sure that it is pointed in a safe direction. Once it is out, you can clean your bore and it will be ready to start shooting again.

 

[Coot]

Where are you located? A member with a puller may not be too far away.

After an hour, I would not worry about a cook off.

A CO2 discharger will pop the ball out without a puller. (Aim in a safe direction, the ball will be moving pretty fast).

If your gun has a removable vent liner, you can unscrew it & dribble a little priming powder in behind the ball.

My main concern with cleaning is getting the patch wet & having to leave it in place until the ball is removed. Perhaps a liberal use of WD40 before & after cleaning would suffice??

 

[loco6725]

Just force a little powder into the vent hole and re-prime and fire. It should shoot.
RB

 

[nit wit]

Creek:
Use the ramrod to measure where the ball is,if the ball is not seated all the way down it may not fire. They don't cookoff you may get a hangfire but after a couple minutes you should be fine. If you pushe the ball past the flash hole you will need a puller. Lube the bore before pulling.
Nit Wit

 

[Old Creek]

Thanks Fellas. I tried gettin some 3f into the touch hole twice but forgot to check where the ball was before donig so. dark caught me so I will try again in the morning after checking to see where the ball is.
I was going to try to screw the liner out but it looks like it will require taking the lock off and this being my first flinter, or traditional muzzle loader of any kind for that matter I was unsure of what trouble I could create by starting to take things apart. If anyone has taken the lock of of their frontier I would appreciate some insight that may get me shootin again tomorrow.

Thanks again.

creek

 

[TinStar]

If you don't have a CO2 discharger then you can use an air compressor with a coned shaped nozzle for blowing away debris. The type you use to clean up parts etc. Take off your lock and put the cone up against the touch hole and squeeze the nozzle lever. Be sure to have enough pressure built up. The nozzle I have is like hard rubber.
I have done this myself at one time on a percussion gun and took the nipple off. Not much difference.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[TinStar]

Don't worry about removing the lock. It needs to be done for a proper cleaning anyway IMHO.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[Leatherbark]

The lock comes off easy. Remove the lock bolt and the lock screw on the same side as the lock (in front). You might have problems getting the touch hole liner out if you have never had it out. These will seize in if you dont take them out and use some anti-seize occasionally.

Your Pedersoli has a patent breech, so even when the ball is seated all the way down, there will be an anti-chamber there for you to get enough powder through the touch-hole liner hole to fire the ball out. Did it many times with a Pedersoli I used to have. Easy as pie.

Good Luck

Bob

 

[pa woods roamer]

Agree. I have a Lyman, with a Patent Breech, and is easy to get Powder behind the Ball. Also, Even when using Air to discharge the Ball, make sure the Muzzle is pointed in a safe direction. The Ball will have enough force to do damage....

 

[AZbpBurner]

By now, you know what a PITA trying to trickle powder thru your flash hole is , so:

IF you have a flash hole liner, remove it first, and then trickle in all the powder you can. Tap the barrel occasionally with a wooden mallet, or even the heel of your shoe to help pack more in. It helps to tap it with the muzzle down.

Reinstall the touch hole liner, then light it up.

It ain't rocket surgery :thumbsup:

 

[Old Creek]

Thanks again fellas. I put the rod down the bore last night after trying to get powder into the touch hole and discovered that I did in fact put a ball down the barrel without charging with powder first
I just got the grandboys packed off with their mammy so I am about to start on it again by first removing the lock since 3 attempts to get enough powder behind the ball to budge it have failed.
I do have a air compressor so if I can find my nozzle and tips I will try that first and then gettin powder behind it, if that doesnt work I found a screw with a course thread that I am going to try to braze to a peice of 3/8's all thread if I have torch fuel which I dont think I do, I think I ran out in October working on my cane mill. What really makes me sick about it all is that I was getting all the balls in a good group and had caught myself flinchin on one shot and was able to remind myself to stay on the target and correct. I was shootin 50gns 3f,.440 ball and 010 pre lubed patches from TOW and made it through 7 of 12 shots when this happened. my plan was to change targets after 12 shots and do the same thing with 015 pre lubed patches from TOW, wanted to go from 010 to 012 but they didnt have any,
any how, it off to the salt mine and I'll report back as soon as I either succeed or surrender :surrender:
Thanks.
creek.

 

[Old Creek]

OOOPPS, should have said if I use the all thread I will completely wrap everything but the screw tip with electrical or duct tape before puttin it down the bore.

creek

 

[Old Creek]

well i surrendered today
angry is an under statement, even though it was directed at myself. i got the lock off anad your right, it does need to come off from time to time at least, only a couple dozen shots through her and already there was greasy residue behind it, also got the liner out ok, tried several times packing powder in even using a hooked pick to kinda guide to where it needed to be, still no cigar. by the time i had taken this thing apart and put it together again the 4th or 5th time i was so mad my eyes was bulging and my language was deteriating severly so before i started using it for a bat i thought it best to lay it aside for awhile. tomorrow i am going to pick up a ball puller if i can find one and a nozzle kit for the air compressor.
wish me luck.....i need it.

creek

 

[Old Creek]

I got it out FINALY. after cooling down some i gathered enough parts, the least not being a tube off of a baby syringe to cobble together a nozzle to blow the ball out but that didnt budge it, to much blow by i asume. I was broodin about my next move when it dawned on me where i put my worm, pick and ball puller. first try the screw pulled out of the ball, 2cd try broke the end of the ram rod, 3rd time i held the tip of the ram rod with linesman pliers and tapped with a hammer and it started movin. after it moved 2 or 3 inches i was able to pull it out by hand. i have the barrel cleaned and oiled and tomorrow after work i will clean the vent liner and reinstall it with some copper bearing never seize and re-clean the lock and stock. incase anybody is wondering why my rod tools were so well hidden its because last time i went lookin for em i found them in the bottom of the washing machine. i gotta get a possibles bag made or bought quick.
Many thanks to you all, another lesson learned, well actualy 2 or 3.

creek

 

[AZbpBurner]

Over the years I've accumulated several nylon fabric insulated lunch coolers from various places I've worked. After some use, they lose insulating properties, or the inside liner wears out. I finally found a good use for several of them:

One has powder flasks, balls, caps & cappers, ball lube, measures, wads & stuff to shoot my cap & ball revolvers.

Another has caps, musket caps, nipples, more flasks & more balls. This one is for my caplock rifles & has space left to drop in a plastic pencil case (ceegar box dimensions)that has more balls, flints, picks, patches & rod tips.

The trick is to grab the right one to match the gun going to the range, or to be able to lift all of them simultaneously. When I setthem all on a bench at the range, it looks like I'm on a picnic.

Oh yes, I have one more to hold the benchtop cylinder loaders for my Colt & Remington cap & ball revolvers.

There is a little duplication of screwdrivers & stuff & it pays to keep an eye out for Harbor freight coupons for free stuff - especially the 6 piece screwdriver sets. You can grind them to fit about anything.

 

[Pioneer flinter]

creek don't worry about pushing the ball past the flash hole on you frontier it has a patent breech that is around twenty caliber. make sure the ball is all the way down against it and fill the breech with powder through the flash hole, prime and shoot in a safe direction.

 

[Zonie]

That's why I didn't respond to this topic.

I still can't figure out why putting some powder into the flash hole or pulling the vent liner and putting some powder into the cavity under it didn't blow the ball out of the barrel unless the fresh powder didn't fire?

With the vent removed, he should have been able to put enough powder in there to blow the ball thru the ceiling after reinstalling the vent and firing the gun !

 

[TinStar]

The air compressor with a "proper" nozzle and enough air pressure will work. There is no doubt about it. So will a CO2 discharger. You need to have a good tight fit for a proper seal. Cobbing something up likely won't do. Frustration and impatience doesn't help. Sometimes stepping away for awhile and collecting thoughts helps a ton. Learned that building a gun.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[majg1234]

Glad you got 'er fixed, had only limited success pulling balls over the years until I started using TOTW covered screws.They are really sharp and threading is kinda tapered.Since using these guys I've had zero failures to pull a ball.use a muzzle guard to center it,short rap of RR with my knife screw it in apply leather thong to RR attach to tree etc and pull away.I'm always rewarded with a "PLOOP" sound and a ball on a screw :grin: