Powder plug in barrel

[diego_m]

I haven't shot my flintlock in a couple of months. The last time I used it it misfired and I had to use the ball puller to (of course) pull the ball. I thought I had gotten all the powder out but when I checked it today there is apparently a "slug" of powder remaining.

1) When I use the ball puller some powder adheres to the threads.
2) When I use the fouling scraper it seems to be rubbing a hard surface (of powder?)
3) When I use a dry swab it comes out clean.
4) When I use CO2 some air comes out the barrel but there is no "whoosh" and cloud of powder.

I have misplaced my cleaning jag so I can't run a patch down/up the barrel -- two have been ordered.

The ramrod goes down the barrel and stops about 1.5 inches in front of the touch hole. It goes nowhere near the breech plug.

Do you think I should pour water down the barrel, let it soak, then try to remove the soaked powder? If not, what else should I do?

BTW, shooting it isn't an option since I just had bypass surgery and the surgeon said to wait at least six months before shooting anything with recoil.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Black Hand]

Do you think I should pour water down the barrel, let it soak, then try to remove the soaked powder?

Yes. It would help if you had a jag so you could clean the barrel at the same time. Whenever I pull a ball, I use a worm (not the screw) to loosen the powder so it can be removed.

At 1.5 inches, it could be possible you double-loaded. Try the screw again to see if there is a second ball in the bore...

 

[ohio ramrod]

I recomend the old stand by cleaning solution of equal parts Murphy's oil soap, alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide. The bubbling action along with the alcohol and soap will dissolve any black powder or fouling.Just plug the vent and pour some in and let sit. :idunno:

 

[SgtErv]

Leaving powder in the barrel while you await the arrival of the jag won't harm it, but wet powder would. I agree with Black Hand in that you should perhaps go through the entire cleaning process when you do this.

Good luck!

 

[Scota4570]

What brand of rifle? Does the breech plug have a long snout that you forgot about?

 

[diego_m]

It's a Pedersoli Pennsylvania .32. cal. flintlock.

I can screw the bullet puller into the ball but can't move it, so it's not the breech plug. I'm going to try some olive oil to see if that helps things along.

Regardless I'm going to give the bore a THOROUGH cleaning once I have unstuck the ball.

 

[diego_m]

Update (the time for editing the previous post has passed)...

I can now screw the puller into something solid (not caked powder). Apparently it's a lead ball, but I can't move it (due to surgery). Any ideas? Olive oil? A strong friend?

 

[nebraska steve]

What has worked for me with a stuck ramrod may work to pull the obstruction. I have used a strong boot lace and tied several half hitches on the ramrod then looped the lace over a suitable tree limb, so I could pull down on the rifle and use my weight, to free the ram rod.

 

[timothy prouty]

Get a friend to do it so it saved yourself from getting hurt if not remove the vent strew and put some powder in we screwed and shoot the ball out in the ground make sure you pick the vent first

 

[Rick Boylan]

You might think this a silly question but, what type of powder were you using?

If you don't have a friend who can help clear the barrel, contact a gunsmith that works in BP.

 

[Gene L]

Since the ball has been pulled, I'd either soak it out with Ballistol or dabble some powder behind it and let a friend shoot it out for you.

A good cleaning is in order. Since it apparently is compacted, I would suspect moisture and possibly rust.

 

[Scota4570]

Rig up a slide hammer.

 

[Tinker2]

You might think this a silly question but, what type of powder were you using?

If you don't have a friend who can help clear the barrel, contact a gunsmith that works in BP.

Best way



William

 

[Danny Ross]

If you have a range rod with either a T handle or a round ball on it. Put your ball puller on and screw it into the round ball in the barrel, turn the gun up side down, put your feet over both ends of the T handle or around the ball and pull the gun upwards with both hands. Easiest way I have found to pull a ball. I believe it gives you more leverage and something larger to hold on to. Since there was powder in the barrel pour some water down the barrel to naturalize any remaining power. DANNY

 

[NEW222]

Although probably not correct, but recently I had a cleaning jag stuck hard down in my 54 New Englander and I too needed to remove it. What I did was screw a long screw with the correct thread into the end of the ramrod sticking out the barrel, then clamped on a pare of vise grip pliers and CAREFULLY tapped the pliers as close to the rod with light short taps. It came out with no problems. I understand your dilemma with the bypass as my father too had a triple this past June and is still weary of doing things. Hoping for a speedy recovery for ya! :hatsoff:

 

[diego_m]

The mystery has finally been solved! Thanks to a insightful neighbor the problem turned out to be... the touchhole vent was too long! It extended far enough into the barrel so that what seemed like a stuck ball problem was actually the bullet puller screw getting caught on the vent edge. Of course no amount of pulling would extract the vent!

I have since replaced the factory touchhole stainless vent with another vent made of brass that is the correct length. Pedersoli should use better quality control!

Thanks to all of you who gave me great advice!

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks for the follow up. It is always nice to see someone find the answer along with providing a heads up for the rest of us on a potential problem.

 

[TFoley]

Pedersoli need to know about this - it's not as though they were some shade-tree operation in the Khyber Pass.

A snottogram ought to be winging its way over to Iddly right now.

tac

 

[Zonie]

I think the members of the Forum also need to remember this vent length problem so we can suggest it to the next people who have a FTF with their new factory made gun.

I found out the hard way that if the vent sticks out inside the bore it can often produce "failures to fire".

It happened that I missed the step where I should trim the length of the vent plug and left it the original length.

At the shooting range the gun would get flashes in the pan just fine but, the main powder charge would only fire about once for every three primings.

After I found the long vent and corrected its length so it was slightly less than the barrel wall thickness the rifle would fire 99 percent of the time.

 

[azmntman]

Pedersoli need to know about this - it's not as though they were some shade-tree operation in the Khyber Pass.

A snottogram ought to be winging its way over to Iddly right now.

tac

:rotf: :rotf: :thumbsup: