Rite of Passage...First Dry Ball!

[pa woods roamer]

Pete G, I have been guilty of shooting A Ram Rod At a Target shoot. It WAS a Fiberglass Ram Rod and certainly got My attention !!Re-set the Hammer and dang near re-set My shoulder !!!

 

[Swede50]

I have dry balled a couple of times but didn't have much trouble getting the ball out with a ball puller.
But
I put 2 patches on my 50cal ball jammed it down the barrel about 3 inches it wouldn't go any farther.
I had been told not to fire it out of the barrel or it burst or make a bulge. It cost me a day at the range.
Got home screwed the ramrod into the ball pulled the center out of the ball broke the ramrod.
Poured motor oil down the barrel to deactivate the powder let it set over night.
Made a puller out of a steel threaded rod put it on my dent puller and pulled that sucker out of the barrel.
Thanked by lucky stars that I didn't do any thing to hurt myself or anyone near me at the range.

 

[azmntman]

I did same months back and had to create a slide hammer to get mine out!

So, I never (yet) shot a ramrod out the barrel and see notations that it increases recoil? How much and why?

 

[pat i.]

Add the ramrod weight to the weight of the ball and that's what you're shooting so it's going to have more recoil.

I don't know if talking about centefire guns is allowed but when I was shooting cast bullet BR a national champ launched a brass cleaning rod out of his rifle at a national match. The thing stuck in the ground like an arrow at around 30 yards. Once we found out he was alright we had to stop the match for about a half hour to give everyone time to stop laughing. He said it kicked like a mule. Moral of story even the best make mistakes sometimes.

 

[tom deinek]

Buddy loaded & put a tompion in his piece. Forgot it and shot that sucker about a mile & a quarter.

 

[greggholmes]

 

[cschibi]

Well Said my brother! :thumbsup:

You got it! Let's learn from each other!

Thanks to all who are self aware enough to share your experiences.

 

[azmntman]

I wonder if a drop of superglue on a flat ram rod attachment would have pulled it? Maybe a sharp cutting edged tool of some sort to open up the edge too? I was just thinkin...I probably have to try sooner or later :hmm:

 

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

Easy enough to remove with a pure lead ball, but I am anguishing over the prospect of having to remove one of those ITX tungsten alloy roundballs.

I have not dry balled yet, but have had to remove charged chambers.

Easy enough to do if you can remove the breech without difficulty, but on some types of rifles this would not be an easy task.

CO2 charge removers are definitely a good idea for either type of projectile, but I am also thinking of other methods.

Would some type of ramrod mounted drill or magnet work for these lead alternatives?

This is certainly a problem that needs to be addressed.

 

[Artificer]

Ever look downrange and see a SQUARE hole in your target when you expected to see ragged round holes?

It happened about four targets down from me in our small monthly match we held at Quantico in the early 70's.

I can't remember who used to make ramrod Jag tips this way, but they were made like an extended cone with a threaded portion on the small outer end. Then you just screwed a ridged brass button on to that for the size of your bore. The shooter was not checking to ensure the button had not unscrewed for quite a while and it was loose and unscrewed and stayed in the bore. So the shooter got TWO holes in his target for one shot.

My Best Friend in Life was the Match Director that day and walked up to the surprised shooter who was commenting on the square hole in his target. Took a couple minutes for them to figure out what had caused it. Then he told the shooter, "Remember, that counts as a shot/hit on your target - so don't fire what would normally be your fifth shot." The other funny thing was the square hole just happened to be closer to the center of the bullseye than the ball that drove it downrange.

Gus

 

[Many Klatch]

I have dryballed often enough that I have added something to my loading procedure to help prevent that very thing. If I am talking and not paying close attention to my loading, I will stop before putting the ball in the barrel, wet the end of the ramrod with my tongue and send the ramrod down. If it comes back with grains of blackpowder stuck to the ramrod, I'm good to keep loading. If not then it is time to add powder.

This saved me from a couple of dry ball opportunities last year and once this year already.

 

[Ken Cormier]

PeteG cool list never double loaded YET have dry balled twice in a row. At a show and tell shoot. Felt like the dumbest person on the planet. I have shot my ramrod down range on a woods walk did not hit the target lol. I ama NMLRA cert range officer most of my mistakes have been done while being interrupted by some one asking a safety questions. As there is a rule if it is your time to be range officer you do not get to shoot. My point is that even the slightest interruption in your loading techniques can cause things to go wrong. If you have not ever had a problem while loading your muzzleloader then maybe you should get a merit badge .
Ps not meant for you Pete.

 

[azmntman]

I was wondering about the removal of the card w/o powder issue (super glue on jag sat on card til set?)

 

[Dean2]

Never heard that one, what is a "tompion"?

 

[azmntman]

a butt plug fer yer musket, well kinda :idunno:

 

[kopfjaeger]

"LOL" Now that's what I call a sense of humor.

 

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

I am not sure what you mean by a card, do you mean like a wad?

If that is the case the usual stuck ball remover with screw on it would serve for card removal, but you probably already know that.

In my possible kit I usually carry cleaning jag, stuck ball remover, a double wire catch patch remover, breech scraper, toothpicks, etc.

 

[azmntman]

Was a reply per Eric Krewson who had dryballed a load of shot. Over powder card too low in breech to fire out and ball puller a no go. Thus my superglue post. :idunno:

 

[tom deinek]

"wet the end of the ramrod with my tongue and send the ramrod down"

Been doin bp 30 years & keep learning new stuff. Cool.

 

[Zonie]

Never heard that one, what is a "tompion"?

It's a (usually) wooden plug that is inserted into the muzzle to keep debris and water out of the bore.

TOMPION