sabot and powder stuck and won't fire

[tobias]

Thanks for all your support and encouragement, I am getting excited all over again about switching up these things and feeling that recoil.

 

[tobias]

Hehe I did notice last night as I was about finished scrubbing that the screw that holds the hammer in place was a bit loose. I wasn't sure how much to tighten it so I just gave it a snug. I had forgotten to mention that, I am glad you brought that up because I hadn't even given it another thought.

 

[tobias]

tis a small world indeed, I live just outside Carrollton. How bout you? Do you ever get out to McIntosh Reserve for the Rendz.?

 

[hobbles]

Mornin tOBias
I've been thinkin,, I have been showin a friend how to load his ML and his would not fire all the time either, I notice that he would not always have the hammer cocked and he would not RAM the ball down, Doin both will get the powder where it has to be to get a good boom, Just a thought,,

 

[tobias]

Cocking the hammer before ramming the ball? I had never thought of that. I will make sure that I do that from now on. That could mean all the difference. Thanks for that tidbit. I do tend to only push the ball until it is snug as well, so I will double my efforts there as well. Thanks for all this help my friend.

 

[hobbles]

I do tend to only push the ball until it is snug as well,

Mornin tOBias
I may have said that wrong,, I ment to ram the ball home fast, not extra hard sorry,,

 

[Stumpkiller]

Sick with it. We all "paid our dues" sometime in the past.

Before I shoot my percussions I run an alcohol (91% isopropyl or stove alcohol) patch to clear any oil, then a dry patch. Then I poke the nipple with a straightened small paper-clip and pop two caps to blow out any oil in the drum.

 

[tobias]

:thumbsup: No problems I understood what you were saying. But that has been a problem with this thing too. The very first shot I made with it when I bought it took a lot of effort and I mean a lot of effort to get the slug down the barrel. That being the case I just assumed (yepper I know about assuming but..... :winking: )that it was normal. Then once I got her clean the other night it was like a different piece all together. But I still was making the mistake of gingerly pushing it down. So your help is very much appreciated.

 

[tobias]

Ok I have some of that percentage of alcohol here and will start doing that. The caps being fired beforehand sounds like a good idea as well. Thanks for your help.

 

[Zonie]

A word of caution about ramming the ball/bullet "fast".
Don't try to ram the ball in one stroke.
Doing so puts you hand too far from the muzzle and usually bends the ramrod severely which can break it. (If it breaks, it has been known to end up going right thru your hand or wrist).

Ram the ball using 8-13 inch strokes.

If your using a wooden ramrod that came with the gun, examine it closely to see if the "grain" of the wood is "breaking out the side".

You should be looking for wood grain that looks like this:

If you see grain like this, you can use it, but expect it to fracture along one of these grain boundryes. In other words, be dam careful.
If you plan on doing much shooting, I urge you to either buy a metal range rod, or one of the new synthetic rods.

 

[tobias]

Hey hey hey I got one right for a change. :grin: A synthetic rammer was the first purchase I made outside the powder and cleaning jags. My wooden ram rod did not look like the drawing and I didn't feel comfortable with it. I appreciate the heads up and a plan for ramming the ball. I was pushing with all my might the other night and began to wander what would happen if the ram rod broke while I was pushing so hard.
Thanks again, and as you can see I need someone to take me by the hand and beat me over the head a while. But I am learning and adapting and now that the storms have passed us by I am hoping to be out on the range today smoking some little round circles.

 

[patch knife]

Tobias , is your ramrod made of fiberglass ? If it is , you will need to use a bore guide with it . I got my bore guide from the plumbing dept. at Home Depot . I can't remember what it's called , but it's made of nylon and works quite well . Fiberglass is highly abrasive and will damage your muzzle in a short time .

 

[wwfeatherston]

I had a lot of that problem, when I started- usually only witht he first shot. Changing from FFG to FFFG seemed to help, the smaller grains 'get around the corner' more easily.

For some reason, the nipple hole was undersized- too small to put a pricker theough- this was a par of the problem too, as was not getting every trace of oil out of the drum.

Stick with it! I could only get my 1858 remingtons to spark, every other shot at first, no they go every time I drop the hammer.

When out hunting, I pull the nipple and check there is powder under it, if not, I tip a few grains in. No big deal missing a shot on the range, but out hunting...no way!

 

[tobias]

Yes sir it is indeed fiberglass. I had no idea bout that. What do I look for in the Home Depot? I mean to ask what does it look like? Why would fiberglass harm steel? I am not understanding this one

 

[pmwest]

Just my 2 cents worth, my experience with OEM nipples on CVA guns is that the port is too small to effectively ignite pyrodex. I would replace with a “hotter” design. The other issue that may be happening here is cap debris collecting in the nipple. I have had this happen with Remington caps. If this is what you are using, I suggest using a nipple pick to check for trash after you fire your first caps and before you load your first shot.

 

[patch knife]

Yes sir it is indeed fiberglass. I had no idea bout that. What do I look for in the Home Depot? I mean to ask what does it look like? Why would fiberglass harm steel? I am not understanding this one

Don't feel bad Tobias , I didn't know fiberglass rods could cause wear on the muzzle , when I bought mine about a year ago . Thanks to some of the folks here on the forum , I found out before I ever used it without a bore guide :bow: . I wish I could remember what the fitting I use for a bore guide is called , but I can't . I'll try to describe it to you the best I can . It is a nylon , coupling device , that has male threads on one end and the other end is a ribbed male end , that tubing would fit over . It is about 2 inches long , with a hexagonal section 1/4 inch wide , between each end . Anything that will fit into the muzzle without falling down the bore , and has an inside diameter large enough for the rod to fit through , will work . Brass will be okay to use , too . The last time I checked , Track of the Wolf sells bore guides , check out thier website . Fiberglass is made of glass , and glass is harder than steel . When the two come together , the steel is going to lose . When you use a bore guide , the rod rubs against the bore guide instead of the muzzle .

 

[tobias]

Well bust my britches, I never in a million years would have thought about that. Man o Man am I glad I stumbled in to this forum. Since joining I have not had a day or even an entry here that I have not learned something. Your details are clear as a bell to me my friend, thank you for taking the time to describe it to me. I will be at the Home Depot tomorrow and get me one and be on the way to saving my barrel.

 

[tobias]

I havn't noticed any debris as yet but that very well could be a major factor. I will be on the watch and a nipple pick is on the way. Thank you for bringing this to my attention my friend. I can see that BP shooting requires lots of things to be be thinking about and functions to be performed that I never knew even existed. But I so love the feel of that bad boy's kick and the smell of that sulfur. As I told someone else, I have learned so much in this forum thanks to guys like you and many many others.

 

[Throckmorton]

By any chance is your pryodex lumpy?
as a newbie myself,our first time out was a bust.Wehad the pyro given to us and had not taken a good look at it before heading to the hills.
No boom
Just a thought from a rank beginner.
btw,we are shooting a t/c .50 as well.

 

[Idaho Elk Hunter]

I only use Goex BP as I noticed ingnition problems with all other substitutes I tried.
It is real easy to over lube your barrel after a thorough hot water cleaning. I have done that several times and when swabbing between shots have got too much #13 or whatever I was using and created a damp situation in breech. I too have tried air compressor with no luck (last Wednesday) and then removed nipple and trickled some FFFG in there and screwed nipple back in and put cap on and fired. It came out with no problem then. I have done this several times. Always clean and dry your breech real well with dry patches after swabbing with barrel cleaning solution. Of course always fire several caps before loading after cleaning as well.
You can mail order BP from Powder, Inc.

Hang in there and remember the "learning curve" does get less steep each time you shoot your BP guns. I was fortunate to have people around me in the 1970's that helped me immensely in heading off common problems that do come up.
Jim in Idaho