stuck ball 50 cal kentucky

[SWF]

have a problem need some advice. i have been shooting MZ for 30+ years never had a stuck ball.well that ended this week. i managed to get distracted because i was having real problems getting the ball and patch down so i was trying various ways to ease the pressure. i loaded a new patch and ball and sent it down , only to realize that i did not put powder. needless to say i was beside myself

when i got home i tried the ball puller, ramrod screwed into the ball than broke loose, again same thing. i was getting lead out on the screw. i decided to soak the barrel with breakfree overnight. this morning i went back and now i can't seem to find the ball? ramrod goes all the way to the breech. i fired 3 caps with a small patch at the front of the barell and it blew the patch away.
i ran hot wated through the barell into a pot and flushed no problem all the water came out.

question
could the breakfree disolve the lead ball?
could i have pushed the ball into the breech area behing the drum/nipple? and if so where does that leave me.

i will not fire this gun until i am sure it is clean

the gun is a traditions 50 cal kentucky

appreciate any thoughts on this problem.

thank you

 

[Melnic]

I'm a noob but did you stick a bore light into the muzzle and look in? Now that I know what I'm looking at, I can tell when my gun is empty.

 

[S.Kenton]

I would not believe that the stuck ball per-say is pushed into the breech area. I would also say that the ball didn't dissolve...although my knowledge of the chemicals involved is limited. I would second looking in the bore with a light and see if you can see what's going on.
You might try and dry the barrel out as much as possible, then take the nipple off, push some powder into the nipple hole, replace nipple and try and fire the ball out that way.
let us know how this turns out.

 

[azmntman]

grease gun :grin:

 

[necchi]

Chances are you drilled a hole through the ball.

The fix now is to get a larger screw into that hole.
It can be done with some common items from the hardware store.
* A Hanger bolt, https://www.google.com/search?q=ha...0YGADQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1024&bih=633
* A couple sections of All Thread rod https://www.google.com/search?q=al...KCyAGb54HYBA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg&biw=1024&bih=633
* Extension nuts https://www.google.com/search?q=ex...J8L4yQHoiYFI&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg&biw=1024&bih=633

For 50cal a 1/4" size should work.
Connect the All Thread rods with an extension nut, then add the Hanger bolt to one end with another extension nut, now you have a long rod with a larger screw..
The neat thing with the All Thread is you can lock two nut's together on the end you grasp with your hand and use a wrench for control when your pushing into the soft lead ball.
With flat washer over the muzzle, you can run a nut down to the washer and use the wrench to tighten (turn clockwise) and begin pulling the ball.
It's all mechanical work and not with your hands, :wink:
Get it?
At least that's work for me,,,

 

[Old Creek]

i would think you drilled through the ball as well. i have been there :redface:
i ended up making a curved pick and i picked the lead out through the touch hole with the pick and my smallest pocket knife being real careful of the threads. dont know if that is even an option for you but it worked for me.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

creek

 

[Alden]

Sorry, the "magic bullet" theory was already adopted by the Warren Commission investigating the Kennedy assassination.

I LOVE this thread!

 

[tom deinek]

I had the same though as y'all -- he drilled thru the ball. BUT, he says the ramrod is going all the way down. How can that be if the remnant of a half-inch lead ball is still in the bore?

¡Yo no intendiendo!

 

[don hepler]

I'd try what necchi said. Larger, threaded ball puller. If you had a long enough piece of metal rod, you could grind, a spade drill point on it and possibly drill the ball out. If you drop a metal rod down the barrel and it hits a ball it will make a dead thud. If it hits the back of the metal breech it will have a metal-to-metal sound. You can buy a tiny bobble light, for about $3. that you can drop down the barrel and see what's going on.
Just throwing a few more ideas out there.

 

[jamesthomas]

If I blow a stuck ball out I always point it at something so I can tell if it came out or not. I would also see if my ram bounced on the breech or check it against a round ball and see if the ram rod could go THROUGH the hole of the ball and hit the breech, some of those ram rods are pretty thin.

 

[Vaino]

Why not unbreech the bbl? .....Fred

 

[Patocazador]

If you have your ramrod marked twice (one for loaded, one for empty), you can place a wide cleaning jag on the end, allow for the length of the jag and measure it. That will answer your question but not help you remove the bullet.

I always got by (2x) by pulling the nipple, placing black powder in the hole and hitting it to send the powder into the breech, and then replacing the nipple and firing it. Measure after doing this since it may move the ball down the barrel a way but not out. I did it a second time and it cleared it.

 

[Billnpatti]

This is a real puzzlement. It is highly unlikely that the ball has somehow just disappeared. If you did not pull it out with your ball puller, I would guess that you most likely have made a hole through the ball large enough to allow your rod to go through it and down to the breach. That would leave a ring of lead in your bore that is going to be a beast to get out. You will need a metal rod that will fit into your bore. You will need to drill and tap the end of it and screw in a hanger bolt. The threads on this hanger bolt will need to be just slightly smaller in diameter than the bore so it will catch and hold the lead ring that is the remains of your ball. The rod will need some sort of handle on the other end that you can get a good grip on. Screw the hanger bolt into the lead, squirt a good dose of oil into your bore and let it sit for a few minutes. Then place the handle on your rod into the fork of a tree, grab the stock of your rifle and pull. If this fails, look for a good gunsmith who has the tools and knowledge to remove the breach. This de-breaching is not a do-it-yourself job for an untrained and unequipt person.

This problem is apparently the result of trying to load a patched ball into a fouled barrel. I highly recommend that in the future, you wipe your bore between shots. Use a patch that is just damp, not wet run it all the way to the breach in one smooth stroke and remove it in one smooth stroke. No pumping. This will remove the loose fouling. It is not a thorough cleaning, just removing the loose fouling that can cause stuck balls. It also keeps your bore the same from shot to shot and improves accuracy. The thorough cleaning will take place later after you have finished shooting for the day.

 

[Alden]

:grin:

"Oh where oh where did my stuck lead ball go, oh where oh where can it be..."

 

[Billnpatti]

Oh, it could be here
Or it could be there
With a borescope we could see
But without a scope
There isn't much hope
Of finding where that booger can be
A gunsmith he could beseech
To unscrew the breach
With a fi fi fiddely de dee.

 

[SWF]

thank you all for the information. i will try several recommendations. i also ordered a discharger Co2 folks say they do work, we will find out.

i agree that the ball is still there only deformed as a result of my constant attempts to pull it out.

i will let you all know many thanks for all your help

 

[jamesthomas]

Sorry, but if the ball has a hole in it from the ball puller the co2 will not blow it out. All the co2 will do is blow through the hole in the ball and not remove the ball. If the hole is just wallered out and has gotten to big for the ball puller it might work.

 

[necchi]

Please do not try to de-breech your rifle.
With this style of factory installed breech you will wreck the barrel.

 

[rmackey]

:applause:

 

[kaintuck]

Or, just remove drum first, then breach, propane torch it to melt the lead, then re-assemble..... :hatsoff: