stuck ram rod

[charliek]

I went to wipe out the barrel prior to firing for the first time my new Parker-Hale Volunteer rifle. Put a patch soaked in cleaner on the jag on the rod which came with it and pushed it down with no trouble. It seemed stiff when I tried to pull it out but came about 1/2 way and stuck. I put temporary handle on the end of the rod but it won't come out. I pushed it back to the breech and its stuck there. Clamping the rod in the vise nearly tipped the bench over. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've been shooting blackpowder one way or another for 40+ years and have never had this kind of a screw up. Unbreeching it looks like more than I can handle given the way the patent breech is built.
Thanks,
Charlie

 

Stand the rifle upright and pour warm soapy water down the bore and let her sit for 15 minutes or so and try to pull it out again. If all else fails, shoot it out with a very small charge. The soapy water trick should work, you just gotta really pull like the devil!

 

[JKVirginia]

If you've got a shootin' buddy with one of those C02 load dischargers like Cabela's sells, use that to blow it out. Worked for me one time.

And try using smaller patches from here on in, I know that was causing me stuck rods left and right.

 

[roundball]

If you're going to try and shoot it out, better try that before you go and fill the bore up with water

 

:hmm:How would you shoot it out if the rod is stuck in the barrel?
::How would you get a charge in it and is this a safe operation to preform?

Woody

 

[roundball]

:hmm:How would you shoot it out if the rod is stuck in the barrel?
::How would you get a charge in it and is this a safe operation to preform?

Woody

Pull the nipple (or vent liner) and trickle in a couple dozen grains of powder, replace the nipple (or vent) and in a 100% safe manner, fire the rifle into the ground, or a box full of old towels out in the back yard, etc.

Might want to use a pipe cleaner or a tiny torn strip of cloth to push into the fire channel first to soak up any moisture/oil that might be in there

 

Damn if there is a will there is a way!... Thanks for your quit qitted responce RB I appriciate it.

Woody

 

[roundball]

Damn if there is a will there is a way!... Thanks for your quit qitted responce RB I appriciate it.

Woody

Not my invention...read it in some magazine years ago...just passing it on...I've done it myself so I know in can work

 

[Rat]

Not sure about the soapy water...if it didn't work and the rod remained stuck...you might wind up with a nice rust ring in that spot of the barrel. Would be pretty hard to clean the water out of the rest of the barrel with the rod stuck in it too.

I'd go with some type of oil.

Rat

 

[Canuck Caster]

And thats "trickle a few dozen GRANULES" of powder into the breech, not a few dozen GRAINS. You DO want to keep the ramrod in your own county, don't you? I just don't want to see anyone hurt their rifle or their friends. I had the brass part of a fibreglass ramrod stay down bore one time. Had to drive all the way back to the range to shoot it out, as discharging a firearm within city limits, for ANY reason, is bound to bring the local constabulary to your door in these parts. :nono: I filled a cardboard box full of rags and shot into the rags. Ramrod tip plowed through several layers of rags, through the cardboard and buried into the earth. Had to dig it out. And that was only a few Grains of powder-probably no more than 3 grains! I retrieved the part and PINNED it to the 'glass ramrod. Trouble-free since. :m2c:

 

[Birdwatcher]

Rather than warm soapy water how about liquid BP solvent down the barrel to lube and soften that patch? At the range a couple of days ago I had occasion to pour some "Ol' Thunder" BP cleaning solvent down over a similarly stuck patch. Probably wouldn't be as corrosive as soap and water.

Failing that, how about overwhelming force? Twenty years ago I had a Zouave repro with a similarly stuck ramrod. In the naivete of youth I tied the rifle to the house (rope around the wrist and through the trigger guard I think) and the top handle of the ramrod to the bumper of a pick-up truck, put the truck in reverse and eased up the clutch. A moment of hestitation and then the ramrod popped free.

Assuming a pinned rod, it wouldn't need to be as crude as that. Maybe something rigged up using a padded vise and a come-along.

Birdwatcher

 

[Brazos]

I've had luck using a slide hammer type of arrangement.

 

[RussB]

Charlie, I'm thinking that PH Volunteer has the same type rod as my 1861 Colt, and that is a steel Rod with a "Tulip Head" that requires adapters for the Jag. I also think that rifle may very well have a "powder chamber" wherein that first inch or so may well be a bit larger than the bore, athough I don't know that for a fact....some did.

If that should be the case, I don't think I would try to shoot it out with a powder charge, albeit that is the typical way of doing things, along with the CO2 discharger.

I have been successful using Kroil, an ounce or so, and letting it set overnight with the nipple removed.

Russ

 

[Rat]

I'd go with Kroil and "overwhelming" force!! You may want to order a new ram-rod, and weld a slide-hammer or loop or something to the end of the one in the barrel. (which has a different tip than the 1861 by the way) !!!!

Shooting out the ram-rod...if you are SURE the rod is all the way to the bottom of the barrel, up against the breech.

I've heard that Ol Thunder will rust...although I don't know that for a fact. Seems that someone posted once that they had wiped their bore down with 'Ol Thunder, left it for a day and it was RUST CITY. Again I'd stick with some kind of oil, kroil, or whatever.

Wow I really feel-your-pain man...that's got to suck, out to shoot a rifle for the first time and the rod gets stuck! SUCKS!!!

:curse:

Man I love normal, non-trick, flat-faced breech plugs. I have a Zouave that has the chamber in the breech, and it's slightly smaller than the bore. I only use a slotted tip with that rifle, never a jag.

Rat

 

[WSmitty01]

Shoot it out,,,done it a few times since all I use is hickory ramrods!!

 

[Zonie]

Remove the barrel from the stock, and remove the nipple.
Drive to a auto repair shop or a gas station that still has a shop (if you can find one) and tell the owner/manager you would like to have them use their compressed air to blow the stuck cleaning jag out of the barrel. You might want to make it clear that the barrel is not loaded.
If they say OK, they should direct their air nozzle into the nipple hole and push the button.
Make sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction.
100 PSI of shop air can provide enough velocity to the jag for it to damage things.

If that doesn't work, they can try to force it out using their pressure grease gun. Takes a lot of grease to fill the barrel though.

 

[charliek]

Thanks everybody, I got the thing out. Clamping the padded end of the rod in a vice and pulling on the rifle by two guys moved it about a foot but no farther. Blowing it out with an air compressor didn't work. Several tries with a few granules of powder didn't work. After a few tries with a dent pulling wrench the rod finally came out and then the patch was blown out with air. The powder charges had burned the patch enough that the end of the rod came through it. Lots of lessons learned. My Co2 kit is on the way. I think the rod was too far up the bore and the air and charge just compressed the intervening air instead of moving the patch. Loading tulip ends aren't cleaning jags!
I appreciate the help.
Charlie