Stuck - real good (bad) this time

After all these years I finally got a ramrod and cleaning rag stuck in the bore. And I mean Stuck In The Bore - big time. I have taken the rifle apart and with the barrel in a vise, can not drag the rod out - even with a rod puller. I think this calls for backing out the breach plug and shoving the rag and rod through. My questions are - where does one get a breach plug wrench? Are breach plus screwed in with with standard run threads (Lefty = loosey and Righty = tighty)?

 

[taylorh]

I see them reularly on ebay for about 35.00.
Good Luck,
Taylor in Texas

 

[George Holton]

Clamp the rod in a strong vice,having soaked the patch and stuff with your favorite penetrating lubricant, then grab the barrel and pull! twist in an unscrewing direction and keep pulling, get a strong friend and bet him he cant pull it. a come along fastened to the barrel with clamps might help. been there done that. Bob

 

[Ridge]

The way it has always worked for me is to put the RAMROD in the vice and pull on the barrel. Just dump some water down it first and give it a chance to soak into the patch.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Yeah, dump some penetrating fluid down the barrel (kerosene will do good or squirt WD-40 down, a lot pf it) clamp ramrod in vice firmly, grab barrel and pull, she'll come out.

 

[Mad Professor]

I've shot stuck jags/rods out by putting a pinch of powder under the nipple.

 

[Birddog6]

You didn't state what manufacturer made the barrel, so I can't tell ya if you can even get the breechplug out. :hmm:

However, were it me & I could not yank it out, my first inclinations is to put some powder behind it & shoot it out. It only takes about 5 grains of powder to get one out.

Also a blast from a air conmpressor with a rubber tipped nozzle in the nipple/vent hole usually works.
Remove vent or nipple, quick hard blast with the nozzle & BE SURE to have the muzzle in a safe direction as that sucker comes out hard ! :shocked2:

 

[renovato]

If you decide to debreech the barrel, Ebay has wrenches listed right now. I ran into them yesterday. They had 13/16, 15/16 and 1 inch.

 

[Slenk]

Right sized grease zert and a grease gun works great , or CO2 Stuck ball remover

 

I've shot stuck jags/rods out by putting a pinch of powder under the nipple.

Remember that last space shuttle disaster? That happened on the same day I blasted a cleaning jag and ram-rod out of an old CVA Blazer rifle! I called NASA and told them I wanted it back if they found it.

 

[Zonie]

If your rifle was made by Thompson Center, the breech will be almost impossible to remove.
If it was made by TC, removing the breech will void the warrenty.
Several other factory guns breeches are also bordering on the impossible as well.

If it were mine, I would try the wetting method first but added to this, after letting it soak for 6 hours or more, I would try to push the rod deeper into the barrel before I tried pulling it out.
This might "unstick" it enough that it will pull free.

zonie

 

[renovato]

Why is that, Zonie? The used Seneca I bought shows signs of having been debreeched. They aligned it perfectly when they reinstalled it, but left some slight marks on the edges during the process. T/C used to sell the wrench to do it yourself. I've been curious about the process every since.

 

[bramble]

My experience is more limited than many of the others (to whom I gladly defer). So with that caveat, what has worked for me is to lube the barrel, clamp the barrel, affix vise-grip pliers with padded jaws to the rod, then tap the plier with a hammer. The sharp blows moved my jam when a steady pull would not. Good luck.
bramble

 

[Jim-Iowa]

once you have the rifle secured well you might try using impact to pull it.
I remember back when all cars and trucks were rear wheel drive dad would tak a 12 ft chain to pull axles He unbolted it and put the chain on one of the wheel lug bolts. then whip the chain like he was cracking a whip. worked every time, there was something about each of those chainlinks hammering on the next that made a nearly impossible job easy.......

 

[benvenuto]

I agree, a light tap might loosen it. Dump some penetrating oil inthe bore, clamp the ramrod in a vice, and the tap the muzzle lightly with a hammer. Use a block of wood (actually a bit of broomhadle would give you better access) so you dont mar the muzzle.
Oh, and put somthing soft on the floor to stop the barrel hitting with a godalmighty clang if it decides to obey murphy's law and fly off at the first tap.

 

[bob308]

when i worked for bob hoyt we recut alot of tc barrels. the breaches on some of them we had to heat to break the sealent lose. others would pop right off. he would get all the easy ones and i would end up working on the tough ones while he stood over in the corner of the shop laughing.

one time working in my own shop some one wanted a 61 springfeld breach plug removed they said they had a rod stuck in it. so i soaked it and then heated the breach to get it out. then this coffie ground looking stuff come out then a bullet then an other load. that gun had sat for years with 2 loads in it. could have even been a pickup from gettysburg. there were a lot of them found around here in attics and barns.

 

[silverfox]

Soak it, Secure it in vise, Tap it loose, also zonie said push it in if possible before pulling has loosened several I have had to work on. Now if all else fails I have a TC wrench somewhere but I don't think it will be needed if you follow all the advise that has been given.
Fox :hatsoff:

 

[Brutus]

When this happened to me, I put the the ramrod in a vise and hammered on the muzzle with a rubber hammer. Took a bit of time because I didn't want to break anything, but it did come off.

 

[Mad Professor]

I've shot stuck jags/rods out by putting a pinch of powder under the nipple.

Remember that last space shuttle disaster? That happened on the same day I blasted a cleaning jag and ram-rod out of an old CVA Blazer rifle! I called NASA and told them I wanted it back if they found it.

The threads on the other end of my ramrod fits a screw in broadhead nicely. Have thought about this but never tried it.......

But seriously, it only shoots it about 50 yds up , but keep an eye on where its going to land

 

The final outcome. I put a quantity of Butch's Bore Shine down the muzzle and let her soak for about 8 hours. Then I clamped the end of the rod in a vise and while holding onto the barrel (rifle was disassembled) gave it a good healthy pull. That patch and rod came out like grease through a goose and I almost went hindparts over head parts! Thanks for all the great advise, it worked. All T shirt cleaning patches have been cut in half.