Taking My Breachplug off.

[squib load]

Hi,is taking my breachplug off somthing that I can do myself?I need to get a ball out.Ive tried everything I can find on this site.Iam running out of options.Thanks,Squib

 

[William Joy]

Yes you can. I use lead jaws on my vise ( not to mark the barrel) and use a big spanner wrench....

 

[J.D.]

Hi,is taking my breachplug off something that I can do myself?

Depends. What are you shooting?

IMHO, the breeches on most production guns are screwed in using considerable pressure, and they can be almost impossible to get out. In some instances, the threads will be ruined by removing the plug. Others come out fairly easily.

 

[dgb]

I would permenit line on the plug and barrel to match up when reinstalling plug. dgb

 

[Zonie]

That will depend on what your rifle is.

If it is one of the custom made rifles like many of us make, removing the breech plug is just a matter of clamping the barrel in a vise with some sort of soft metal surfaces mounted on it to prevent marring the barrels finish.
Then using a 12 inch (or larger) adjustable wrench or a special bar with a hole thru it that matches the breech plug simply applying enough torque to break it free does the job.

If it is a factory gun, problems may be ahead.
Thompson Center voids their warranty if the plug is tampered with. Making matters worse, a special bar wrench is needed to prevent marring the plug.
If your gun is a TC, contact the factory and ask for guidance.

If your gun is an OLD CVA (like made in the 1970's) the plug can be unscrewed by following the directions for custom made guns HOWEVER, if it is a CVA that is made in the 1980s or newer they revised their design so the percussion drum must be removed before removing the breech plug.
The drum actually screws thru the breech plug so if it is left in place an army couldn't unscrew it.

In any of the sidelock guns, removing the breech plug should be seen as a "last resort" to be used only after ALL other methods of fixing the problem have been tried.

 

[squib load]

Thanks for the information.I will try other things before I attempt that as a last resort.Squib

 

[44-henry]

I'll second the ideas about being cautious. I used a Thompson barrel for an underhammer action I was working on a few months ago and tried everything I could think of to get the plug out. Heat, cheater bars, nice thoughts, nothing worked. I finally cut the barrel off in front of the breech with my bandsaw and re-breeched it. Would have been simpler if I had just done this from the beginning. Long story short, some of those factory guns were designed by people who never wanted anybody to take them apart.

 

[BadHorse]

I need to get a ball out.Ive tried everything

i have to ask the obvious. have you tried a ball puller

 

[jtmattison]

Hi,is taking my breachplug off somthing that I can do myself?I need to get a ball out.Ive tried everything I can find on this site.Iam running out of options.Thanks,Squib

What exactly have you tried? There are many ways to remove a ball without pulling the breech.

HD

 

[squib load]

The first thing I tried was my ball puller.When it hit the ball ,it felt like it was hitting steel.Ive had these balls for a long time and they are hard as a rock.No wonder the accuracy was no good.I will buy new balls when this one is out.You have given me a couple of ideas I didnt know about.I wont be trying to take the plug out.Thanks,squib

 

[mckutzy]

does the stuck ball block the touch hole?

If not(and/or if there is a liner, unscrew it) put some powder in the space and re-seat the ball, set it off in a safe location. there is also compressed air and also using a grease nipple and a grease gun to pump it out. if it is blocked, what worked for me on one of the bess's i have, (well there is alot of space to work with) i made a sturdy rod puller about 1/2in. with a course screw on the end and a couple of guys to wrench it loose. u could put a small drill on the end of one of these to get the hole started and then finnish with the puller, probably enough to pull it past the touch hole then shoot it out.

 

[squib load]

Thanks to all of you,I finaly got it out.I installed my new vise,and put the barrel in between two pieces of leather.I kept working with my rifle ramrod.It finely caught and it came out.I did order a ball dislodger from dixie.Thanks again for keeping me from getting bogged down with my breachplug.Squib

 

[Ken Rummer]

I read somewhere (can't find the reference) that you can shoot it out. This was part of the discussion on what to do when you forget to put in the powder before you seat the ball. For flintlocks you can remove the touchhole liner and put a little powder inside. Enough initially to get the ball to move and give a little space for more powder. Then you can work in a lite charge, reseat the ball and fire it. The caplock procedure is similar. Firing a few caps may get the ball to move enough to add a lite load. Be sure to reseat the ball each time to avoid space between ball and powder

 

[mckutzy]

well my post 2 above for start and as for where i got that from.......could be anyware.. :v


and welcome to the forum. :thumbsup: