[grandpa75672]

I have the misfortune of coming into possession of an old Ruger Blackhawk flatop .357 with 5, yes 5, bullets stuck in the barrel. Any suggestions on the surgical removal of said bullets with out destroying the barrel or should I just have it rebarreled?

:what::cuss::banghead:

[Javelin]

WOW... talk about a squib! I have never heard of a barrel with more than 1 stuck in a barrel at any given time (because the second to go through usually blows the gun up).

I would say you need to get a new barrel......

[Jim Watson]

I can think of several things to do; although they might best be left to a gunsmith, if you can find one who works cheap enough to fool with it.

If the barrel threads are not expanded into the frame, I'd take the barrel out and soak it it Kroil for a while. Then take a short polished steel rod and try to drive the stack of bullets a little way. If they moved, take a little longer rod and drive them some more. Use pieces of rod just long enough to stick out the barrel to be hit so they don't flex and sap energy from the blows.

If that doesn't work, it is possible to make a guarded drill bit that will take out most of the bullets without digging into the barrel. The tube of lead left behind will usually drive out with a rod just under bore diameter.

If that doesn't work, the bullets would probably melt out before the barrel was annealed much.

Most bets are off if they are jacketed bullets.

[alucard0822]

All is for naught if the barrel is swollen, Jim's ideas will work, but best to take it to a gunsmith to make sure it will be safe to fire after the bullets are extracted

[American_Pit_Bull]

I have never heard of a barrel with more than 1 stuck in a barrel at any given time (because the second to go through usually blows the gun up).There is a pic online of a subgun that had at least 6 rounds lodged in it's barrel. It was cut down the center and showed the bullets jammed into one another.

[Steve H]

All is for naught if the barrel is swollen, Jim's ideas will work, but best to take it to a gunsmith to make sure it will be safe to fire after the bullets are extracted

gunsmith for sure

[Jim Watson]

True, if the barrel is bulged, getting the bullets out would be good for nothing but light entertainment. If that were the case, I'd just have the barrel replaced. I'd go aftermarket; if Ruger gets their hands on an old model or flattop for any reason, they will install a transfer bar action and I don't know if they still return the original parts any more. I'd rather have a non-Ruger barrel than a munged up action.

[Down South]

If were me, I'd take it to a gun smith.

[RyanM]

True, if the barrel is bulged, getting the bullets out would be good for nothing but light entertainment. If that were the case, I'd just have the barrel replaced. I'd go aftermarket; if Ruger gets their hands on an old model or flattop for any reason, they will install a transfer bar action and I don't know if they still return the original parts any more. I'd rather have a non-Ruger barrel than a munged up action.

Try taking all the parts out, including cylinder, and only sending the frame and barrel? If they ask, say you wanted to save money on shipping charges.

[Jim Watson]

Erased

[brigadier]

Hmmm... I had this problem with a .22lr Revolver I bought when I first turned 21. I tried basically Jim Watson's suggestion followed by allot of scrubbing with a brass cleaning brush. That gun became my choice self defense piece for a long time, at a time when using a gun in self defense was a repetitive thing. It saved my life more then a dozen times.

[American_Pit_Bull]

How do you know that there are 5 bullets in the barrel?

[rcmodel]

Try taking all the parts out, including cylinder, and only sending the frame and barrel?If you do that, you will be paying for a new set of parts & a cylinder!

Ruger will not repair a partial gun sent to them because they can't test it for safety when they get done. Any missing parts will be replaced before it is tested and returned to you.


As for driving the bullets out with a hammer & steel rod, that is very likely to bulge the barrel if it isn't already.
The lead closest to the rod will expand sideways before you can get the whole column unstuck & moving.

The safest bet would be to drill through them to relieve the pressure and then slowly press them out.
Second best would be to press them out without drilling them first.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[351 WINCHESTER]

Yea, how DO you know there are 5 bullets in the bbl.????

[19-3Ben]

I was wondering the same thing.

[Bear41mag]

If they are cast bullets, try spraying the heck out of it with some breakfree or FP 10, take the cylinder out and use a soft brass rod (3/8 should work) and try tapping them out back into the cylinder hole. Don't beat it to death.
I'd wrap and old piece of leather around it and mount it in a vice first.

I saw a guy do this with a Smith Model 14 I think it was in .38 spl and he managed to clear the barrel without any damage, did have to clean the heck out of it afterward though.

But then there were only 4 bullets in that one.

[J.I.M.]

grandpa, are you toying with us or do you have X-Ray vision??

[rcmodel]

I bet he's got a cleaning rod and one a them there measuring sticks, or something like that.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[J.I.M.]

I bet he's got a cleaning rod and one a them there measuring sticks

That would enable him to confirm that two bullets are stuck.
How would he know if there are any bullets in between?
Methinks grandpa is playing a trick on us:o
Unless he really does have X-Ray vision.
But that would mean that...that...that grandpa is SUPERMAN!! :what:

[Surefire]

Indeed, wonder how he knows there are 5 in there.

Further, how could more than 1 bullet get in the there without the barrel bulging or blowing up?

Quite an interesting thread.

[brigadier]

Indeed, wonder how he knows there are 5 in there.

Further, how could more than 1 bullet get in the there without the barrel bulging or blowing up?

Quite an interesting thread.

I have seen it happen in person with 2 bullets on a S&W 500, so I know it can happen. The gas has to release and in the case of a revolver, it has the slight area between the cylinder and barrel to escape through.
I had 3 or 4 bullets lodged in to my .22 and I remember sort of instinctively knowing from the beginning from my knowledge of the size of the .22LR.
I suspect that it was a guess anyway, based on how much of the barrel is plugged.

[Barr]

I have had to remove an occasional squib load by using a wooden dowel cut to 7 inches or so. Works fine without damaging the gun. Won't even scratch the rifling.

[Gator]

Only five?....Amateur!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/Galt38/VictorySWwith9bullets.jpg

I saved this pic from I don't know where, and don't know anything about it, but nine bullets means he had to reload!

[dbarale]

My smith has on display a 6" Python barrel with 12 bullets stuck in it!!
He cut out a groove on the side like the picture above. The amazing part it, with a new barrel, the gun still runs like a champ...

[Apple a Day]

You might check with some blackpowder shooters and see if they've got a bullet puller. I've never used one but it looks like you just screw the end into the bullet and pull it out kind of like a corkscrew. You'd have to ask someone who's more familiar with BP weapons.

[firinginfenton]

If the barrel is NOT bulged, I'd go to the hobby shop and get some metal tubing to protect the barrels rifling and also help center a drill bit. Then slowly bore out the center of all the bullets in stages until only a thin layer remained that could be removed with a brass rod.

[American_Pit_Bull]

Posted by dbarale:
My smith has on display a 6" Python barrel with 12 bullets stuck in it!!
He cut out a groove on the side like the picture above.That would be an awesome picture!

[.38 Special]

You might check with some blackpowder shooters and see if they've got a bullet puller. I've never used one but it looks like you just screw the end into the bullet and pull it out kind of like a corkscrew. You'd have to ask someone who's more familiar with BP weapons.
It might work, but I'd bet against it. BP projectiles fit into the barrel much more loosely than do fired-and-stuck projectiles in a breech loader. I've pounded out squibs from a handgun barrel with a range rod, and it's a heck of a lot more work than pulling a ball from a BP barrel with a screw.

[igpoobah]

Yea, how DO you know there are 5 bullets in the bbl.????

Maybe he was the one who put em there and just doesn't want to fess up!:neener::D

[Down South]

I’ve got an idea but not sure it will work. If he could drill let’s say a 1/8” or larger hole down through the center of the bullets. Then build a rod with a wood screw type point on the end of it about ½” long. Make the rod about 1-1/2 foot long. Have the other end of the rod threaded. Screw the wood screw end into the first bullet. Find something for a sizeable weight that would just slip over the rod. Screw a nut over the outer threaded end of the rod and use it for a slip hammer to pull the bullets out one by one. Like I said, just an idea.

[swingpress]

Might try to melt them out. Lead melts at a pretty low temp.

[rcmodel]

Don't do that!

Lead starts to melt at over 620 degree's.
It could easily get the barrel to hot in spots and ruin the heat treatment on the Ruger .357 Mag barrel.

Melting bullets out is fine with old .22 rifles because they are mild steel with no heat treatment.

Never do it on a modern centerfire barrel!

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[RecoilRob]

Just thinking out loud here....if they actually are lead bullets, couldn't you fill the barrel with mercury and let it eat/combine to make the amalgam and then shatter your way through the obstruction? Might take many applications and poundings to complete if it worked at all.

And, you very well might be completely mad by the end from the mercury exposure. Not sure if this is a good idea at all....

[FLORIDA KEVIN]

First i would mikethe outside of the barrel at various points to determine if the barrel is bulged and ruined !then i would remove the cylinder and place a lenght of copper tubing in the barrel to protect the rifling ,then drill down through the first bullet with a 1/8 inch bit ! then use a dent puller with a screw in tip to slide hammer them out one at a time !! then clean the heck out of it !the penatrating oil would help but if they are jacketed bullets you might want to soak it overmight in ammonia or copper solvent !before you try remmoval ! Kevin

[KI.W.]

I can´t belive this story. My .38 spl was blowing out, becuse too big bullet. It was stucking in the barrell.

[kmrcstintn]

declare the gun a shooter and not a collector; order a new barrel; have rest of gun cleaned and hot reblued to match new barrel (or send the sucker to Ruger and allow them to replace the barrel, hot reblue the gun, and do an overhaul in one step)

[Mot45acp]

Only five?....Amateur!



I saved this pic from I don't know where, and don't know anything about it, but nine bullets means he had to reload!

HA HA HA HA HA

Spewing whiskey through one's nose is something I would not like to repeat

[Roswell 1847]

Gunsmiths of old used a brass drill (usually of their own manufacture) to drill out all but what was stuck in the grooves, then pluged the breech and poured Mercury in it. The Mercury dissolves the lead.

[gym]

Come on , a highspeed 1/8 inch diamond tiped drill bit, drill press clamp it up the first sucker should collapse once you get the center drilled out. If you need to go a little bigger, try going up a size till you get 1 out, at that point I would try to survey the damage. Most probablly it's not worth fixing unless maybe a new barrel. Now I see most everyone has the same or similer idea, you don't have a lot of choices here lol, maybe a blasting cap, just kidding