a live round on my barrel

Looks like a stuck bullet, not a "live round". If its just the bullet, get a hardwood dowel, or aluminum rod, and tap it out with a hammer. Don't use a screwdriver or other hard steel implement as you'r likely to damage the barrel.

a 3/8" wood dowel should do just fine.

Yeah - I'd use a dowel inserted in the muzzle and gently tap it with a hammer until you drive the stuck bullet back out the chamber end of the barrel.

You want something that pretty much fills the bore, but isn't tight. 3/8" would work, 7/16" is probably better.

I wouldn't use a wood dowel, get a brass or aluminum one. If the wood splinters and then wedges between the bullet and the barrel, it'll make it harder to get out.

Good point, but usually light taps will get the job done. You should be able to tell if that's not doing the job, and switch to Plan B before breaking the dowel.

Forget aluminum, as a hardwood dowel will be fine, cheaper, and easier to find.

Give it a good soaking with some oil before you even start.

Many have used hardwood dowels and written a request as to "what do I do now"???

But in this case it is probably ok... Use penetrating oil

PS...Disassemble first

Just thinking of a bad experience in a rifle I had back in the day when I didn't know better! Granted, a pointed rifle bullet is going to splinter a wood dowel quickly, while a .45 will take a while, but once bitten twice shy. Light taps are the ticket for sure, but I've seen (and done myself when pissed) people hammer away at things with undue force...

You can also stick a spent brass 9mm casing over a dowel and use it as a cap to protect the end.

Give it a good soaking with some oil before you even start.

Click to expand...

What he said, you might even soak it, let it set several hours, re-soak it, repeat for several cycles to make sure the oil penetrated well.

Hey that spent case over the dowel sounds like a useful suggestion. I'll file that one away for next time I have that issue. Thanks.

I have had or helped get a stuck out of a pistol/revolver on many an occasion and keep an 8" length of 3/8' brass rod and a brass hammer in my ammo box. the brass hammer is nice cause if you miss you won't damage the muzzle of said firearm. The comments on wood are good advice and as far as aluminum goes it to can be too soft to get the job done and pieces of aluminum are not some thing I would want left in my barrel. Aluminum is very abrasive,I worked in a small machine shop years ago. The job I had was cutting a counter sink in stereo knobs made of aluminum with a carbide cutter. Got may be 200 pieces cut and had to have the cuter resharpened. Also what is sandpaper made from? aluminum oxide.

It's a squib. Squibs are stuck rounds in barrels, usually because of a not-so-strong powder charge.

Here's the layman's explanation on how to get it out.

What you need:

Clearing rod/dowel. The bigger diameter the better without it rubbing against the walls of your barrel. (I use an old clearing rod.)
Cleaning patches
Hammer (A normal size roofing hammer will work great.)
A few towels
Kitchen Table
Friend

How to do it:

Fold those towels up until you got a good two inches or more of padding, and then take that barrel and place it muzzle down on the towels... with the towels being on your table.

Now find a friend who trusts you who will hold the barrel. Have them hold the barrel on the towels. Now, put a patch down the barrel followed by the rod. Once you contact the squib, start beating it out of your barrel.

You are going to hammer like you're building Paul Bunyan's roof. Those bullets take a ton more force to move than you think they do.

Keep pounding on it, checking every once in a while, until the sucker falls out.

Hope this helps.

I've had to pound a couple out, one close to the chamber like that in a .45 auto, one near the muzzle on a .44 revolver. Both were lead, and both came out fairly easy without any real "effort", even the one near the muzzle. I just used a brass rod and hammer, no oil necessary.

As long as thats the "only" one in there, shouldnt be to much trouble.

ditto, I've had to do it twice on a .380 auto and a wooden dowel worked find... I'd think a real pointy rifle bullet would be more difficult and could split the dowel... but flat nose, round or hollow point pistol ammo should back right out.. I work from the barrel end and push the round back out the rear.

Pour a tespoonful of fine oil in the muzzle and let it soak for an hour. Stand the barrel up so the oil will seep past the bullet. Drive it out toward the chamber. It should move easily with a few light taps.

Remoil is a good one. CLP Breakfree will also do the trick.

Since (suprisingly) nobody else has mentioned it, I will:

After you remove the round from the barrel, check the barrel very well for signs of bulging, cracking, or any other type of distortion. Usually this happens if you fire a round after a squib has already plugged the barrel, but it's worth verifying that the integrity of the barrel itself hasn't been compromised.

I wouldn't use a wood dowel, get a brass or aluminum one. If the wood splinters and then wedges between the bullet and the barrel, it'll make it harder to get out.

Click to expand...

I have had Wood dowel rod splinter.

Drill rod, brass rod, something thick and stiff.

Lubricating the barrel infront of the projectile is a good idea.

I had a squib get lodged in the throat of a revolver. Used a long shafted screwdriver and a hammer to knock it back in the case.

Did not damage anything but I was plenty worried at the time.

I recently read about soaking the barrel with bore cleaner, the strong stuff. I guess the reasoning is that it would dissolve enough of the bullet to make for easy removal.

kyletx1911 - Did you get it out? Need an update.

Hello all,
To get the squib out of a 9mm barrel I found a bolt of simmilar size and ground the threads off of it and wrapped it with duct tape and use that to pound the bullet out.

Even though I forget to bring a hammer with me to the rang, I can use a rock or whatever I find and it works great with no damage.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Before this closes :

Does a rifle barrel develop measurable "taper" between muzzle and breech due to regular use? IWO, does the combustion action in the breech erode the barrel more quickly there than the same products near the muzzle, farther along in the process?

Just to help keep your sanity...mark your dowel and the full barrel length. Then, as you move the bullet you can see the progress. Helps with attitude control.

You'll live through this, I promise.

Mark

My own experience is that brisk taps with a small hammer work best. I tried my 3 lb mini-sledgehammer, first, thinking slow and heavy would be the ticket. The bullet didn't budge, despite my brass rod eventually bending. I started to get a little worried. Traded it for a 15 oz hammer, and the bullet came out, no problem.

My squib was a hollowpoint, so I just stuck a brass rod down there that was small enough to fit in the opening. If I had a stuck FMJ, I would personally use a thicker rod and hollow out the end to keep it centered over the tip of the bullet. But that's probably overkill.