Dowel stuck in barrel

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My apologies for forgetting about those CO2 gadgets; they didn't have them when I was shooting muzzle loaders a lot more and I never got one. (I have never heard anyone claim they blow up the gun, but I guess that is probably the next post.)

Jim
 
(I have never heard anyone claim they blow up the gun, but I guess that is probably the next post.)
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Only in the 600 PSI rage

Not enough to blow much of anything up.
 
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. The old story that the gun will blow up from some mysterious effect of the air gap is just that, a story
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Well I was there when it happened to me. The soot kept the ball from going to the powder on a .54 smoothie and the resulting recoil knocked the wind out of me and bruised my ribcage, which no firearm has ever done before. Up to and including some really brutal bear guns. It's lucky, very lucky, I didn't burst the barrel or bulge it.

Small wiffs of powder set off to clear an obstruction should be much less than a full charge or you'll run the risk of a KB.

Though again in this case I don't understand why the OP can't just pull out the wooden rod and pound out the lead through inertial smacks on a padded concrete floor. The barrel becomes a huge bullet puller.
 
The old story that the gun will blow up from some mysterious effect of the air gap is just that, a story
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Well, then it is a good one.
A friend loaned his early (sn 1250) TC Hawken to his untrained brother. Who shot it dirty, got a ball stuck halfway down the barrel and shot it out. Left a nice "walnut" on the barrel. TC made that good but he said he really missed that early numbered and very accurate barrel.
 
Jim and Cosmoline,

I don't doubt the stories, but I have to wonder if there isn't something more to them. In the first case, I suspect two balls; twice the bullet weight would definitely get one's attention in the recoil department. As the "shot it out" tale, again is that the whole story? How does one shoot out a stuck ball in a muzzle loader? The little amount of powder that could be dribbled in the nipple hole or the cleanout hole would not be an overcharge and I have never had anything happen when I have "shot" a load out that way. I suspect there was already a full charge and a ball in the barrel when the brother decided to load another ball and got it stuck. Firing the gun would almost certainly bulge the barrel.

Jim
 
Just a quick thought. If it's a lead slug couldn't you just fill the slug side of the barrel with a bit of lead solvent and let it sit? I would think this would at least loosen the slug and potentially remove enough to let the dowel unpinch.
 
benzy2, I don't know of a "lead solvent" offhand.
The bore solvents that claim to remove lead are very mild.

Jim K, all I have to go on re the bulged TC is the account of the owner and he is since deceased.
 
Forget mercury, what about kroil? It's something you want gloves for, of course, but should creep around the seam and loosen the slug.

In the first case, I suspect two balls; twice the bullet weight would definitely get one's attention in the recoil department.
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I can rule that out. I routinely shot two ball and buck-and-ball loads from that smooth rifle. It increases recoil slightly, but nothing too bad. Loading a second ball also has a very distinct feel, as the air pressure under the ball causes a "bounce." Care must be taken to seat both balls together in this method. But I know this one wasn't a double ball load, and the recoil was off the scale even compared with a magnum slug out of a light shotgun or a hot loaded .45-70 out of a Ruger No. 1. I remember the ball hanging up on soot and thinking it was still close enough. I was way wrong.
 
Dowel and projectile are free!

20 grains of Pyrodex gave me a loud poof noise. The dowel went 200 feet downrange and the projectile is MIA.

All parts of the rifle are there, intact, and cycle fine.
 
Woo Hoo !!!

Now, what are you going to do with that rifle?
Does it still shoot all over the place?
Are you gonna be happy with it,
or try to slug it again?
 
Still all over the place

Going to slug it again and see what I get.

Rifling looks very shallow. Crown, or lack thereof, is squared off sharp at 90 degrees.

Looking for answers.
 
That was my thought after all I have been noted to check grouping with the pencil test!

006-1.jpg

LOG
 
Dowel stuck in bore.

If a small powder charge will free a slugged barrel,wouldn't the result cause the dowel to wedge even tighter as the slug is moving back out ?
 
No wedged dowel can be as tight in the bore as the bullet is in normal firing.

Jim
 
I've used a small charge of fast powder to unstick boolits as well. I think it's a lot easier on the barrel than trying to beat it out with a rod and ding the inside of the barrel. Jim's got the right idea, just use a small charge, like 2 or 3 grains of bullseye.
 
How about dry out the dowel and weapon squip or no in a low temperature oven. Once the moisture leaves the dowel, it will shrink and you can pull it out easy....ahhhhh, don't listen to me....I just stopped by on the way to bed....I am really tired.....:scrutiny:
 
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