Help! 17 hmr bullet stuck in barrel!

[austin360]

Take a deep breath and just blow it out!

 

[PRIMED]

I am going w/ rc on this one. I told him not to soot anything down the barrel. 1.) Its my gun. 2.) I said what if you do and all that pressure has no where to go after it hits the bullet, it will either "buldge the barrel" or blow back the way it came. Your right its a barrel obstruction, and if the pressure can't push the bullet out it will excape somehow, which may cause harm to me, him, or the gun. He is currently soaking the bullet w/ oil and I will try tapping it out w/ my graphite rod tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. Oh, and he says it is very close to the breach end so I am guessing it will take a lot of little taps, oh well better than getting it stuck worse or ruining my rifling.

Thanks again --PRIMED--

 

[czarjl]

Firing a nail driving blank or even just a primer in a plugged barrel fall under the bad idea category in my book. I think it’s to dangerous to try.

I would generous oil it with a light oil or penetrating fluid.
Then using light taps with an 1/8” brass brazing rod an old aluminum cleaning rod drive it out the closest end of the barrel.
I would use a steel rod only as a last resort. I would be concerned with it damaging the bore if you hammer on it to hard (as frustration increase, so will the force of the hammering).

And remember this is an exercise in patients and persistence not brute force.

 

[PRIMED]

As of 2:26 pm Wisconsin time the bullet has been removed. Here is how he did it... He extremely oiled the barrel, let it soak, used his dowel, (I told him to wait, but...) and pushed the bullet toward the muzzle untill he felt it "break", then he decided why go all the way down the barrel when its 3/4" from the breach. So he went at it again tapping from the muzzle to the breach, and POP, the little sucker flew out !
He test fired a round from the same pkg of ammo and it went with out a hitch so far so good, I will do a detailed inspection of the weapon when I get it back.

Thanks to everyone for all the help !

 

[BADUNAME37]

You did clean all that oil build up out of the barrel before firing a live round, correct?

All's well that ENDS WELL!

 

[lions]

rcmodel

Pulling a bullet and trying to shoot it out will surely leave a ring in the barrel right where the stuck bullet is located.

Can you elaborate on the ring? I'm not sure what that means, a ring of what? And how bad is a ring for the barrel? Thanks

 

[BADUNAME37]

I believe he means a bulged ring, but I could be wrong - I'm learning too.

 

[Horsemany]

Can you elaborate on the ring? I'm not sure what that means, a ring of what? And how bad is a ring for the barrel? Thanks

Yes I believe RC was referring to the bulged ring in the barrel. I did not personally think a 17hmr could do that, but I defer to RC Model as I've not seen him give bad advice here yet.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Can you elaborate on the ring? I'm not sure what that means, a ring of what? And how bad is a ring for the barrel? Thanks

When you fire a gun with an obstruction in the barrel, it may blow the barrel up, or it may create a bulge at the site of the obstruction. If you look down the bore of a bulged barrel, you will see a dark "ring" -- a gap where the metal is bulged outward.

A ring is a very bad thing and usually ruins the barrel/

 

[rcmodel]

Indeed I did mean a bulged "ring" in the barrel.

I have not personally seen a .17 Hummer do it either, and the chance is less on it then in larger calibers due to the thicker barrel walls.

However, just because I haven't seen it, doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

As PRIMED noted, if the bullet doesn't move, the pressure has to go somewhere.

rcmodel

 

[sbarkowski]

People actually fire another round down the barrel to clear obstructions??? Thats just crazy, dont think I'd even attempt that with a .22 short.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Chlorine in the gene pool.

 

[GTFord1]

This entire thread reminds me of The Simpsons episode where five different people tell Lisa five different ways to get chewing gum out of her hair.

"CHEWING GUMS GOT TA BE CHEWED OUT, I TELLS YA!"

\

 

[BADUNAME37]

We can always rely on rcmodel.
When rcmodel speaks, people listen.

 

[wildman4771]

easy..take a .17 round and take the bullet out, leaving all the powder in. Put the round in the chamber and fire..the gas will push it out

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Bad advice! The high-pressure gas moving down the bore will hit the bullet and act just as if you had fired a bullet.

 

[desidog]

How would dripping a little copper-remover down the bore to eat away at the jacket work out?

I had this happen once with El Cheapo .38 special ammo - just primer, no powder in there - but with a 4" barrel a few taps on a 16 penny nail got it out. The lesson i learned is buy ammo from reputable manufacturers...but Remington? I'd call a rep and see about some free gear to appease you, PRIMED....and definitely some gear from your buddy; cause if he chambered another round and squeezed, he might be in hospital right now.

 

[paintballdude902]

i wont use a steel rod

i had a .308 surplus round do it i went of and got a brass rod (sold not a cleaning rod with a hollow tip) the brass is much easier on the rifling and i didnt worry as much about damaging the crown

i dropped it over and over again and it eventually came out

 

[beatcop]

Ok, not trying to contradict what sounds like good advice, but fwiw I've had a22 lr stuck in a heavy wall barrel a few times...tinkering w/subsonics.

I've pulled a bullet, removed aound 50% of the powder and dislodged it with no damage. Yes, dangerous practice, however RWS & Eley don't use much of a crimp...wear safety glasses!

I can see how a stationary bullet, engaging rifling, will take a lot of pressure to get moving, but a reduced powder charge (1/4?) shouldn't generate more pressure in a barrel where the chamber has effectively been lengthened (i.e. bullet stuck 12" down the barrel)...I'd speculate that the "larger chamber" would make the pressure curve more gradual, along with only a fraction of the propellant being present.

I can see that there are a lot of variables with wall thickness, etc, but has anyone else tried this and had negative results?

In the case of a primer-only load in a hangun, where it may only have started into the barrel or cone, sure just whack it out.

If you have to use a primed case with hardly any powder and do this multiple times, will it be an issue? Physics professors on board?

 

[redneck2]

I realize the process is done, but for future reference.....

if you use a steel rod, I'd strongly suggest giving it a single wrap of something like electric tape to prevent scratching the bore.

If possible, always work from the breech end. As noted, pushing from the muzzle may cause the bullet to mushroom and wedge more tightly.

I worked at a gun range. It was not unknown to have someone get a bullet stuck in the bore. It's really not a big deal to knock out. It's not like it's welded in place. We had one guy that was always dinking with light rounds. He carried a brass rod and small hammer. Wouldn't be my suggestion, but never seemed to bother him.

 

[czarjl]

Brass rod and hammer is the best and safest way to get a bullet out.

Trying to shoot it out is dangerous... there may be 2 rounds stuck, the first one squibed and the next (with full power) one did not have the power to push it out so will a third round get it out... not something I'm willing to test.

Safety First... cause eyes don't grow back like salamanders tails

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Squirrels 1
Humans 0

I think that absent a dead human, it's more of a tie.

The squib question has been answered well already.

 

[GTFord1]

wildman4771 registers an account with the forum just to bump a nearly three month old post.