Used Gun Nonsense

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gizamo

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Well folks, it happened again.

I am getting really concerned,buying used guns these days. I've had a few misadventures with other folks problem guns ~ but this one takes the cake....

I bought a used Black Powder .32 Percussion rifle ~ my Pea Shooter. Long story short, I finally got it to the range today. I have a little drill I always do when firing a BP gun. Pour in a couple of grains of powder, put on a cap and touch it off just to see if everything is clear. Then I would normally patch the barrel before making a fouling shot...

Today the cap went snap, but no powder ignited. So I pulled the nipple to make sure it was clear and nipple picked the barrel. Next cap and snap, again no powder ignited. Hmmmm, pointed the barrel down and let the powder fall out.

I then put a jag and patch down the barrel. The ramrod stop short by alot... First thought ~ this is already loaded. I had a ball worm with me but no T-handle. Dang, so off to friends house I go to see if he has one....Eureka, he does.

Only thing is ~ we realize there is at least two charges and balls if not more in the barrel. Somebody loaded had a failure to fire and reloaded again...Now what to do.

Never fear, my pal is here.
He pulled the nipple and poured ffffG into the hole, then using a pick compacted it in. And did it again, for good measure.

For the next part ~~~ Do not try this at Home....
It will instantly bring "Wait, hold my beer and watch this" quotes to mind...

We went outside and touched this off at a target....Boom does not quite do justice. Kaboom, is a litte closer....It was more like ~;)

Holy Jesus, Mary and Joseph ~ bigger then a 300 Ultra Mag Sonic Blast....


Of the three bullets that were in there, we had one called flyer. We figure running a ball removing worm most likely disfigured the crap out of it. The other two bullets made a nice cloverleaf....


So the story goes...and it makes a good yarn.


Also,

This story is for entertainment mostly. I would never suggest anyone think this is a safe way to fix the problem. Take the gun to a gunsmith and let him deal with it.

Before anyone gets to concerned ~ we both knew the risks involved and discharged the gun in a safe manner. Who knew if the idiot loaded with smokeless...So we avoided taking any chances firing the gun off, to avoid anyone getting injured.....and yes a gunsmith might have been able to get the breech apart without destroying the barrel ~ But there are no gunsmiths anywhere near my area.
The gun was purchased so cheaply that I was willing to take the chance.

After range shooting it later, I'm pleased to say it is indeed a very accurate pea shooter.

Giz
 
So this sounds like a story from another, IMHO, complete idiot. Who in their right mind would put ffffG in behind a completely unknow quantity of powder behind an obstruction in the barrel that they have no idea how long has been in there? In a used gun they just bought?!?

I am sorry, I am usually not such a flamer, but my God this qualifies for the Darwin award.
 
NavyLT,

Of course is right, but a gun can be touched off without risk of injury. Nowhere was I suggesting someone fire the gun while holding it....and I was already editing my post to say so....you posted during that edit. For that I am sorry...

Again, the story is a yarn without all the facts. And it is always best to take a gun to a competent gunsmith and let him decide how to proceed....There is a compressed air option that usually works well on a single ball load. Ball worms often work, but failed in this case. As to the nipple trick, it is a great way to get a ball out that was loaded with no charge.....

Giz
 
Yeah, but still, gawd dang, aint nothin' I would try. What if someone had poked a steel ball down there and it had rusted to the barrel, I mean you never know what you could possibly find.
 
NavyLT,

We determined it was lead. A ball worm that fails to get a good bite pulls through and lead is left on the threads of the screw....

Giz
 
Fella's;

Let's get real here. If Gizamo touched it off while maintaining good safety practices, such as being behind a suitable barrier, or having the gun secured in a container, and pulled the trigger with a long string, what's the harm? Possibly losing his investment in the gun, but he knew that going in.

Was a coupla brothers up around Arlee way used to blow up model 94 Winchesters just to see what they'd take. They'd start at some max load in a manual & go from there until either the gun blew or the action wouldn't cycle. Dumber'n dirt, but there ya go. In any case, they had a remote system all figured out so the only thing that got hurt was the gun.

900F
 
If I might suggest getting a CO2 ball remover kit you just screw into the nipple threads and insert a CO2 cartridge and the ball, or balls in this case would have flown about 2 to 3 feet down range and fell to the ground.

Wait, hold my beer and watch this
Click to expand...

shortly followed by "oops" or "Doh"
 
Let's get real here. If Gizamo touched it off while maintaining good safety practices, such as being behind a suitable barrier, or having the gun secured in a container, and pulled the trigger with a long string, what's the harm? Possibly losing his investment in the gun, but he knew that going in.
Click to expand...
I agree. Although as stated there are better ways of fixing this problem Who cares if they did it the wrong way as long as they did it safely.
 
Good grief. It was a possibly overloaded black powder rifle. Not a tactical nuke. If you make sure the area is clear, and you're far enough away, what's the worst thing that can happen? You'll blow up the gun? Sounds like he was willing to risk that.
 
I do herby, this time and date, and this location, do herby affirm that I did, without intent to harm or defame, overract.

Very Respectfully,
NavyLT
 
we both knew the risks involved and discharged the gun in a safe manner.
Click to expand...
Safe? To me, that would have meant that you considered the gun a pipe bomb, and "blew it in place" with a remote charge from a safe distance, preferrably in a dirt hole with kevlar blankets weighted on top.

To others: safe is one hand over the ear and the other holding a long match. Eyes closed.

To each his own. Some folks think two arms (or one life) is one too many. :banghead:
 
As long as the OP set the thing off with a string from a suitable distance and behind cover to prevent harm if it exploded and the rifle was adequately held in place then no foul no harm.

That said:
This is AMERICA. As far as I know one is free to be unsafe if one wishes as long as it harms no one else. Wanna blow yer self up - by all means do so as long as yer not taking an unwilling other with you.

On the other hand: there's lots and lots of laws in place at all levels of government that try to protect people from themselves, too many in my opinion.

All those laws have accomplished is to make it easier for the stupid to breed which keeps their stupid genes in the gene pool. That goes a long ways towards explaining the sorry shape this country is in today.
 
I'll side with gizamo.

Given the procedure he followed the only thing at risk was the rifle. All safety considerations were carefully taken into account and met. No person was at risk. There may have been other options, but this one was the best availabe at the time. Black powder can be very forgiving, and I note that the rifle had a small bore and probably thick barrel walls.

Faced with similar circumstances I would have done the same, and I have a fair amount of experience with black powder arms.
 
I agree with OLD FLUFF on this and again I ask whats the big deal here? No risk=no injuries hwo cares if the gun had detonated no onw was going to get hurt.........some of you guys go so far over board with variuos things it makes me wonder if you would be this critical of yourselves for every thing you do?
 
The big deal is he did something in a manner that doesn't fall in line with how someone else thinks he should have done it, in other words, he didn't do it their way. Much like owning a gun, most antis think that you me or anyone else should not own a gun because thy aren't safe, and they wouldn't do so, so why should you?

Wheeler
 
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When you (I) see a post like this one's gotta wonder; is this a "troll" or is this person that "loosely wrapped".
Click to expand...
Was it the phrase "To each his own" that has you worried about me? :)

Look up "hyperbole" sometime--Aristotle considered it a form of humor.

That said, I wouldn't have ignited the BP rifle. But again, I don't shoot BP, so if my decision to take it to a gunsmith instead is a display of ignorance, so be it.

Happy trails. And if someone moves a few benches away the next time you pull a BP rifle out at the range--that'll be me. ;)

(Appreciate the pun--also on Aristotle's list--re "loose.")

if you would be this critical of yourselves for every thing you do?
Click to expand...
I sure used to be. But then I "outsourced" the criticism: I got married. :p
 
Lots of different ways to do things. Most of the time the results end up the same, like I said most of the time. Doing the task at hand safely is key.
 
here a piece--there a piece

determined the 1st ball was lead....but how about the 2nd or the 3rd that you didnt know was even there?:uhoh: that said, i can see the rifle tied down with 50 feet of string tied to the trigger and you guys behind a big tree betting on how far the largest chunk of gun will fly.......next time i'll hold the camera for ua.:D
 
Hmmmmm,

Interesting thread. Assumptions were running rampant.

Spent a pleasant morning shooting that gun and two of my Flintlocks. I have more BP rifles then cartridge guns. Have built my own paper cartridge Sharps loads for two different Sharps I have. Load for 45-90...Cast my own Minnie balls and most of my round ball. Live, eat, and breathe black powder. The fellow that I shot with puts me to shame and has owned and operated a strictly muzzleloading shop for many years....So trust me, we knew what we were doing. If it was a known charge of BP and was even fffG ~ I wouldn't have hesitated and would be highly doubtfull any harm would have come to the gun....

Guess I was just yarning, but this obviously is not the place to do so.....
But my story has a point, nobody picked up on!

I bought this gun from a reputable dealer who said the gun had been inspected. It obviously wasn't.
And with all my experience, I still screwed up. I personally should have made sure I had cleared the barrel ~ before putting in that snap cap. Lessen learned. Never again. Even though it was a BP gun and could not fire without a percussion cap ~ it was still a loaded gun. Therein lies the moral of this story....

Always check first....

That said, Skeeter Skelton would be jumped on and tarred and feathered for some of the stunts he wrote about ~~~in this day and age... ~~~Times change, but maybe someone could learn from my mistake. And so the yarn is still worth telling.



Giz
 
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