Barrel obstruction help

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JesseB123

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Well, just going through the safe and remembered I got an entire rag stuck in one of the barrels of a 30" side by side last year. Less of a why and how that happened, don't want to get into that, but it's REALLY in there.

I've tried all my different cleaning rods to push it through both ways and the rods were going to give out before it was going to budge.

I was going to get a braising rod or coat hanger next and bend a hook and try to snag it, maybe drag it out. It's pretty much bang on in the middle, I don't have any variation of pliers that would reach... My last ditch is bang it out with an appropriately sized dowel, but I don't want to use too much force until the I'm forced to.

Any clever ideas out there? Soaking it in oil or something, some fancy trick with compressed air maybe, I have no idea. Last ditch idea is a blank and a long string [I'm joking]
 
You can get bullet pullers for muzzle loaders. Is basically a screw that fits into your ram rod/cleaning rod. The idea is to screw into your patched ball and pull it out. Something like that may be a good option, just snag the rag and pull instead of compressing it more.
 
Shoot it out? No don't really. Id use a piece of aluminum rod that fits in the barrel and pound it out the opposite way it went in. Im thinking 1/2" or 5/8" diameter
 
You may have packed it even more tightly in place. If the obstruction has been in place for a while, hope it hasn't rusted in place.
Any rod used to push out an obstruction should be as close to bore diameter as possible. Doesn't have to be large diameter full length, just at the contact end. For 12ga, a 1/2" steel rod with a brass slug a few inches long on the end turned to just below bore diameter might do the trick.
I have also used the steel rod with bore diameter brass end with a drill bit mounted in it to drill through the obstruction. Makes it easier to pick it out in pieces.

Might be an idea to get the barrels to a gunsmith.
 
FLHTCUI said:
Wooden dowel....
From either end and a mallet.
If all else fails an even biggerFH.
Rob
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From what was said in the OP, I was thinking that would risk making things worse, but if it does work, the safest and cheapest home method. Of course since the rag is at mid-barrel you would want to hammer it out the breech end, avoiding the choke constriction (if any), or the other way after first removing the choke tube (if any).
 
JesseB123 said:
Well, just going through the safe and remembered I got an entire rag stuck in one of the barrels of a 30" side by side last year. Less of a why and how that happened, don't want to get into that, but it's REALLY in there.

I've tried all my different cleaning rods to push it through both ways and the rods were going to give out before it was going to budge.

I was going to get a braising rod or coat hanger next and bend a hook and try to snag it, maybe drag it out. It's pretty much bang on in the middle, I don't have any variation of pliers that would reach... My last ditch is bang it out with an appropriately sized dowel, but I don't want to use too much force until the I'm forced to.

Any clever ideas out there? Soaking it in oil or something, some fancy trick with compressed air maybe, I have no idea. Last ditch idea is a blank and a long string [I'm joking]
Click to expand...

From the muzzle end Id poor enough machine oil to saturate the rag and let it set for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Id want to see oil dripping out through the bottom. Then get a wood dowel as large a diameter as will fit in the barrel so there is little room to flex. Id also want the dowel to be not much longer then the length of barrel that the obstruction has to travel.

Id be reluctant to try to fish it out with any kind of bit or metal hook lest you damage the barrel. If you are using metal tools they should be soft like brass.

If you want to use a coat hanger than you want to essentially make a corkscrew on a long handle and have the sharp point of the corkscrew facing in towards the center.
 
A wooden dowel - NOT a good idea to pound on it!! It will like to split at a long angle - next hammer strike will drive top piece past the bottom piece like a wedge. Then you will have a cloth and a wooden dowel seriously wedged in there!!!
 
Potashminer said:
A wooden dowel - NOT a good idea to pound on it!! It will like to split at a long angle - next hammer strike will drive top piece past the bottom piece like a wedge. Then you will have a cloth and a wooden dowel seriously wedged in there!!!
Click to expand...

I've hammered a few obstructions out of a barrel in my day and I have never split a wooden dowel with a rubber mallet. It might mushroom at the top a little bit but if you are splitting wood you are doing wrong. Gentle taps. If you are muscling up your Rambo strength with the hammer of Thor yes you are doing it wrong.
 
Pulling it out is your easiest method. Pushing will just jam it in harder. Get anything that will snag the rag - a long auger bit, a long corkscrew, even bend a hook into a coathanger end and sharpen it.

Oh, and if you add liquids to the rag, if it is cotton it may swell up even worse.
 
Send it to NASA. Evidently it requires rocket science to get it out! Sorry, couldn't help it. It was put in there by man, it will come out by man in reverse order it went it. How will it jam tighter if pushed back toward the breech as the barrel gets bigger? As mentioned, soak it in oil and hit that puppy with a dowel close to the size of the bore. Or you could send it to a gunsmith who will charge you $100.00 and do the same thing.
 
Brad243 said:
You can get bullet pullers for muzzle loaders. Is basically a screw that fits into your ram rod/cleaning rod. The idea is to screw into your patched ball and pull it out. Something like that may be a good option, just snag the rag and pull instead of compressing it more.
Click to expand...

^^This was the first thing I thought of... Would help unpack the rag and allow you to pull it out. Like this: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...hUKEwiNr-CQ8bnuAhV6AjQIHdqCD9wQMygGegUIARC5AQ
 
Braze or weld a high quality coarse threaded screw onto the end of a long length of 'All Thread'. Screw that into the obstruction. Put a couple fender washers onto the All Thread, then a nut. Turn the nut, but not the rod, and that may pull the obstruction.

Pull from the rear, the bore is larger that way, no choke constriction.

Small pieces of the obstruction may be better than the whole thing all at once.

To keep the screw centered use a loose fitting dowel with a hole drilled thru the center to let the screw pass thru. Length of the dowel can also be used to help regulate how far the screw enters the obstruction.

Be careful the screw does not scratch the bore.
 
Hydraulic it out.
Pump a bunch of grease in there.
Find a dowel that will fit nicely in the bawrill.
Whaaack end of dowel with ah martoe.
Gentle whacks.
 
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