Best way to clear a bullet stuck in the barrel?

B

b_w.

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
27   0   0
Location
AB
Today at the range I got a bullet stuck in the barrel. It was a reload and I must have had barely any powder in it because it was just enough to push the bullet out of the case.

I have tried using a coated cleaning rod with brass tips to push it though with no luck. I wanted to check what the best way to clear this is without damaging my barrel? It is a savage 12 in 223. Any suggestions other than putting the rod down the muzzle and tapping it with a hammer or is that the best way? |Thanks.
 
You want to use a good rod, very close to bore diameter, with a tip that isn't going to make things worse.
Also, where is the bullet? Just in the throat, or well down the barrel?
 
I use a rod and a striking device (hammer). Its the most common way. In leiu of a hammer if it happens at a range, a shooting block, boot, etc will work

However I like to take an old plastic jag accessory, cut off the tip so there is a flat plastic end on the rod, then I put a big patch over it before i send it down the barrel. This way any force I put on the rod when tapping it will not scratch or damage the barrell if I am not directly center on the bullet, especially if its at the entry to the chamber, so you are going muzzle downwards forcing it back out of the chamber as most bullets are pointed or connical so its easy to wedge your rod between the tip and the barrel
 
I suggest a flat ended steel rod close to bore diameter, with tape wrapped around every 6 inches so it is not sloppy in the bore and the bore protected from the steel rod. It is important you don't drive anything against the stuck bullet than may break off or bend and make the jam worse.
 
it is stuck right in the throat. is there any risk of damaging the barrel pushing it back out or should I just push it all the way through the barrel and out the muzzle?
 
b_w. said:
it is stuck right in the throat. is there any risk of damaging the barrel pushing it back out or should I just push it all the way through the barrel and out the muzzle?
Click to expand...

You only have to drive it back 1/2 inch... if it is a jacketed bullet it would be extremely hard to drive it the length of the barrel...

I suggest a flat ended steel rod close to bore diameter, with tape wrapped around every 6 inches so it is not sloppy in the bore and the bore protected from the steel rod. It is important you don't drive anything against the stuck bullet than may break off or bend and make the jam worse.
 
Buy some silicone spray and give it a good squirt first. Let it soak around the bullet and knock it out with a metal rod(stainless filler rod, mild steel filler rod or brass or bronze rod). Please don't use wood!!
 
thanks guys. never had this happen before. if it was a chrome lined i wouldnt worry so much but dont want to damage my ss barrel.
 
A relative loaded a batch of understrength .38Spl reloads. Eleven got stuck in the bore of a borrowed Smith. The twelfth locked the cylinder. The solution was to drill down the bore with a bit and brace, unscrew the barrel, then manfully turn in a piece of threaded rod and POUND the whole slug out the muzzle.
 
guntech said:
I suggest a flat ended steel rod close to bore diameter, with tape wrapped around every 6 inches so it is not sloppy in the bore and the bore protected from the steel rod. It is important you don't drive anything against the stuck bullet than may break off or bend and make the jam worse.
Click to expand...

I do the same thing but with a brass rod. - dan
 
I would take a bunch of rounds, remove the bullets, put more powder into the brass and shoot and just keep shooting "blank" overcharged rounds.

Then again that is why I am not a gunsmith.

But straight up, you will prob not do that... dont do that.. thats just what I would do.
 
If I have a cleaning rod with me, I remove the jag so the tip is flat, and just tap the bui;llet out.

if I don't have a rod, I pull a bullet from a loaded round (I stick bullet in muzzle to get some prying action, to loosen the crimp), dump about half the powder out and then chamber the case, muzzle up, so powder does not spill. The bullet will usually shoot out. if not, I repeat, using more powder. NOTE: THis is done with no bullet in the case!!!

I have done this many, many times, with bullets near chamber and also way down the barrel. works like a charm. the big advantage is that it can be done on the spot, with no tools.
 
tigrr said:
Buy some silicone spray and give it a good squirt first. Let it soak around the bullet and knock it out with a metal rod(stainless filler rod, mild steel filler rod or brass or bronze rod). Please don't use wood!!
Click to expand...

My first thought was that a wood dowel wouldn't harm the barrel, why is wood so bad? (not trying to troll, just curious)
 
dand883 said:
My first thought was that a wood dowel wouldn't harm the barrel, why is wood so bad? (not trying to troll, just curious)
Click to expand...

It poses a bigger problem if it splits at the end and jams in tighter and a piece breaks off... I have seen several items get stuck in a barrel when trying to remove an obstruction, the barrel ending up ruined... so the first rule should be - use something substantial that can not make the situation worse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom