Muzzle Loading 12 Gauge With a Surprise in the Barrel

Boolitcaster

Boolitcaster

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
59   0   0
Location
Vancouver Island
Hi folks,

I picked up a nice 12 gauge muzzle loader the other day. It needs a fair bit of work, but should be a shooter soon enough. I was told that it was in storage for around fifty years and before that, it was used as a stage prop in theatre.

I measured the depth of the barrel and there was something in the bottom. I had to clear out the cobwebs and who knows what else to see with a bore light. Yup, in the bottom I could see a big ole roundball. The gun has a well rusted in nipple and non-functional lock, so firing a cap in the conventional way will not work. It is a nipple that will not fit any modern cap, but I found some canon fuse will snug up a musket cap nicely when inserted under the cap. Tomorrow I will try to set off the musket cap using the canon fuze. If I only get a pop instead of a boom, does anyone have any other ideas that arn't likely to shorten my life?

Oh, I also checked the nipple hole and it is clear down into the snail.

Thanks
 
I'm sure someone more experienced will be around in the morning to help you.

Like you said the easiest way would be to discharge the firearm.

Should that fail you can pour penetrating oil down the nipple hole and barrel to neutralize the powder. Then using a ram rod and a worm[see pic] fish the ball out.

tool-combo_3.jpg
 
Kill any propellant in the barrel with some oil then pull the ball. You have no idea what propellant might be in there and you may have a bomb in your hands. Definitely not worth the risk IMHO.
 
NO! don't do that. Pour some WD40 down the barrel and soak the barrel walls and around the ball. Get a ball puller on a ramrod. Place the screw end on top of the ball. Tap the other end of the road with a small hammer or short starter and turn the ramrod at the same time and start to screw it into the ball. When it wont turn anymore clamp the end of the ram rod in a vise with wood over the jaws the hold and pull on the shotgun and now attempt to pull the ramrod and ball out.

If you don't have the materials handy get hold of your local BP club for assistance. They will gladly help.
 
Don't shoot it. If the ball is rusted in place, the pressure will spike. Pull the ball. If you don't have the tools, get them, or take it so someone who does. I use a rod with bore sized brass slug with a drill bit installed to make a pilot hole in the ball, then turn a screw into the ball, and use a slide hammer effect to draw it.
 
I did not intend to be anywhere around when that thing went off, hence the canon fuze. That said however, I am also not fond of blowing up antique guns. I will give this some thought, and see what some of the more experienced black powder shooters in the club have for tools. I think that making a pilot hole with a modified jag and a drill bit is particularly clever! Thanks!
 
If you do the cannon fuse bit, video it, ok!!
Clean the barrel with a bronze brush thoroughly so the ball doesn't snag any rust. Then try to pull it somehow.
 
I second the suggestion on the CO2 discharger. Just make sure to point everything in a safe direction. The first time I used one was indoors, and I thought I was being safe by sticking the muzzle in a big metal coffee can packed with cloths. After blowing said can across the room I recovered it to find the bottom dented over an inch by the ball. It can do damage, treat it accordingly.

Also; the image above shows a worm, not a ball-puller. The worm is shaped like a corkscrew and does a great job of grabbing patches, wads, or cleaning stuff from the bore. A ball-puller looks more like a wood-screw. Some come with 'spikes': put the spike on your rod, smack the tip into the lead ball, replace the spike with the ball-puller and it'll turn into the ball easier when started in the spike indent.
Once the ball is out dump out whatever comes out behind it, and then use the worm to break up & get out whatever is left. If there is an old powder charge in there it'll probably be seriously caked, so after scraping what you can with the worm flush it out with hot soapy water.
 
I say take the wood off said shotgun and bake it in the oven at 500 degrees f. until the ball comes free of the barrel (or vice versa:p). Time it with an egg timer, make sure the wife is out of the house (it may smell bad after the discharge in the oven) and take a time laps video.
For a clean up (if there's anything left over), you guessed it...straight to the dishwasher with that bad boy. Lots of hot water and soap.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...don't you dare. I'm joking.
 
Where on the Island are you? While I would try the compressed air if available, much like Tiriaq, I would use a metal rod with a bushing at the end slightly under bore diameter and a large heavy wood screw. I don't bother with a pilot hole but tap the metal rod with a hammer, a couple of times and screw the screw into the ball, tie the rod to the vice with a couple of feet of slack and pull it out that way. Be advised that if the scrw pulls out you may have to go to a larger diameter screw. I would not use a wooden rod because you will probably just pull the end off of the rod

cheers mooncoon
 
Courtenay. I am pretty sure that I have seen you at our gun show. I always have the table full of roundballs and cast bullets. I can't figure out what is down the barrel right now. The bullet puller does not want to bite, but there is now a dent in the ball. Hard to get compressed air in if you can't remove the nipple? Cheers.
 
Is there any evidence of a baseplug in the closed end of the breech? My mind's eye sees a coarse threaded plug with some sort of wrench fitting, or even a tang on the barrel. If you soak that end in a strong rust eating solvent, you might be able to open the end without the business of screws or CO2 blow-outs.
 
Boolitcaster; I am sure we have seen each other; I had a table at the same show. In terms of removing the breach plug, quite often that takes a bit of heat and same with frozen nipples. I would not terribly recommend heating the breach end of the barrel for fear of setting the powder off. Hopefully the dent in the round ball indicates the ball is lead and not a ball bearing. I will send you a private message shortly

cheers mooncoon
 
I have removed multiple-loaded and otherwise munged with (soaked in oil, assorted solvents, etc.) charges using a grease gun.

Making a clamp to hold the grease nipple adapter in alignment may be a minor chore, for a flinter, but you get controlled application of ~10K psi of pressure as opposed to the 120 or so PSI that most compressors run, it applies the force smoothly, and does not result in breaking loose and firing it across the shop as compressed air, CO2, or Nitrogen will.

Sacrifice the nipple and fit a grease nipple in it's place. Many of the available sizes of percussion cap nipple match up nicely with the available sizes of grease nipple threads.

No sparks, no real risk, easy-peasy.

Cheers
Trev
 
I have used both the CO2 and the grease gun. The CO2 works well for most. I brazed a grease nipple onto a screw that had the same thread as the flash hole (nipple in your case). I had bored a hole in the screw first on the metal lathe. works great.

Kevin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom