Removing breech plug on a Lyman Great Plains Rifle?

[rdelliott]

Last night I was cleaning my flintlock, a Lyman Great Plains Rifle, when the threaded insert on the business end of my cleaning rod broke, leaving the jag most of the way down the barrel.

I tried trickling a little ffffg through the vent and touching it off, but this didn't work and made me nervous.

How hard is it to unscrew the breech plug on one of these? Is it feasible with a padded vise and big wrench, or should I take it to a gunsmith?

Any tips or suggestions are most welcome!

 

[mooncoon]

You could try it but if it does not come out without using extreme measures, you might be better off to try heating the barrel where the jag is and burning the cloth patch away to loosen the jag up. Obviously make sure that the under rib is screwed on and not soldered on.

With the jag 1/2 way down the barrel, you probably should not try shooting the jag out with any significant amount of powder for fear of either bursting or ringing the barrel.

cheers mooncoon

 

[Smokepole]

Maybe you can remove the touchhole liner, and put a bit of powder into the breech and then replace the touchhole liner. Use a ramrod to seat the jag end down on the charge. Fire the gun into something that will catch the jag.
In thirty years of shooting MLs I have never removed a breech. When I buy a replica ML that is one of the things I look to see about, and if it has been removed I usually move on..

 

[rdelliott]

Thanks guys: I tried a little more powder, and that did the trick!

 

[Smokepole]

Perfect! We didn't want you to have to remove the breech.

 

[bdft]

I was just going to suggest more powder. Just be careful you screw the nipple back in tight. I had one blow out on me once. It turns out that the hammer can come all the way back and hit your thumb if you shoot with your right thumb laid along the stock like I do. Ruined a perfectly good thumb.

 

[rdelliott]

I was just going to suggest more powder. Just be careful you screw the nipple back in tight. I had one blow out on me once. It turns out that the hammer can come all the way back and hit your thumb if you shoot with your right thumb laid along the stock like I do. Ruined a perfectly good thumb.

Better that than damage the gun; flesh heals, but valuable firearms don't .

 

[juanvaldez]

I once saw a guy pull a nipple put some ffffg in and only screw it on a couple threads. When fired the gun it blew the nipple straight up and and made a nice neat little round hole in the visor of his ball cap.

 

[al100]

compressed air and a rubber tipped blowgun seems alot safer than adding powder and firing it to remove the jag. Does adding powder and a source of ignition not make it a loaded gun?

 

[bdft]

Of course it does. How can you shoot out the stuck jag with an empty gun?

 

[Buffalo Creek Law Dog]

I had the same thing happen to me about 22 yrs ago. I took it to a gunsmith in Barrie (I was in the military at the time). He poured some kind of chemical down the barrel and left it for x number of days. It disintegrated the cleaning patch and the jag came out. I still have it and still shoot it.