Well here we go .... now what?

huntinstuff

huntinstuff

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Loaded 100g of pyrodex, put the ball and patch in and stuck the cap on the end and "PFFFFFFT"....no boom

I neglected to fire a couple caps before reloading. Gun had some oil in it....blah blah......

Ive soaked the barrel under water for 2 hrs to screw up the powder.....I have a thing that fits on the ramrod (looks like a drywall screw) and it will take the ball out of the barrel....I have a safe area to perform the required task.

My question is "can i tap the ram rod to set the bullet puller without too much fear of the powder igniting from shock?"

is there something im missing before I go ahead......let me know.
 
You don't need to tap it - the lead is very soft -just push firmly and screw slowly. Wet powder won't go bang. Your ramrod needs to be VERY strong. Many of the wood ones are not up to the job, especially if the brass fitting is not pinned. You DO NOT want to leave the fitting buried in the ball at the bottom of the bore... The technique works in theory, but the ball can be the very devil to get up the barrel. If the barrel's wet, get lots of soap in the bore, but drain it well before trying to pull. You might get the ball but leave the patch behind - you can flush that out from the breech end with a garden hose or air compressor. If you can remove the drum easily, its easy to flush the powder out. Having to yank a ball is the one thing I don't like about BP. I'm careful now not too use too tight a fit between bore patch and ball - if you have to hammer the rod down to get the ball down, you're asking for trouble. There are air fittings that screw into the flash ports for some guns, allowing a compressed air blow out, but not all guns will accept these.
 
ok im no BP expert, but while ghunting one of our guys had fail to fires on a HUGE buck because his rifle was dirty.


maybe its because the thing that lets the fire from the primer go through to the pyrodex is clogged, when i clean my gun i have to make sure that hole is spotless
 
The powder won't ignite Randy, but you may find that you will steip the threads if you bang on it too hard.
Measure the length of the screw puller, then slide the ramrod down the barrel.
make a mark the same length as the screw so that you can tell when it has almost bottomed out.
An easier way (BEFORE SOAKING) would have been to pull the nipple and get in there with a needlr or nipple pick, then drop some powder in and work it in with the pick.
Reseat the nipple and fire it out.
Cat
 
thanks guys....just wanted to check cause im a FNG with BP and didnt want to miss a step that could cost me my hand......

thanks again. Ill get that ball out if I have to use a grinder to do it....lol
 
Did the same thing with my wife's rifle last week.Forgot to snap a couple of caps,and no ignition.
If it happens again do what Cat said, take the nipple out and put as much powderin as you can. ffff is the best,instead of buying 1lb,crush some ff or fff with a rolling pin,put the powder between 2 sheets of paper.
To remove the ball,you have a poly ramrod if i remember correctly.It's better to screw the ramrod in,pour some patch lube down the barrel,that will help to pull it.
Cheers nessy.
 
This is a tip I learned from an old BP shooter with years of experience. I had loaded a patched round ball once and forgot to put in my powder charge.....I think we've all done that at least once. He told me to remove the nipple and pore in some powder. I did and ended up putting in enough powder to just fill the drum. I seated the bullet as best as I could, put the nipple back on and fired. The bullet came out at the speed of a slingshot, no pressure damage at all and I did'nt have to spend what usually was a lot of time and frustration pulling a patched ball. In all I used approx 5 grains of powder.

I have done the same thing with a charged rifle that had a clogged nipple, just a few grains to get the charge off.

If you do try this, just make sure your bullet is well seated and you only use enough powder to fill the drum.
 
I took that danged thing to Wolf's Guns and he is gonna pull that out for me. The puller I bought at WSS had a broken tip on it so it wasn't good for anything.

Next time ill try that powder trick.....helluva lot easier that what I was doing.....thanks for the info guys, you're the best.
 
Gilly and Nessy's tips are the way to go.

No need to pull the ball, (altough you can go that way if you want).

Unscrew the touch hole, put in as much fffg powder as you can (it'll be about 5 grains) through the hole, re-insert the touchhole, re-prime, seat the ball and go.
 
GOOD GOD! You soaked your entire rifle in water! WHY?

Pulling a ball is easy and not at all dangerous. First of all, you don't need to drive the ball puller into the ball at all. Just apply firm pressure and screw it into the ball as far as possible. I will never go all the way in cause it expands the ball as it penetrates. But it only needs to go in a few turns to work.

Pour some oil down the barrel and let it soak into the patch for a bit to make pulling easier.

Then pull gently but firmly and the whole mess will come out.

BEFORE contemplating pulling a ball, fire 3 or 4 caps to make sure the powder charge really can't be ignited.

THEN pull the nipple and stuff as much powder into the hole as possible. Replace the nipple and fire the gun. Try this a couple of times before giving up. Note: When using this method it is important to make sure the ball is firmly seated each time before firing.
 
I soaked the barrel in water to wreck the powder.....I had the idea in the back of my head that if I couldnt get the ball out, I was gonna take it to Wolf......I had to make the gun as safe as I could out of concern for the gunsmith, even if it means damaging my rifle....I can always buy a new one, I can't replace someone's hand....I know now what to try but at the time it happened all I was thinking about was safety and not the condition of the rifle. Im sure if I screwed it up someone here will sell me one at a ridiculously high price.........lol

You guys really are the best. No really I mean it............seriously.........................the best......
 
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