How to get a stuck bullet out.

[A Pirate]

My powder got wet while hunting in a snow storm. We put a bullet puller into the round and while tugging the ramrod snapped. My dad and I have two plans. 1. Take a screw welded to a rod and screw out what is left of the ram rod get it out, then use a bullet puller again. Or 2, hook up the blow torch and melt the lead slug. Can you all tell me what you would do in this situation? Thank you.

[Bradbn4]

By the time that lead hits up - I would expect what powder to have dried and cooked off.  I do think heating the barrel up that hot might cause a loss of temper of the barrel.

You should remove the rod, let the powder dry out - and dry a new cap ?  or is it flint lock...

I am not sure if you could use compressed air from the breach side and "push" the ball / powder out.

If the powder has fizzled - I would still try to get the bullet puller out - and in a safe location  use a bunch of primers and slowly force the bullet out.

When I had a squib load I used primed brass to push the round out of the barrel.  It took about 4 trys before the bullet dribbled out of the barrel.



 

[bladesmith]

Thompson center sells a neat device that uses co2 cylinders to remove a stuck ball.   the other option is to remove the nipple and force a little 4f powder in the hole screw the nipple back in recap and fire.

[The Professor]

Well, crap, Bladesmith beat me to it.

Go down to your nearest gunshop and get what's called a "CO2 Discharger/Unloader".  It fits right on the  nipple and a few quick shots should do it.   You may want to lube up the barrel, a bit, before you do it to make it easier for the bullet to slide down.

Here's a link to the item at Cabela's, as a reference.

http://www.gunaccessories.com/RMC/EC_Unloader.asp

The Professor

[RipTombstone]

OR, pull the nipple off the bolster, shake out all the powder you can get out of it. If it got wet, it might be caked up in there, so a toothpick might help to loosen it up. Dont use a sparking metal, as it "could" set off the powder... (that said, I use a normal safety pin or bent paper clip, which will spark, etc, etc.)

Dribble a light load, 20gr or so...of powder back into the bolster/chamber area. Make sure the threads are clear of powder, and replace the nipple lightly.

Reseat the ball/ramrod piece onto the powder. This is very important.... RESEAT the projectile onto the powder. You dont want air between the powder and ball.

Cap, and fire into a safe location where you can recover the parts.

Some muzzleloaders have a small screw below the nipple that can be removed for dribbling in powder and cleaning. That would be a better way than trying to screw the nipple back in with powder in the threads...
This method has worked for me several times..
RipT

[A Pirate]

Thanks for the help I think I will go with the co2 idea. Just out of note I had to washout all the powder and spray anti-rust in there due to the fact that it will be a while till I can fix, plus my dad is a welder and his answer is always fire.

[RipTombstone]

"his answer is always fire."

Thats funny! My answer is usually a bigger hammer.
Good luck.
DM

[vulture774]

Thanks for the help I think I will go with the co2 idea. Just out of note I had to washout all the powder and spray anti-rust in there due to the fact that it will be a while till I can fix, plus my dad is a welder and his answer is always fire.

If the seal between the projectile and the bore is compromised...CO2 may not help.

In this case, find a way to introduce a small amount of 4F powder behind the projectile, as has been suggested earlier.

NOTE:  THIS IS IN CAPS BECAUSE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!  RESET THE PROJECTILE TIGHT TO THE NEW POWDER CHARGE BEFORE LIGHTING IT OFF.  IF THE FIRST TRY DOESN'T WORK....ADD A BIT MORE POWDER BEHIND THE PROJECTILE AND THEN RE-SEAT THE PROJECTILE TIGHT TO  THE CHARGE,
 RE-SEAT THE PROJECTILE TIGHT TO THE CHARGE,
RE-SEAT THE PROJECTILE TIGHT TO THE CHARGE,
RE-SEAT THE PROJECTILE TIGHT TO THE CHARGE! 

Try it gain,  it will come out eventually.

[A Pirate]

I have two thoughts on recharging the the rifle. 1. with the split up old ramrod I do not know how well I can reset the round. 2. Can I buy a small amount of 4f powder? I built this thing back when I was 16 and have not used the one pound of FFg that I bought 7 years ago. Having 2 kinds of powder in the same style of can could lead to major problems and who knows what would happen if the cops or my landlord saw a couple of pounds of powder owned by a 23 year old vet with a mohawk.

[RipTombstone]

You may have to make a new temporary ramrod out of a 3/8" dowel, or something just under bore size. That should get it pushed back down, with no worry of getting a new ramrod stuck next to the old one.

As far as powder, I believe it is only sold in 1 lb cans at the minimum. The 4F is very fine, and should work great as suggested before. I didnt even take grain size into consideration. I used 3F, so it was close anyway.

Is it illegal for you to own powder where you live? Do you have special rules for storage in your town/county/state, etc?
I have over 25 lbs of powder myself, but also shoot a heck of a lot of it over the course of a year, and it is kept in a firebox.

If its not a legal issue, dont worry about what the landlord says. You have a legitimate use for it with your blackpowder rifle. Just be smart, keep it put away, and dont be making cherry bombs in the back forty....

Good luck to you!
DM

[radtke]

i had to remove a bullet and a broken ramrod last year and i did it pretty much like RipTombstone said . i only had to fire once and the ramrod was stuck in the ground in front of me.  so be carefull