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Thread: Stuck minie ball

  1. #21
    Boolit Master
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    The worst thing to do is fire up a charge under a ball stuck half way up the barrel. Doing could bulge a barrel. In your circumstance the grease pump method is most effective verses a CO2 Discharger. The co2 deal works best when the ball is fully seated to its breech on top or not its powder charge. The ball gap you your rifle has its likely the co-2 cartridge wouldn't have enough pressure filling the gap and pushing the ball forward. Keep in mind your rifle nipple is Metric measured thus the grease fitting needs to have the same threading and profile look. Good Luck,

  2. #22
    Boolit Master


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    Gunsmith time when you have no idea IMHO the few dollars spent is better than the cost of a new barrel.

    One reason to NEVER EVER loan a gun out IMHO also

  3. #23
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
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    For all the vexation avoided a heavy brass rod to whack a stuck bullet on down the barrel is a mighty good thing.

  4. #24
    Boolit Buddy Gunners Mate's Avatar
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    Xxxxx

  5. #25
    Boolit Buddy Gunners Mate's Avatar
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    Xxxxx

  6. #26
    Boolit Master mehavey's Avatar
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    "...unlubed minie ball in a dirty bore...."
    I know you mentioned it was another shooter, but why was he even thinking about unlubed minnieballs?

  7. #27
    Boolit Master
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    You could file teeth on a piece of 9/16in metal tubing and use it by hand like a holesaw. K&S brass tubing, available in modelmaking shops or on eBay, is hard enough and won't scratch the bore. It comes in 1ft. length, but can be epoxied onto a wooden dowel. When it is just a thin lead tube it will scrape out easily.

    If you have a bullet-drawing screw the problem is to avoid having it slip down between the Minié nose and the bore. It might still pull it out, but a steel screw will scratch. You would need some sort of bushing or tape wrapping on the bore to centre it. Worm screws like two wire spirals won't do it. They are meant for shot charges.

    In a rifle which doesn't have soft soldered ramrod pipes or under-rib to be loosened, you could heat it till the lead softens. Done slowly and carefully, it won't harm the finish.

  8. #28
    Boolit Man
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    Success! I was able to loosen the ball by driving it down a bit with a wooden dowel and a mallet. The CO2 discharger did the rest. She's cleaned and ready for action again... Lubed action that is.

    Thanks for all the good advice.

  9. #29
    Boolit Grand Master

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    You have to be care with wooden dowels like that. Split the dowel and jam it around your slug and it would really be stuck then but gald you finally got it.
    Aim small, miss small!

  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
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    Brass works better.

  11. #31
    Boolit Man
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    Yeah brass is better. I used an oak dowel, but with all the oil I put in it, it didn't take much to wack it down to a point where the discharger had the pressure to pop it.

    It's a nice rifle. 1863 Springfield made by Pedersoli and sold by Navy Arms. Made in 1990. I don't think 1863s are reproduced by them anymore.

    I casted up some nice minie balls and lubed them up with my beeswax and olive oil mix for my friend.
    Last edited by Pavia; 09-17-2017 at 03:24 PM.

  12. #32
    Boolit Master mehavey's Avatar
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    beeswax and olive oil mix
    Slather Slather....

  13. #33
    Boolit Man
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    Quote Originally Posted by mehavey View Post
    Slather Slather....
    Absolutely. The cavity is filled and the outside has lube on it. I didn't size them. They cast straight out of the Lee mold at .575.

    I will take some and make up some cartridges. I do that for my Bess.

    This rifle was sitting in my friend's closet for a number of years. He's an experienced shooter, but not with BP. So the fault is mine. When I saw the balls he brought they looked like they were old and the lube was caked on it. I was wrong.

    I also went to Track of the Wolf this week and got him proper cleaning equipment, which he didn't have. And I got his rifle a sling. Can't have a musket without a sling. It's just... wrong. Haha

  14. #34
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by mehavey View Post
    Slather Slather....
    z

    Well, yes... You have to consider what might be the next method you try, and I wouldn't want it to be heat after an olive oil and beeswax mix.

    A split and jammed wooden rod can often be charred and shrunk with less heat than will melt lead, or loosen soldered fittings.

  15. #35
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I went to the MSC catalog and ordered brass rods to fit my ramrod thimble. Now I have a custom brass ramrod for most of the ML's. I chose the navy brass as it is harder. Good, easy weight to use seating a ball / boolit instead of the hollow metal ones that come with today's ML's. Turn grip rings on the end and D&T the working end for attachments.

  16. #36
    Boolit Master
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    Get a Nipple made to fit so that a Hydraulic Hose can fit.Using a hydraulic Pump the bullet will come out with little effort since it has expanded and sealed any oil escape.This does work I once had to do it.Make sure the Bore is clean prior to the job.Point the Barrel to a wall or some barrier otherwise you may get hit or plastered with oil.

  17. #37
    Boolit Mold Old Iron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Good Cheer View Post
    For all the vexation avoided a heavy brass rod to whack a stuck bullet on down the barrel is a mighty good thing.
    I agree 100%.
    I always take a 3/8" brass rod (drilled and tapped on both ends for cleaning jags) to the shoots and rendezvous I go to, I've used it more than a few times when other shooters have had a problem getting balls stuck half way down their barrels.

    Because of the weight of the brass rod, a hammer isn't even needed to get things moving.

  18. #38
    Boolit Master

    Eddie Southgate's Avatar
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    Pavia ,
    It would take a whole 5 minutes to do as bedbugbully suggested and remove it the correct way . Pad your vise jaws , take a crescent wrench and remove your breech plug , then take a hickory rod and drive the Minnie out the way it came . When you put the plug back in make sure you rub a little grease or use some sort of anti seize on the threads and be sure the top of the plug and top of the barrel are matched up . It is really simple to do .


    You other guys : Yall are nuts . 5 minutes with a vise and a wrench to fix the problem the correct way and yall advise oil and pumps or special made nipples and air tanks or hand filing special key hole saws ! How bout sharing some of whatever yall are smoking with the rest of us .

    Eddie
    Last edited by Eddie Southgate; 09-24-2017 at 07:37 PM.
    Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!

  19. #39
    Boolit Master
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    well I don't know how many you have taken apart. but you need a barrel vise and a special made wrench to take it apart with out running the risk of messing up the barrel or the breach plug. neither are hard to make.

  20. #40
    Boolit Man
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eddie Southgate View Post
    Pavia ,
    It would take a whole 5 minutes to do as bedbugbully suggested and remove it the correct way . Pad your vise jaws , take a crescent wrench and remove your breech plug , then take a hickory rod and drive the Minnie out the way it came . When you put the plug back in make sure you rub a little grease or use some sort of anti seize on the threads and be sure the top of the plug and top of the barrel are matched up . It is really simple to do .


    You other guys : Yall are nuts . 5 minutes with a vise and a wrench to fix the problem the correct way and yall advise oil and pumps or special made nipples and air tanks or hand filing special key hole saws ! How bout sharing some of whatever yall are smoking with the rest of us .

    Eddie
    It's already out, but thanks

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
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LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check