Removing Stuck Wooden Dowel and Soft Lead Sinker from a barrel

[Fire_stick]

When what I am about to describe happened to me, I did a search for an answer, but there is not much information. So I figured I would fess up and admit that I did manage to lodge a wooden dowel and lead sinker in my barrel. On the positive side, I am going to tell you how I eventually got it out. I hope that another lost soul may benefit in some small way.

First, what I took away from this experience, is don't use wood dowel to slug your barrel. It can be unreliable. I have used it before without issue, but this time it bit me in the ass. "The first time the dog bites you, it is the dogs fault, the second time he bites you it is your fault." - Marvin Johnson

What start this is I am the proud new owner of a lovely 91/30 Mosin Nagant with laminated stock. She's pretty, and she shoots factory ammo well. But I wanted more. I wanted to cast for her, so being the good caster I aspire to be, I knew I needed to slug the barrel in order to get the groove diameter. Not a problem, I done this before. Well this time things went south just as the soft lead sinker was about to exit the barrel on the receiver end. At that point, somewhere down in the bowels of the barrel, one or more of the sections of "hardwood" dowel decided it was time to split. Like an idiot, I continued to pound away, thinking "it's right there at the edge, I can do it". Nope, I just made things worse.

The lead was stuck, and the sections of dowel were not coming out, except for a couple of pieces on the muzzle end. What to do, what to do. At the time, I was in the deep woods at the ranch house, and you don't get good cell or internet access there. So I was on my own with my new prize totally unusable. Man I had had plans for that gun that week.

The next day I drove into town, to the do it center, and picked up one of the longest smallest diameter wood screws I could find, along with washers, 8-32 threaded rod and nuts for the threaded rod. The long wood screw and washers allowed me to tap into the lead, and pry it out very carefully using the washers against the head of the wood screw and leveraging against the back edge of the receiver using a flat head screwdriver. It was not long before the lead was out and I was thinking I had it made. Not so fast, the wood was still in there, and the wood screw was only so long.

That was okay, I figured, I will pound it out. DON'T DO THIS, IT MAKES THINGS WORSE.

Okay, so the lead is out, but the wood is not. I did manage to use the same technique on a section of the wood dowel closest to the receiver end. But after that my wood screw was too short, and the threaded rod would not thread into the wood without a pilot hole.

A couple of days later, I was back home, but commitments kept me from fully pursuing my foe. Eventually, I managed to get to a hardware store and pick up a 1/8" x 12" long drill bit to use to drill a pilot hole in to the wood for the threaded rod idea I had.

After drilling the pilot hole, I screwed the threaded rod into the wooden dowel and used washers and a nut to pull the threaded rod back out. Tighten the nut against the washers, and IF your threaded rod does not pull out of the wood, you WILL pull the wood out. But you may have to try several times. The deeper the pilot, the better grip the Threaded rod will have on the wood.
28237
28238

This worked like a champ the first time, and I figured once I freed those stubborn sections of wood the rest would fall out. Nope, they were stuck too. And they were further down the barrel. Further than my short 12" drill bit could reach.

After some rest and thought, I remembered an old piece of brass tube I had in a junk box. Wa la, an extender.
28239
So, onward I went, chipping away until I finally managed to have only a small portion left, which I was able to drive out with a metal rod.

I am happy this is behind me, and I do not plan to repeat the event. But I wanted to put my thoughts down in hopes that someone will benefit. Keep in mind all of this transpired over about a weeks time frame. If you find yourself in this predicament, take your time and think it through. I could not put down every detail here, but the gist is here.

There are probably a lot of smarter folks out there that can add to this. I bet there is a simpler way to undo this problem. Please add to this thread.

Oh yeah, the groove diameter is .313". I will never forget that dimension.

After a good scrubbing, the rifling still looks as good as I remember it looking before I started the project. There is one blemish toward the muzzle on the groove, but that might have been there before. I will give her a shot (no pun intended) and see how she shoots versus pre-slugging.

[Dutchman]

Long long ago and very far away I had a 1903A3 Springfield that I bought from a co-worker for $50. I already had one but what the heck $50 ain't squat, or wasn't even in 1975/76. The problem was I had .30-06 ammo that was neck sized after having been fired in the previously owned 03A3.

Wouldn't ya know it, the newly acquired 03A3 had a chamber that was not friendly to neck sized ammo and I proceeded to stick a loaded round in the chamber. When I say stuck I mean the laws of physics were working against me in the form of a very tightly locked taper.

What to do? A clean deburred steel rod and a big hammer. POUND POUND POUND POUND.

No go. By this time the bullet was thoroughly buried in the case and of course all that POUNDING just expanded the case walls further locking the dang thing in place. What do you do?

Get a bigger hammer!

I beat on that sucker for 3 days. Oiled down the bore and let it soak and kept pounding. By this time I was nervous about all that pounding and a live primer and a live cartridge. But jeez Louise whatcha gonna do? Keep pounding that's what.

Finally on the 4th day that totally destroyed '06 came out. That was the last time I ever neck sized cases for any gun.

The moral of the story is: GET A BIGGER HAMMER.

A clean steel rod that is deburred isn't going to hurt anything except your peace of mind.

How do those fanatical muzzle stuffing always black dirty stinky rifle shooters get stuck bullets out of a one-ended rifle? A screw. First they drill a little pilot hole and then they run a stuck bullet removing screw and thread it into the lead bullet and start reverse pounding it out. I know nothing about any of this. I just read a lot.

BTW - 5/16" steel rod is .3125". Perfectomundo.


Dutch

[XWrench3]

i have broken a wood dowel in a barrel before, but i was fortunate enough that it was in a 6" revolver, and was no trouble getting out.
"dutch", i did almost the exact same thing on an old "army training rifle", or at least that is what i was told it was. it had a stepped barrel, (like the big ship guns) and a black wood stock. i never did figure out what it was, that was way before my internet days. i got it out with heat from a hair dryer and stp down the bore, and a wood dowel. the heat i think was the key. made the barrel/chamber grow just enough to let loose its grip. at that point, i had never heard of a round cooking off. though i really doubt i would have ever gotten it that hot with a hair dryer. for what it is worth, i was using an 8 ounce hammer, and just tapping the dowel.

[Bass Ackward]

I use wooden dowels all the time. But I take mine and dip the ends in epoxy and let it harden up. These things are usually so dry that they soak the epoxy up if you do it before the epoxy thickens. If it is a big enough dowel, you can drill into it like 1/16 " holes to increase the amount of epoxy at the point of contact.

Then it won't expand / break up and wedge. I mean we are talking within reason here. And if you use lube and pure lead, their shouldn't be a problem anyway.

If you stick something a good way to try and remove it is to put a thin penetrating oil in the bore and let it do it's job. Remember the wood is going to absorb some, so be generous.

Take a primed case with the strongest primer that you have and pointing the gun is a safe direction OUTSIDE, chamber and fire it. If that is insufficient, put in a safe, small load of a fast powder WITH NO PROJECTILE and repeat.

Even if that fails, it can alter the galling force and allow you to more removal options.

It really helps if you go to this method as soon as you realize you have a problem. Long BEFORE you use the Hammer of Thor trick.

[high standard 40]

I have never had such a problem but it's easy to see how it can happen. Very early on, I decided to order some 36" long brass rods is assorted diameters for this purpose. Always be sure to lube the bore before you start and with a brass rod there is little chance of damaging the bore.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#brass-alloy-rods/=afyr22

[44man]

Hardwood dowels sold in Home Depot, etc, are junk wood with grain all over the place.
I use only brass rods to slug barrels.
I would worry about pounding on a stuck loaded round. Some POWDERS will go off when struck hard. Don't worry about the primer. Lots and lots of Kroil would be called for.

[Harter66]

+1 for kroil,STP and brass rod .

I have also pointed and/or cupped the rod ends to better grip the slug nose/base.

I learned that a 1/4"rod will go into 25s if "lapped"some and that a cupped rod tip on said rod will mushroom just enough to be a huge PIA and that rod may hang up in a 6.5 also. Id rather not say .

A 5lb ingot and a stop nut threaded on the exposed rod end makes a great slide hammer to get the stuck rod out out. In thinking about it 2 nuts 1 lower and 1 at the tip would make a decent 2 way slide hammer.

[Wayne Smith]

[QUOTE=Bass Ackward;1110359]I use wooden dowels all the time. But I take mine and dip the ends in epoxy and let it harden up. These things are usually so dry that they soak the epoxy up if you do it before the epoxy thickens. If it is a big enough dowel, you can drill into it like 1/16 " holes to increase the amount of epoxy at the point of contact.

Then it won't expand / break up and wedge. I mean we are talking within reason here. And if you use lube and pure lead, their shouldn't be a problem anyway.

QUOTE]

Bass, that is entirely dependent on the grain structure of the dowel. Riven dowels (all straight grain split out of a log) are the exception to the rule any more. I have seen dowels that are almost a 90 degree cross grain - and many with a cross grain section that is just waiting to split. I have broken one of these pounding a 3" section into a tight hole in hardwood! No way that would survive in a barrel.

[kawalekm]

One thing that I've done that might be different is that I cut my wooden dowel (from Home Depot) into short lengths. I'll start out with a 6" length and tap the bullet into the barrel from the chamber end. I don't bother using soft lead any more because I get good results with bullets cast in my regular alloy (L #2). As the bullet goes down the barrel, I just add additional lengths of dowel.

I've found that once the bullet has engaged the rifling and has gone into the bore an inch or two, it is so easy to continue pushing the bullet that I can almost do it by hand alone, without having to tap with a hammer. I've slugged every single revolver/pistol/rifle this way and haven't had a problem yet!

[home in oz]

As a part time muzzleloader user, I have had a boolit get stuck in a .54 barrel once, in decades of use.

Used the "screw into the ball, and pull out" technigue.

OBTW, I threw away the wooden ramrod the day the rifle arrived , and ordered a fiberglass rod for my TC Rifle.

Had a wooden one split while loading a .45 years ago and a sliver went through the heel of my hand. That cured me of using wooden rods in guns for any use at all.

[odoh]

Alarming thot ~ stuck object is. I've 36"X¼" brass rod standing in the corner behind the TV. A 13" brass rod in my desk drawer, another in my range bag. I do collect the genuine bamboo chopsticks from our chinese repasts and generally use them for the short barrel guns (so far w/o breakage). Can't recommend the disposable soft wooden ones ~ and bamboo, believe it or not is becoming scarce.

[odoh]

. . . . .

OBTW, I threw away the wooden ramrod the day the rifle arrived , and ordered a fiberglass rod for my TC Rifle.

Had a wooden one split while loading a .45 years ago and a sliver went through the heel of my hand. That cured me of using wooden rods in guns for any use at all.

Yeh, I seen that coming when my TC Grey Ghost arrived and did likewise.

[405]

Actually this subject shows up quite regularly on this forum. Whether or not it is easily extracted from archive search- dunno. Use a polished stainless steel rod of sufficient diameter for all such pounding.... problem solved period.

[woodyubet]

Slip a fired case over the end of the wood dowel before you put it in the barrel

[HighHook]

As a part time muzzleloader user, I have had a boolit get stuck in a .54 barrel once, in decades of use.

Used the "screw into the ball, and pull out" technigue.

OBTW, I threw away the wooden ramrod the day the rifle arrived , and ordered a fiberglass rod for my TC Rifle.

Had a wooden one split while loading a .45 years ago and a sliver went through the heel of my hand. That cured me of using wooden rods in guns for any use at all.

My muzzleloader sat on my bench for a year and friend said squirt 150 psi through the nipple. Job done 2 seconds! Daaa on me [smilie=b:

[troy_mclure]

i had a similar incident in a .35rem barrel. was in a rush and could find no brass rods. got a wooden dowel.

1/2 way thru the slug stops and the dowel splinters at the muzzle.

luckily a near by electrical store had copper ground rods that fit.

using a 5lb brass dead blow hammer i was able to drive it all back out the other direction.

[Von Gruff]

A reminder to self. Lube bore generously before attempting to pound slug through. Dont ask how I know.

Von Gruff.

[Rocky Raab]

Well geez, fire stick, doncha know that a sinker ALWAYS gets snagged? That was your first mistake right there, LOL! Use a muzzleloader ball next time; they're trained to go down a barrel.

[Bass Ackward]

Bass, that is entirely dependent on the grain structure of the dowel. Riven dowels (all straight grain split out of a log) are the exception to the rule any more. I have seen dowels that are almost a 90 degree cross grain - and many with a cross grain section that is just waiting to split. I have broken one of these pounding a 3" section into a tight hole in hardwood! No way that would survive in a barrel.



You are correct about grain structure. But mine have done thousands of slugs.

That's my dilemma in all this.

When my bores are prepped, after the slug has engraved, the slug / dowel can be pushed through with two fingers. If it can't be, then that bore needs shot / lapped and re-slugged again for accurate information. That's why I slug as things go along and stabilize.

If anybody is pounding anything other than a throat slug, something is wrong.

[leadman]

I use brass rods. If they do not fit the bore I wrap the end by the slug and points along the way so the rod can't stray from the center of the slug. make sure the bore is very clean, oil slug and bore.

[Rockydog]

I snapped a nipple pick off in the flash hole of my Mossberg ML shotgun barrel. The breech plug is welded in and not removable. It sat on my bench for 2 years while I stared at it trying to figure out a solution. Didn't want to drill it out, bits that were strong enough were all too large compared to the flash hole. Took it to a machinest. He was afraid to tackle it. Then one day the light went on. I took it out to the garage, poured about 6" of Auto Transmission Fluid in the barrel, and seated a 7/16" wooden dowel in a plastic ML sabot. I stood it on a plank, pushed the sabot down until it touched the oil and rapped it with a 3 pound hammer. One swift blow drove the snapped off portion of the pick right out backward, hydraulically. My inspiration? A thread on a gun site (can't remember which one) about hydraulically decapping Berdan primers. RD

[Fly-guy]

Slugging the barrel?? I usually use a Winchester large pistol primer, about 10 grains of Unique and a shovel LOL. HEE HEE HEE

[alamogunr]

Several years ago there was an article in The Fouling Shot by Ed Wosika(sp?) on making what he called "impact throat castings". He included sizes of steel rods for most common bore sizes.

I have noticed in this thread and most others of a similar bent, that steel is avoided to the extreme. How can steel rods harm a steel barrel if it is only used once or twice at most, and the end is deburred or chamfered?

I agree that brass is most unlikely to harm a barrel but if the rod fits the barrel(not snugly), I don't think the barrel will be harmed. I don't have a bore scope to verify this.

I once used a brass rod that was somewhat smaller than the bore to drive a soft lead slug through a revolver barrel. The rod partially penetrated the slug and stuck it tight in the bore. The rod came out with a quick pull but the slug was stuck fast. A short length of wooden dowell managed to get it out without further problems. That is when I decided to get steel drill rods in the sizes that Ed recommended. Cost was much below what brass would have cost.

John
W.TN

[3006guns]

Just my quick thought........when slugging I use a 3' length of 1/4" BRONZE rod obtained from the local welding supply. Much tougher than brass, yet just as gentle to the bore.

I usually start a slug with a 6" bronze piece, somewhat like a muzzle loader starting rod, tap the slug down an inch or so then switch to the 36" rod and just pound the slug through. Never have a problem.

These rods are for brazing (no coating) and readily available. They make good cleaning rods too.

[MtGun44]

I always use a steel rod with a .25 ACP case stuck on the end to protect the
bore, and a few rings of electrical tape along the length.

Using wooden dowels is really asking for trouble, I can't imagine anyone doing
it if they are properly aware of the risk.

Bill

[old_haidouk]

Pull a bullet from a case and shoot the dowel out?... I may be a little younger than you and willing to take more chances :)

[MT Gianni]

I use a gas check between the rod and the sinker. It gives a base to the sinker and a firm driver to the rod.

[3006guns]

old_haidouk.........please don't do that. Get a copy of Hatcher's notebook and examine the chapter on removing barrel obstructions to see why that is a BAD idea.

[georgewxxx]

old_haidouk.........please don't do that. Get a copy of Hatcher's notebook and examine the chapter on removing barrel obstructions to see why that is a BAD idea.

Google does it again.

http://books.google.com/books?id=yESNUKSg5aMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=hatcher%27s+notebook&source=bl&ots=AzErUz1u9j&sig=HMSfENoiCeFkApJL4oZG_gPYYaU&hl=en&ei=yF0nTb6UE4GUnQfqjoyUAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Von Gruff]

I use a gas check between the rod and the sinker. It gives a base to the sinker and a firm driver to the rod.

Now thats a good tip. Will store that one away.

Von Gruff.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Isn't it amazing?

Even toward the end of tales of self inflicted woe, one poster would even think of shooting it out because of perhaps being younger and more willing to take chances.

DARWIN WAS RIGHT.

BvT

[ironhead7544]

I quit banging stuff down the bore. Using the slugs from LBT now. Well worth the money.

[eagle27]

old_haidouk.........please don't do that. Get a copy of Hatcher's notebook and examine the chapter on removing barrel obstructions to see why that is a BAD idea.

As with all things, a little judicious caution when working with firearms is called for. I have removed many an obstruction from barrels by "shooting it out" but not just by pulling a bullet and firing. Measure the depth of the obstruction from the muzzle and load a primer only in the case. Fire this and measure if any progress is made. If not load a primer and a starter of fast shotgun powder, say 5grs for 30-06 sized case and fire vertically (outside of course). Again measure for progress if obstruction is not blown out at this stage. If there is progress of the obstruction up the barrel repeat previous steps until clear.

I have never had to go beyond 8grs powder to clear obstructions too tight for driving with a brass rod. Because pressure is low the case does not obturate properly and if the obstruction does not move, gas leaks outs past the case so acting as a safety valve.

Would certainly never contemplate full charges of normal powder or large charges of fast powder to attempt to blow out an obstruction.

[gunslinger20]

I use wooden dowels BUT first get a streight walled pistol brass that fits as close to bore size as posible drop it in the bore befor you put the dowel in ( the pistol brass is used as a cup over the end of the dowel) use another on the driven end this helps the dowel from splitting, if it does it is very easy to remove. Take it slow and dont drive it like there is no tomarrow.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Brass or steel is not that expensive, last for ever . . . pick up a stick! or two!

[caseyboy]

I had a wooden dowel splinter mid barrel and wedge the two broken ends tight against the barrel wall. Imagine one piece trying to pass the other. It took a 1/4" steel rod and a lot of pounding to finally get that wedged dowel out. Surprisingly, the bore was none the worse for wear. I was expecting the worse. I will never use a wood dowel for bore slugging again.

[bumpo628]

I had a wooden dowel splinter mid barrel and wedge the two broken ends tight against the barrel wall. Imagine one piece trying to pass the other. It took a 1/4" steel rod and a lot of pounding to finally get that wedged dowel out. Surprisingly, the bore was none the worse for wear. I was expecting the worse. I will never use a wood dowel for bore slugging again.

The same thing happened to me the first time I tried. I saw a youtube video and thought "that looks easy". I finally had to sacrifice a brass cleaning rod to get the thing out of there. [smilie=b:

[nanuk]

brass rod is near impossible to get up here.

steel is the only way to go. I will wrap in tape.

[bumpo628]

brass rod is near impossible to get up here.

steel is the only way to go. I will wrap in tape.

You could tape a small caliber shell onto the end. That'll make it a brass-tipped steel rod.

[insanelupus]

Those that have broken a dowel rod, were you using one single piece? I'd always been told to cut the dowel into 6" sections. Bass' idea of epoxying the ends would be a good one as insurance. When a dowel end in the past looks questionable, I just toss it for another chunk. Haven't had any problems yet. I also try to match the anticipated groove size to a similar pure lead ball or slug and Kroil the bore thoroughly before slugging. I also tend to apply a coat of Kroil on the slug and use a small brass or nylon hammer to get it started.

[Sully]

For the wooden dowel...go somewhere they sell black powder items and buy a dowel of STRAIGHT Hickory. Thats what Bucksinners use..not that Home Depot ****...

Take some thin wall brass tubing from the hobby store...about the same OD as the hickory rod is... and cut off a piece of the brass tubing about 1" long....and gently sand down the last inch of the hickory rod until you can just barely slide the brass tubing onto it.

Mix up your 2 part expoy and cover the end of the dowel rod and slide the brass tubing onto it. Wipe away the excess with paper towels and some alcohol

If ya want extra insurance you can drill the brass tubing with a TEENIE TINY drill and use some very small ( I used #2's) wood screws countersunk ( use the end of a larger drll) into the brass tube and the wood shaft ( It dont take much to really add to the holding power)

Let sit for about 2 days and then...then ...soak the whole thing in kerosene for about a week. Remove it...hang it up to drip and dry off. You can actually take a 4 ft long piece of hickory treated this way and bend it into a full circle and it doesnt break!

Dowels come in various diameters so dont be using a 1/4 inches in a .50 caliber rifle....no no...:mrgreen:

[biker_trash_1340]

Way back when I was a kid, I put one of them Renegade 50 cal. muzzle loader kits together. Went out shooting and wanted to swab the barrel with a patch and the jag on the end of the ramrod. Yep it got stuck, pulled the end right off the rod. The only thing I could think of was to push it all the way down. (now remember I was a kid). I pulled the nipple out and put some powder in, how much... as much as I could put in the damn little hole. Pointed it at the ground and, "Boom" It came out like a bat out of hell, never did find it.

I still have the gun. and the rod with one end brass and the other a black replacement. (I know I need to get a better ramrod) Not a good idea. Just got lucky I'm still around to get old. BT

[craig61a]

I have used hardwood dowels cut into about 6" sections to slug barrels. On 1 ocassion I did get a #9 egg sinker stuck about 4" into the barrel. I had a section of brass rod with which I was able to get the slug moving again. I use a large heavy hammer to keep things moving also.

Many times if a particular milsurp has some frost in the barrel whether it's visible or not (sometimes the pitting can only be seen with a loupe) the edges of the pitting can cause quite a bit of resistance. I have used some 360 Clover lapping compound to smooth things out. I swab the bore with Hoppes then apply some of the lapping compound to a soaked patch and make about 10 - 15 passes (once the barrel is thoroughly cleaned). This makes slugging go much easier. 10 - 15 passes of the compound doesn't remove much metal, I have slugged prior to and after this procedure, and found no appreciable wear that I could measure. Of course this is something that needs judicious use, but in case were I have done this it not only makes slugging smoother, but has improved accuracy as well. I usually do a break in on rifles I have done this to as well. Just my 2 cents worth...

[Longwood]

I decided to slug my new 45-70 rifle and used a couple of those fiberglass tubes that were from a dome tent. Using my lead hammer, I pounded the aluminum sleeves even with the end on two of them then put another sleeve on the other end of one so they would connect and went for it. I had two different sizes but one was way too thin walled to pound on.

[MK111]

Slip a fired case over the end of the wood dowel before you put it in the barrel

Been using a fired case for 30 yrs on the both ends of a pounding rod. That way neither end can damage.

[NHlever]

"Been using a fired case for 30 yrs on the both ends of a pounding rod. That way neither end can damage"

Doesn't that give you a deep chamber? :D :D
One thing I started doing a few years ago is coatiing the lead slug with case sizing lube. I use the RCBS brand, and have found tha works well for reducing the effort required to tap the slug through. The last barrel I did was a 30-06 Ruger light weight, and it has a very even taper from breech to muzzle ( in the right direction for once) I am interested to see how that will work with my cast boolits......... should be good.

[daviddoo]

What is the preferred object to use for the lead slug?

[3006guns]

I just use a soft lead boolit as cast from the mold as long as it's big enough to fill the bore. I should have mentioned earlier that I always start a slug with a short piece of brass or bronze rod, tapping it in about 4", then switch to my long rod and drive it through. Kind of like the ball starter the muzzle loading boys use.

[BPCR Bill]

A reminder to self. Lube bore generously before attempting to pound slug through. Dont ask how I know.

Von Gruff.

I concur. A good gob of Lubriplate engine assembly lube beforehand works miracles. I've never personally had a stuck lead boolit in the barrel from slugging, but I took this advice from an old timer who knew from experience. I also know of fellas that have ruined barrels from pounding with that bigger hammer. It can be an expensive process if not done properly.

Regards,
Bill

[BPCR Bill]

What is the preferred object to use for the lead slug?

The softer the lead the better. Sometimes you can get away with buying a few cast balls for muzzleloaders and get it fairly close to your bore diameter. Harry Pope, the renowned barrel maker from the turn of the 19th century, used buckshot for smaller diameter calibers such as the .25's. A few years ago one could get a barrel slugging kit, with various sized slugs, but I can't recall who offerd it. I would have to look through some back issues of some of my Black Powder publications.

Many shooters don't realize this, but many rifle barrels come out "Choked" somewhat at the muzzle end. The best way to slug a barrel is to drive the slug in through the chamber first and out the muzzle. Then one should do a CerroSafe chamber cast going past the throat and into the rifling for two inches. Measure the slug, and the rifling on the chamber cast. You might be surprised at the difference you see.

Regards,
Bill

[daviddoo]

Thanks for all the help. I have several barrels I need to check.

[bydand]

Moral of the story; DO NOT use a wood dowel! Great for assembling furniture, making a peg to hang a coat on, BUT NEVER to drive a piece of lead from one end ot the barrel to the other.

[ironhead7544]

Try the special slugs from LBT. You can also feel any loose or tight spots.

[bandmiller2]

A friend dropped off his expensive english air gun with stuck pellets ,of course someone had pounded on them.I removed the barrel and took a long drywall screw took the sharp crests off with a bench grinder.Screwing into the hollow backs of the pellets removed them one at a time 25 were stuck.Tis better to be a puller than a pusher. Frank C.

[midnight]

Someone asked me why I was dragging the big logging chain behind me. I told him it was a lot easier than pushing it.

Bob

[TXGunNut]

I wonder if the problem is using fishing sinkers. I was too lazy to go get one so I used the pure lead balls I cast for my muzzle loaders. They were a bit small but a hammer and an anvil fattened them up nicely. Since I had my muzzle loader kit out I swabbed the ball & bore with it. With a nice slick barrel they don't take much hammering at all.

[Hang Fire]

I use naught but straight grain hickory for dowels. When I am around muzzleloading doings, I normally inspect and pick the best of different diameters from sellers.

Also when muzzleloading target shooting & etc, I never use the rifle's skinny ramrod for loading, but use a near bore size long hickory wiping rod which is a lot stronger.

[ShooterAZ]

I had a similar problem with a squib load in my .357 Contender, but with a jacketed bullet. My first attempt to remove with a brass rod resulted in the rod going completely through the dang bullet. Too small of diameter I suppose. My next several attempts were with hardwood dowels(several of them) and Kroil. I did finally remove it with no damage, but I hope I never have to do that again!

[Wolfer]

I usually slug with a round ball or a proper sized egg sinker with the hole in the center. But recently I got a wild hair and decided to just use a boolit. Got it about 8" into the barrel before it got stuck, then broke a piece of wooden dowel off with it, get a steel rod and wrap some tape around it to keep from scratching the bore but can't get it to move. So I get a bigger hammer but still no go.
I go to the other end and try driving it out that way. No ciger! I finally get a measurement on where it's at and apply some heat with a propane torch until the wood started smoking. At which time it knocked right out.
From now on if I don't have a round ball I'll cast a pure bullet in the mold I'm wanting to use and then with a pair of wire cutters I can cut a piece off a little more than cal. If its too small it can be bumped up with a tap from a hammer or clamp it in a vise. A hole drilled through the center makes it go through the bore easer.
The last time I stuck a live neck sized round I ended up pulling the barrel off at which time I could get a pair of pliers on it. The gun was a Savage, my barrel vise already set up, so this whole affiar only took a few minuets.

[popper]

A pure lead C 170 gr. CB that is sized is NOT what you want to use for slugging a 30-30 bbl. Too long and too much friction, even when everything is lubed.

[lmcollins]

The pellet gun story reminds me of what I was told by a pellet gun repair person.

He disassembled the weapon, and used a hydralic press. He inserted short sections of rod, and pushed them gentilly in series. He therefore went slowly, with a gentle force, and never had to worry about any misallingment. Ther was never any "impact." The plug touching the projectile would be the only one that needed to be near bore size. Put a wrap of duct tape around rod section diamiters: just make certain the rod used is metal.

Build on this idea for your circumstance. The press opening would only need be slightly more than your barrel/action length.

[seasidehunter]

nice thread

[andremajic]

A technique I used with success is to get a large zerk fitting and drill/thread the muzzle end of the barrel for it. Tighten it in place, and attach a grease gun. The hydraulic pressure moved the broken dowel that all my previous efforts wouldn't budge with ease. Each pump of the grease gun moved it about 1 inch at a time.

Only drawback to this is you'll have to face off about 1/3" of the muzzle to get rid of the inside threads, but most of the muzzles can use a new crown anyways.

[Four-Sixty]

I used a threaded steel rod to remove a stuck .357 round from my Handi.

I wrapped the entire rod with electrical tape. Starting with a 5/16th rod, it fit near perfectly in the bore. This also helped center the rod on the boolit. The 24" rod was available at Lowes for $1.88.

Of added convience, the rod was cupped at each end. This further guaranteed the rod stayed cented on the boolit.

[Whiterabbit]

I stuck a bullet being stupid. My brass rod was not long enough, and knowing of this thread I wasn't about to put wood down there. So I sent a delrin rod down the bore to extend the rod. D'oh!

I used a different technique to fix it. This is from one of our own:

1. fill bore with any oil, till about one inch below the muzzle. Took 30 minutes for me since the oil had to migrade down the tight fitting delrin rod.
2. take a relatively tight fitting brass rod (for me .25" for a 7mm barrel) and wrap in electrical tape. E-tap defintiely worked best.
3. Pound down the barrel. The tape creates an airight seal. The tape gets stuck at the muzzle and the rod breaks through and seats on the oil. After that you are pounding on straight oil.
4. That bullet is gonna come FLYING out of the chamber of the gun. I mean absolutely flying.

For me? I was able to pound the delrin out just fine without the bullet obstruction.

Lesson learned. Do not deviate from the nothing but brass rule.

The next day I went to the local metals market and bought $50 worth of prime brass rod and made cleaning rods and range rods for every gun I own. Everyone gets their own custom to fit rod.

[Four-Sixty]

Good point about the oil. I put somthing similar to kroil in each end for awhile. It came out easily.

[preparehandbook]

Drill the obstruction out...

Once while staying in a fairly remote location with friends I faced the problem of several .22 bullets lodged in a bore. Best guess was between 4 and six bullets.

A couple of the younger folks had been out shooting that day and had been playing around pulling the bullets out of .22s, dumping the majority of the powder, kind of reassembling the rounds, and then firing these homemade mousefart loads. Attempting to achieve silence they steadily reduced the powder amounts until the gun was silly quiet. Absolute silence was achieved when they managed to reduce the loads to the point that the bullets did not exit the bore.

Luckily they did not pursue their original solution of firing a full power load to clear the bore as a ringed barrel would have resulted and possibly worse.

Having very limited tools and no real town access a novel solution was devised.

We had an old full length steel cleaning rod from a military rifle that fit down the bore with a slight clearance. The threaded and was cut off and then I filed the last 1/4" until it looked very similar to a flat bladed screw driver with a slight twist to it. The "blade portion" was also narrowed so as not to contact the bore.

I lubed this up well with heavy grease and dropped it down the bored. With the rod's original T handle we had plenty of leverage to twist. About 10 full rotations were made and then the rod was removed and much of the lead filings stuck to the grease. We wiped the rod down and re-greased it before the next 10 rotations. Every now and then it would start to get stiff in the bore do to accumulated lead filings and we flushed out the bore with kerosene.

All in all it took a couple of hours to drill (scrape?) the obstructing bullets from the bore. A good swabbing finished the job.

I got the idea from a story about an old timer taking a winter to scrape away 3 feet of hardwood ramrod stuck in a muzzle loader using a chisel end filed on a steel rod.

[Buzzard II]

Long long ago and very far away I had a 1903A3 Springfield that I bought from a co-worker for $50. I already had one but what the heck $50 ain't squat, or wasn't even in 1975/76. The problem was I had .30-06 ammo that was neck sized after having been fired in the previously owned 03A3.

Wouldn't ya know it, the newly acquired 03A3 had a chamber that was not friendly to neck sized ammo and I proceeded to stick a loaded round in the chamber. When I say stuck I mean the laws of physics were working against me in the form of a very tightly locked taper.

What to do? A clean deburred steel rod and a big hammer. POUND POUND POUND POUND.

No go. By this time the bullet was thoroughly buried in the case and of course all that POUNDING just expanded the case walls further locking the dang thing in place. What do you do?

Get a bigger hammer!

I beat on that sucker for 3 days. Oiled down the bore and let it soak and kept pounding. By this time I was nervous about all that pounding and a live primer and a live cartridge. But jeez Louise whatcha gonna do? Keep pounding that's what.

Finally on the 4th day that totally destroyed '06 came out. That was the last time I ever neck sized cases for any gun.

The moral of the story is: GET A BIGGER HAMMER.

A clean steel rod that is deburred isn't going to hurt anything except your peace of mind.

How do those fanatical muzzle stuffing always black dirty stinky rifle shooters get stuck bullets out of a one-ended rifle? A screw. First they drill a little pilot hole and then they run a stuck bullet removing screw and thread it into the lead bullet and start reverse pounding it out. I know nothing about any of this. I just read a lot.

BTW - 5/16" steel rod is .3125". Perfectomundo.


Dutch

Dutch,
Compressed air tank with125lbs plus pressure, fitting on nipple, hit the air valve and it's a done deal! Ask me how I know!
Bob

[papertrl]

When what I am about to describe happened to me, I did a search for an answer, but there is not much information. So I figured I would fess up and admit that I did manage to lodge a wooden dowel and lead sinker in my barrel. On the positive side, I am going to tell you how I eventually got it out. I hope that another lost soul may benefit in some small way.
...
Like an idiot, I continued to pound away, thinking "it's right there at the edge, I can do it". Nope, I just made things worse.
The lead was stuck, and the sections of dowel were not coming out, except for a couple of pieces on the muzzle end. What to do, what to do. ...
...
That was okay, I figured, I will pound it out. DON'T DO THIS, IT MAKES THINGS WORSE.
...

After a good scrubbing, the rifling still looks as good as I remember it looking before I started the project. There is one blemish toward the muzzle on the groove, but that might have been there before. I will give her a shot (no pun intended) and see how she shoots versus pre-slugging.

If it weren't for the fact that that this thread was started in 2011, I would have thought someone had been looking over my shoulder! It makes me feel considerably better to know I'm not the only one who has gotten lead and cheap dowel sections stuck in a barrel. Like Fire_stick, I figured a bigger hammer would be a good way out, and like his post, it made things even worse. Now I had pulverized dowel packed even tighter into the barrel. No problem, I'll get some better dowel and knock it all back the direction it came from. WRONG! Also like Fire_stick's solution, mine involved a carefully centered 1/8" long drill bit, and eventually an even longer 1/4" bit. I knew I was playing with fire with the 1/4" bit, but was prepared to buy another barrel at that point. (Being a bit naive, little did I know how hard it might be to replace an older Chinese SKS barrel.) After everything was out of the barrel, I can't see where I nicked any rifling or left anything behind. Probably dumb luck, but my code for dumb luck that day was "good eye, steady hand." I was NEVER going to confess any of this, but if others can, I guess it really is good for the soul. :oops:

[Mike 56]

The first barrel i slugged i used a slip sinker. I picked the smallest one that would work. While driving it in i realised sinkers are not all that soft. I took my time and got the job done. Now i only use black powder balls they are much easier to use. 31 Caliber balls work well for 30 caliber rifles. I have all so used #00 buckshot in 30 caliber rifles.

[kc9aop]

I'm a noob to rifle collecting and so I, like many others, have started with collecting Nagant 91/30 rifles. I got lucky on an auction site and got a lot of 3 for $119 each. I have experienced the joy of cosmoline removal and now am ready to get shooting. Before I even shoot a single round I thought I'd slug the barrels to see what bullet I would use to reload my commercial boxer primed brass.

So I think I'm smart because I did some research on the web and YouTube. Wrong! All of the instructions out there (including http://7.62x54r.net/) say to use a "wood dowel" and a plastic hammer. On YouTube there are several videos with guys using poplar wood dowels and rubber mallets. I figure I got this licked so I get the 1/8 egg sinkers, some case lube and Rem Oil and go for it. Everything I do turns out like the videos I watched except the sinker comes out smooth. I figure I need to flatten out the sinker a little more and try again, like one of the guys on the YouTube video had to do.

It all went south from here. I flattened out the sinker more than the first attempt, and had a much harder time getting it to fit down the muzzle. Again I had seen this same thing on one of the videos I watched so I wasn't surprised and not at all tempted to abort the mission. Finally I took a flat punch and tapped the sinker in. It looked good and I put the first wood section in and tapped away. All good. Then the second piece of wood shattered because I hit it sideways (cheap, soft wood dowel). I wasn't deterred and picked up another piece of wood and tapped away. At about the end of this piece of dowel all motion stopped. I decided that the proper thing to do was to hit it harder. BAD, BAD ME! This started everything to mush around in the barrel and the wood just started to bind. Once again my better judgement said to just whack it harder and harder until it was a solid, un-moving plug.

So I berated myself as one should at this point, and got to work trying to clear the mess I had created. I grabbed a drill bit and my cordless drill and slowly drilled out the end of the bore. Once I hit the end of the drill bit I was out of options with that approach so I decided to take the cleaning rod (nice and solid) from the receiver side and push. I mean to say whack the heck out of it but it did not help at all and I believe made things worse. Luckily the rod has a knurled knob with a hole through it so I put a punch through the hole and took a carpenter's hammer and really had to pound it out.

I decide to quit for the night and actually Google "wood dowel stuck in barrel" and got plenty of hits. I took the advice of this thread and bought a 12" drill bit to create a guide hole in the mess I created. I actually had the threaded steel rod that was the right size. Using 3 nuts and a washer for the muzzle I had great luck with extracting all of the material from the barrel after 4 attempts. (I used 2 of the nuts bound against each other to turn the rod and the third against the washer at the muzzle to pull the rod out after I got it seated as deep as I could.) To my visual inspection there is no damage to the bore, but I suspect a gunsmith may say something to the contrary. I have to say that I was sweating the removal of the stuff I jammed in the barrel but it all seems to be at least OK.

The moral of the story: IF IT AIN'T A BULLET, THE ONLY THING TO PUT DOWN A BARREL SHOULD BE BRASS!!!!!!

I'm going to do a little research on brass/bronze and get a ramrod that I would not be afraid to use. Oh... and I think I'll just skip slugging this rifle again. In the course of extraction, I managed to ding the wood against my work bench so I'm going to smooth that out (whalebone it I think is the right term) and give this poor rifle a break! I'm done experimenting for a long, long, long time....

Jim

[papertrl]

Ah, another well-written script in which I've played the starring role!

[bannor]

yep, stand it muzzle up, pour penetrating oil down the bore, with a rag in the bolt area, so that you can see when the oil has seeped around the bullet/rd. with wood in the bore, this is a bad idea (I think) cause wood swells when wet. you'd have to refinish it, but consider "playing an oxy-acetylene torch all up and down the barrel, "charring' the wood that's in contact with the barrel. I've seen this work to remove a PILE of .22 pellets stuck in a pellet rifle.

[Mathew Quickly]

I've never tried this mind you, but would it make any sense to put the gun ( or just the barrel if possible ) in a freezer and let the steel
barrel contract a bit before pounding on the stuck slug with a rod or dowel ??
Of course, all that depends on whether the steel contracts "in" or "outward." If it contracts "outward" it may work. If if contracts "inward" just
forget it was me who brought it up in the first place.
MC PS: I flunked science class by the way

[oldred]

I've never tried this mind you, but would it make any sense to put the gun ( or just the barrel if possible ) in a freezer and let the steel
barrel contract a bit before pounding on the stuck slug with a rod or dowel ??
Of course, all that depends on whether the steel contracts "in" or "outward." If it contracts "outward" it may work. If if contracts "inward" just
forget it was me who brought it up in the first place.
MC PS: I flunked science class by the way


Never tried that method but then I've never had to clear the bore of anything a brass rod would not push out. Now having spent a career as a welder/mining equipment/diesel mechanic I have used the freeze method for untold numbers of close metal fits, everything from using a simple home freezer to using liquid nitrogen and I can assure you that method (because the entire barrel would shrink) would result in a tighter bore not a looser one! It would of course depend on the difference between expansion/shrink rates of the different materials but for sure a wooden rod would become tighter in the bore because as the barrel would shrink due to the chilling the wood actually would swell due to the freezing of the moisture inside. A stuck brass rod would likely shrink even more than the steel bore and thus it would become looser BUT why on Earth would a person have a brass rod stuck in that manner in the first place? Just some thoughts there but I honestly think freezing the barrel would make things worse.

[KCSO]

The wood will swell and stick in the bore like all get out. I turn a bore size rod of brass stock and cut the tip to a spade drill point and drill out an inch at a time. Sounds like a pita and it is but it's been the best way so far. Don,t feel like the lone ranger i have rods in 270, 30 cal and 32 caliber so far and I get one of these about once a year.

[JSH]

Well I have to put the dunce hat on too. I dd the wooden dowel thing long enough ago I can't tell you exactly when. More than one and less than ten years ago. I cringe every time I walk by it. It is still in there and I would darn sure like to get it out.
The drilljust scares the **** out of me to be honest. I had thought about the heat till it charred some. I use Kroil for everything, but I would sure think that would make the would swell unless totally soaked until it was soft then maybe hit it with some air?
For four pages of input there really seems to be no good or best way to go about it.
I am like the rest of the folks with brass rods (all ready had one)but when I did this I didn't want to go the short distance to retrieve it. For those that still use a wooden dowel it is not so much that you have not broken one yet. Yet, being the key word. It can and will happen sooner or later. Almost got in to a knock down drag out argument with one gent on using wooden dowels. I finally put him on my ignore list. He some how contacted me a year or so later. He did his usual trick of the dowel cut into short lengths. He wanted to know how I got mine out and told him it was still in there. He was pretty upset I could tell. Don't know what he ended up doing. Last I heard he was looking at re barreling.
I may go to the man cave and examin mine a bit again. Have not looks at it for at least a year.
Any fresh input as to how to get it out would be appreciated.
Jeff

[0802]

I did it too. Ruined better part of a Christmas for me. Took it to a smith. He fixed it. It cost me some. More than I thought, less than a new rifle. Two lessons learned. 1) do things the right way. 2) when you mess up, go to a professional.

[chrisstophere]

I've never slugged a barrel since and these stories make me not ever want to.

[daniel lawecki]

Well I'll post this here sorry if it's in the wrong spot. While shooting my 629 44mag bullet pulled from crimp. Well I can't open the action the primer is live and a nice helping of IMR 4227. I would say the bullet is about .50 thousands forward and that stinks. I have a few ideas but would like a little input.:oops:

[Wolfer]

I've took a sharp knife and cut off enough the cylinder will turn.

[daniel lawecki]

I'm thinking a hacksaw blade fine tooth a little tape on the cylinder.

[country gent]

If its a lead nose you may be able to cut it down working carefully. Before doing this block the revolver in a vise or solid spot and with a wood dowel try simple hand pressure to push it back in. It may be loose enough this works. Use a dowel long enough to allow a good grip above the barrel. Sometimes bullet tension isnt as much as it should be

[daniel lawecki]

Well I have a few ways to do this as I will pick the safest way. I thank all of you for your advice sometime this week I'll have ago at this.

[tankgunner59]

I have 2 Mosin Nagant 91/30's, and they both shoot surplus ammo real well. I decided to slug the barrels after I watched a you tube video of it. I bought a box of .32 (.315) caliber round lead balls. I took a four foot 1/4" dowel rod and measured how much I needed to reach from above the crown to just past the chamber. Then I cut the dowel rod into 5 or 6 inch pieces. I lubed the .32 cal. lead ball well and let it set up overnight. Next day I lubed the bores liberally, placed the lead ball in the crown and tapped it with a rubber mallet. Then I used one piece at a time of the dowel rod and tapped them through with the mallet till the ball fell out the chamber and all of the dowel rods dropped out. Worked on both guns and the ball worked through easily. I never had to hit the dowels with anything more than a tap.
The trick is lube the lead ball, let it set up overnight and lube the barrel well before slugging.

[speerchucker30x378]

MMmmmm, grease !

https://youtu.be/fimvzxZTpbU

https://youtu.be/HGbigz35QAg

https://youtu.be/6fVJP7oYAjc

https://youtu.be/vlhpdZaVaQ8

[JSH]

The trick is not to put a stick in out bores, period. If I had listened to what the little voice in my head told me.
Yes lube is a good idea, and I did it. Stick still broke.

[papertrl]

No more wood in my bores, either, having created one disaster with dowell sections a few years back. Go to your hardware store and buy a length of cold rolled steel of the appropriate diameter. Put a few wraps of electrical tape every 8 to 12 inches to keep the rod off the rifling. File or grind a slight bevel on the end going into the barrel. I made a short rod for getting the slug started down the bore, a medium, and a longer one to finish up. Your barrel is way harder than the steel rod.

[JeepHammer]

Bears reposting, I want to know this guy!
He can't fix 'Stupid' but he's fixing what stupid does in a big way!

The .50 BMG is the most impressive, that's a monster case with a death grip on the chamber!

I need to think about building a jig frame that takes the place of his lathe bed, something like a hydraulic press frame, the soft nozzle at the muzzle is simply genius!


MMmmmm, grease !

https://youtu.be/fimvzxZTpbU

https://youtu.be/HGbigz35QAg

https://youtu.be/6fVJP7oYAjc

https://youtu.be/vlhpdZaVaQ8

--------

It's a gunsmith thing...
Unscrew the barrel and cut yourself a cap with the same threads as the barrel has.
Insert a grease zerk in that cap.
Screw on the barrel and use a great gun to hydraulic the plug, squib, etc from the barrel.

On anything with threaded muzzle, this cap is MUCH easier.
I've had to clear squibs out of AR barrels many times, this requires removing pins and rotating the gas block, or using a sleeve to block the gas port in the barrel

Threaded muzzle allows for removal of stuck cases.
You simply screw your cap on and pump grease, the case will back out WITH LUBRICATION long before you can beat it out of the chamber deforming the **** out of it.

*IF* there is enough barrel in front of the front sight, a ferrule compression fitting can be applied to the muzzle end and grease pumped in,
BUT,
It's hard on finish, brass compression ferrule will eat into finish,
And ferrules can be over pressured and slip off the barrel ends.
I consider this a last ditch way to do things.

I have some dead time in the shop, I'm on my way to figure out that nozzle and frame...

Just some ideas that have worked for me, if you can use them by all means you are welcome to them.

[tankgunner59]

Last year my wife and I took our Pastor and his kids to the range for a day. One of the rifles I took was my Mossberg 4X4 in 22-250 Remington. When the youngest went to shoot he got off the first round and when he operated the bolt it stuck halfway in and wouldn't move either way. We finished up and I went home to operate on my rifle. I sat the butt on the floor and gave the bolt handle a smack with my open hand a couple times and the bolt came loose. I thought whew it came out, except I broke the extractor when I hit the bolt handle. So I ordered a new extractor from Numerich and started working out how to get this round out of the breech. I tried to use the wooden dowel rods and they split and got stuck. So I ran some 3 in 1 oil down the muzzle, and went to the home store and bought a 36 inch 1/8 inch steel rod, cleaned it and sanded it smooth. Then I ran it down the barrel and hit it with a brass hammer a few times and it finally came out the breech end. The round was destroyed but the bore is fine. Received the extractor and installed it and everything is back to normal.
After I checked out the case with my caliper and it was pretty oversized. I have always FL resized new brass and neck sized my own reloads. This case had not been necksized yet. I checked all of the other rounds in that box and they were slightly under the demensions in my manual. Haven't had the problem since. It is definitely an experience I don't want to have again. :oops: