JSP stuck in Ruger barrel

[jim 44-40]

Man, I wanted to throw up when I shot a 200gr JSP .427 out of my Ruger 44WCF today and bullet did not come out the barrel. Used 8.0grs of HS-6 and CCI LP,with Lee crimp die. It sound like a cap gun going off. primer looks fine,brass ok.After I got home I could see bullet halfway down barrel. Put gun oil in barrel,and used wood dowel rod to knock it out. Came out real easy,it was .426 in dia.The load came from Hodgdon # 21 manual,showed max load at 9.0grs so I reduced it by 10% Only loaded 3 rds to try thank God.After Wife wakes up I will pull other 2 loads and double check powder weight. Any input will be helpful

[Clay M]

Sounds like you may have left the powder out of that case. Take the cylinder out and try to get a wooden dowel and drive the bullet back out. If that doesn't work Brownell sells some brass rods for that purpose.

[scattershot]

Sounds like either no powder or a contaminated charge. Glad you caught it before touching off another round.

[Clay M]

When loading on a single stage press I always take a small flashlight and check every case before I seat bullets. When using a progressive I watch each case very carefully. I am OCD about loading.

[danski26]

How are you dropping the powder? I have had small charges of pistol powder bridge in my powder measure. Weigh out a couple dozen charges that you throw just to make sure one is not short. I stuck bullets in my blackhawk barrel with short charge of red dot. Needless to say I fixed that situation and wont have any short charges any more! What a mess that was!!!

[jim 44-40]

started reloading when I got out of the Army in 1978,This was the first time I made bad error. I always look in each case at powder level. Will not happen again

[Larry Gibson]

HS-6 is a slower burning ball powder (in that burning range) intended for magnum level shotgun loads. While it works well in handgun cartridges the psi must be maintained for proper and efficient burning. If there was a reduced load in that case probably the psi was insufficient due to the undersize bullet and the barrel cylinder gap to burn efficiently enough to get the bullet out. The psi was reduced under the level needed to over come the bullet friction in the barrel. A common problem and why Speer, for example, cautions not to reduce a lot of their starting loads with jacketed bullets.

Just not a good powder to use for such is all. Fortunately you caught it and didn't put another round behind it. That is good on you:cast_boolits:

Larry Gibson

[white eagle]

Yep Jim I agree it sounds an awful lot like you forgot the powder

[Dale53]

jim 44-40;
Trying to shoot jacketed bullets at rather slow speeds is a prescription for sticking a bullet in the barrel in a revolver. I checked Hodgdon's web site and they only show cast bullet loads for the 44/40. Frankly, I would DEFINITELY stick with cast bullets only in the .44/40. There is so much less friction that you will not be apt to ever stick a cast bullet unless you forget to load powder.

There is not much data on the 44/40 revolver, in general. The recent Cowboy Action data will all be for cast bullets. Jacketed is alright in a 44/40 rifle, but I would not use it in a revolver of this caliber. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it will not be me.

FWIW
Dale53

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I had a j-word stuck in a 7 1/2" .357, I moved the boolit a little bit but could not punch that thing out. Actually damaged the crown trying. Took the mess to a gunsmith who inserted a tube to protect the rifling, a long bit to drill out the center of the j-word, then he punched it out. It was not an easy job. Then he re-cut the crown. I swear, never again.

[NSB]

Never use a wooden dowel or rod to try to knock a bullet out of a barrel. Lots of times the dowel will expand where it hits the bullet and it will get stuck in the barrel. I'm not making this up, lots of others have had the same thing happen. You'd wonder how wood could expand and be hard to get out but it can and does. Use a brass rod.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I've knocked a lot of cast boolits out of guns at cowboy matches. Just like NSB says, don't use wood. I carry brass rods of rifle and pistol length to tap boolits out of barrels. The cast boolits tap out easy.

[frkelly74]

Menards carries brass rod stock in different sizes. You can also wrap a steel rod with multiple layers of electrical tape to protect the bore and drive out a stuck slug. Wood is a no go.

[Clay M]

I use wood to slug the bores with soft lead all the time,but for a jacketed bullet the brass would be best.

[jim 44-40]

Back in the saddle again,just shot more .427 jsp this time used 8.3 unique and hit a pop can,ye ha.. I will not use wood rod again,

[JHeath]

I had a j-word stuck in a 7 1/2" .357, I moved the boolit a little bit but could not punch that thing out. Actually damaged the crown trying. Took the mess to a gunsmith who inserted a tube to protect the rifling, a long bit to drill out the center of the j-word, then he punched it out. It was not an easy job. Then he re-cut the crown. I swear, never again.

Hence the sign:

SHOP RATE
$50/hr
$75hr if you watch
$100/hr if you worked on it first

And yes, I have been there. Don't give up trying to do work that seems reasonably close to your experience. Just accept that learning sometimes involves a little embarassment.

[AABEN]

A good brass rod gun on soft wood. Try to get a good fit rod it will work better.