HELP! Slug and dowels stuck in bore!!!

[BigDaddie]

Hi All,

I have managed to really jam up my 8mm mauser bore with dowels and the lead slug whilst attempting to slug it for size. I oiled the bore, lubed the pb ball and it went in fine until it got about 2" from the chamber. At that point, I think one of my 1/4" dowels may have split and jammed the one in front of it. The bore was clean++ with no fouling whatsoever in it.

It would not move at all despite inserting a 6mm brass rod and pounding on it. I tried this from the chamber end too, but to no avail. At this point, I had to walk away before I got too angry. I think I only managed to compress the wood mass in there.

I thought about removing the barrel and the rear sight base and use my propane torch to heat the barrel up to try to char or burn the dowels. The obstruction lies 2" in from the muzzle to about 6" from the chamber so it is fairly long (and compressed).

I'm sure this has happened to others so if you could give me any suggestions, that would be great.

[Jim]

At this point, I would suggest trying to lay your hands on a 5/16" diameter rod made of hard metal. You could cover a 5/16 rod at spots along it's length with thin tape to keep the steel rod off the riflings. Cartridge grade brass would be the best. I would NOT put any more lubricant of ANY description down the bore. That will only make the shattered wood pieces swell just that much more. I would take the action out of the stock, stand it up on a piece of SOFT wood and start a gentle but steady pressure on it with a light hammer.
Be patient. You're in charge, not the rifle. Don't let this whip you. Take your time and be careful. You don't want to injure yourself or ruin the rifle.

[BigDaddie]

Thanks Jim. I was aware of the potential for swelling so I didnt stick any more fluid in there (other than the oil that the bore was initally lubed with). I reckon I saw some 5/16" threaded brass rod at the hardware when I was there today. Do u think that would be ok? That way, I dont need to worry about marring I guess.

I have a barrel vise and action wrench that suit the mauser (I've taken this barrel off b4). I might be able to get a better force on it with the barrel off. I found that the brass rod flexed and wobbled alot when I tried to go from the chamber end thru the action. I was wacking it pretty hard and I must say that it had a pretty hard 'end feel' if u know what I mean...like it is stuck fast!

[Bret4207]

If you heat it enough to char the wood you'll surely damage the barrel to a degree. I'd get a 5/16 steel rod and a fairly heavy hammer. A light hammer will just rivet the ball tighter. You need to get one good shot that will get it moving then it should come out. I'd drive it back out the way it came. If you don;t want to do that then you'll need something like a 1/4" drill bit, electricians bits are 2 to 3 feet long and you should be able to relieve the obstruction enough to get it moving. Center the bit in the bore with tape.

Lesson- NEVER use wood for slugging. Even though it seems like a good idea it WILL break.

[Ramsgate]

I have found myself in a similar mess and brass did not work. I finally used a steel rod close to the bore dimension and hit it so hard that it made me cringe. If I were doing it again I would try chucking the steel rod in a hammer drill and see if it could reduce the violence. My current method of determining bore size involves shooting a cast bullet at glacial velocity into a column of water. This isn't working out either. And then there is the splash ... sigh.

[JSH]

I have myself in a similar mess. I got the slug out, but the dowel is still in there. I have not tried a steel rod but have beat the crab out of a brass rod to no end. I think I may have to take my barrel off and have it bored on a lathe to get the dang stick out.
What makes me so mad at myself is i had a brass rod in the truck, but this happened in the middle of the winter and I didn't want to go outside to get it. I was only checking the throat and could see the end of the slug.
I myself suspect this happens way more than we would think. Most are to embarrased to ask or post up on the subject.
My stick is still in there BTW.
Anyone got a pet termite?
jeff

[BigDaddie]

Lesson- NEVER use wood for slugging. Even though it seems like a good idea it WILL break.

ROGER THAT!!! I'm not ashamed to say that I stuffed up here :veryconfu Hopefully others find this thread useful. Anyway, I have removed the barrel from the action and it is firmly clamped in my barrel vise which makes for a good steadier when belting the living shaiser out of a drift. As I said before, I've done this b4 on other rifles without incident....I guess my luck had run out.

I have 6" length of 5/16" threaded steel rod in the shed. I inserted that into the bore (muzzle end) and it was quite a tight fit. I don't think that a turn of electricians tape will allow it to get in there...Thats why I thought the brass may be a better idea. I guess it will be a little trial and error.

THe worst part is that this is a bloody good barrel...like new. I think that smacking it from both ends has compressed that wood into the rifling making it really tough to budge. Needless to say, that slug is well and truly obturated.

The conundrum is: do I hit it frim the chamber end or from the muzzle end?? Keeping in mind that the obstruction is now about 6-7" from the breechface and 2" from the muzzle in an 8mm M48 (MINT :mad:) barrel

[Shiloh]

I have found myself in a similar mess and brass did not work. I finally used a steel rod close to the bore dimension and hit it so hard that it made me cringe. If I were doing it again I would try chucking the steel rod in a hammer drill and see if it could reduce the violence. My current method of determining bore size involves shooting a cast bullet at glacial velocity into a column of water. This isn't working out either. And then there is the splash ... sigh.

So you gave it the old college try!! Now back to the drawing board:drinks:

Shiloh

[Blammer]

I would use a RB puller like for muzzle loaders, to get the wooden dowel lengths out.

may think about using a RB puller to get it out from the chamber end.

at least that way you're drilling a hole in it to allow the RB to "collapse" and then move.

as long as you get the object moving I don't think it will matter what direction you get it out.

[Calamity Jake]

Bret4207 says "you'll need something like a 1/4" drill bit, electricians bits are 2 to 3 feet long and you should be able to relieve the obstruction enough to get it moving. Center the bit in the bore with tape."

And I agree, drilling out as much of the dowl and slug as possible will releave a lot of pressure.

Center the drill bit with tape. You will have to drill a small amout then remove the drill and clean out the chips, do this a lot, if you don't then the chips will build up in the flutes of the drill and GET STUCK in the bore too

[Char-Gar]

I have slugged many barrels over the years, but never used a wooden dowel to do the deed. Reading this makes me glad I didn't.

I take an oversize slug, center on the muzzle and pound it flush with a rawhide mallet. I then drive it three or four inches in with a short piece of brass rod. I then just uses the proper cleaning rod and push it on through. every once in a while it takes a little tap on the rod with the mallet, but nothing hard.

In over a two hundred slugging, I have never stuck anything. I really didn't think it could be done, until I read this thread about wooden dowels. What a mess!

[Pepe Ray]

At this point the DEEP drill is the only solution (IMHO)
BUT,
rather than using tape to shield the bore from the drill, I'd use electricians "heat shrink". It comes in a range of sizes, both diameter and length. And it is easy to apply. It has friction co efficient qualities as well as preventing thickness variation caused by overlap.
Yah gotta get that wood outa thayer.
Pepe Ray

[Bill*]

Just double charge a case and shoot it out
JOKING

[Trifocals]

After removing the barrel from the action, machine a cap to screw over the chamber end of the barrel, tap it for an air fitting and apply 100#-200# air pressure. Rather than machining a cap, saw the front receiver ring off of a junk receiver, weld a cap on one end. If air pressure wont budge it, hook up a high pressure washer with 2000#-3000# of pressure. if that wont push out the dowel and slug try a diesel repair shop that has a high pressure pump to test fuel injectors. Hopefully, one of these methods will do the trick without damaging the barrel. LOL

[carpetman]

Maybe put some termites in the barrel??

[RayinNH]

I use wooden dowels as large as will fit in the barrel. However I cut the dowel in pieces that are 6-8 inches long. The short pieces are stiffer and less prone to breaking. Drive the dowel down and then insert another until you get through the barrel. I've never broken one yet. Use straight grain dowels...Ray

[Zbench]

I use Chargar's method to the T, although I use a brass hammer to get it started. Seems like most of the swaging occurs in the first 4-5 Inches. I turned a brass drift on the lathe which has about .010" clearance in the bore. Once I'm at the end of the rope on that (about 7"), I just use a cleaning rod and push it right out.

Having your bore squeaky clean and oiled is a huge plus.

I'm skeptical that boring with a wood bit will do anything but ruin the bore. Electrical tape will get stuck in there and probably make things worse. I think I would make a brass slug that has very little clearance and push it down the bore on top of the mess that is in there and beat on it with a steel rod that is chamfered on the end. I don't care how much it's compacted in there, if there is a good enough "washer" on top of it and you pound with a steel rod, it is going to come out. Just a question of how much pounding. The closer that the steel rod is to the bore diameter, the more it will translate to the slug.

Pete

PS. If you tell me the size of your bore, I can turn a plug if you don't have access to a lathe.

[Pavogrande]

I , of course, do not know the resources available to you but this is what I would do: make an extension drill using a piece of drill rod closest size to bore diameter. 8mm is about .321, "O" is .318 and 5/16 is .312 which is bit sloppy but should work. Drill rod, fractional, letter, and metric is available at any tool supply. Turn a 9/32 or 19/64 drill shank down to about 3/16". Bore drill rod to fit new shank diameter and solder drill in drill rod. You now have a drill that will drill out blockage without damaging rifle bore -- Check runout before using to make sure drill tip is running true.
my ha-penny

[Tumtatty]

I had the same thing happen to me a year ago!

I compressed long wooden dowel into about a 1 inch area by pounding on it.[smilie=b:

Here's how i finally got it out....I thought I had to ruin my K98 to do it, but it shows no marks and shoots great.

I had a cleaning rod for a 91/30 Mosin (it was the thickest rod I had available). I heated that B----ch up to glowing and I began pounding it into the lead. It I had the rifle in a vise. Eventually it started moving through the lead. From there the whole glob came out. I kept it to remind myself not to be a bone head in the future.

Get the thickest metal rod you can fit in the barrrel without touching the sides. Heat it to glowing. Pound it into the lead.

I made several wide wraps of electrical tape on a couple sections of the rod to keep it centered in the barrel and hopefully avoid hitting the rifling. It worked for me. It ruined my Mosin cleaning rod, but saved my K98.

Hope this helps you.

[roadie]

If it were me, I'd go with the drilling out idea, sounds like it is very tightly plugged.
But if you do try pounding it out, use as heavy a hammer as you can get.

roadie

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Hey guys,

I have not had this problem (yet) and thanks to you all I might not ever, but I have a few ideas that I thought I might share.
Would one of those CO2 things that they use on muzzleloaders work?
Or what about taking a an empty brass, enlarge the flash hole and prime the brass, then with just a primer snap it off in the gun. That idea might not clear the barrel but I bet it would move the obstruction a little. If I am an idiot please let me know so that I don’t ever try it on one of my own guns.

[masscaster]

This is why I always slug a bore with a Parrafin Slug.
masscaster

P.S. Good Luck, Hope you get it out.

[fishhawk]

parrafin slug....never ever thought of that...GOOD IDEA! steve k

[Blammer]

I would put some 3n1 oil in the bore or some kroil. the oil will not swell the wood enough to matter. I think the lube is more important.

[largom]

You have received lots of suggestions so I guess one more won't hurt. If it was my barrel and I wanted to salvage it I would purchase a 3 or 4 Ft. length of BRASS rod. I would start at the end of the barrel where the lead slug is, insert the brass rod and cut it off leaving 3 or 4 in. protruding from barrel. The reason for this short rod is to inhance the shock of your hammer blow. No flexing of a longer rod. Use the largest hammer you have so that hammer does not bounce back. Don't be afraid to hit it HARD. If/when everything moves and your rod becomes too short, cut a new one. Do not stack rods unless everything starts to move easy.

I have never done this but it is what I would try if it was my barrel.

Larry

[405]

If you heat it enough to char the wood you'll surely damage the barrel to a degree. I'd get a 5/16 steel rod and a fairly heavy hammer. A light hammer will just rivet the ball tighter. You need to get one good shot that will get it moving then it should come out. I'd drive it back out the way it came. If you don;t want to do that then you'll need something like a 1/4" drill bit, electricians bits are 2 to 3 feet long and you should be able to relieve the obstruction enough to get it moving. Center the bit in the bore with tape.

Lesson- NEVER use wood for slugging. Even though it seems like a good idea it WILL break.

Ditto to Bret4207!

Never understood the use of wooden dowels for such things. I guess "most" of the time no problem, but--- it's the buts that'll get ya . For slugging I use a straight stainless steel smooth one piece rod that is tapped for standard brass cleaning jags with blunt faces. The jags come in different sizes for different bores sizes. That way the end of the steel rod is always centered and never contacts the bore. The sides of smooth steel rod can touch the bore but no way will that do damage. A regular muzzle guard is used for slugging from the muzzle. A cleaning bore guide is used for slugging from the breech.

[Jim]

You have received lots of suggestions so I guess one more won't hurt. If it was my barrel and I wanted to salvage it I would purchase a 3 or 4 Ft. length of BRASS rod. I would start at the end of the barrel where the lead slug is, insert the brass rod and cut it off leaving 3 or 4 in. protruding from barrel. The reason for this short rod is to inhance the shock of your hammer blow. No flexing of a longer rod. Use the largest hammer you have so that hammer does not bounce back. Don't be afraid to hit it HARD. If/when everything moves and your rod becomes too short, cut a new one. Do not stack rods unless everything starts to move easy. I have never done this but it is what I would try if it was my barrel. Larry

It irritates me no end that somebody would tell me not to do something rather than tell me what does work. That being said, I kinda hafta turn my head when I say I would not try the extended drill bit method if the barrel is to be saved. There's no guarantee that the bit is not going to drift and gouge the riflings.
I'm gonna side with Largom. I'd say put the barrel, with or without the reciever, in a vise with wood blocks and go at it with a hard metal rod, a good hammer and a keen eye.

[BigDaddie]

Thankyou all for the suggestions. I have my brother in law sourcing some 5/16" brass rod for me (about 1m long). He also has a 6mm forstner style bit that is about 300mm long.

I think I will try the pounding method with the rod using a 6lb mini sledge. I have it rock solid in the barrel vise so it has a good platform for shifting it. It is interesting about the oil in the bore. I thought that it may swell the timber a little but I plan to lube the exposed sections of the bore again. The big question is do I go from the muzzle end or from the chamber end. I;m laning toward the muzzle at present.

I'll try the drill bit after some hardcore pounding proves not to be successful. Take it in baby steps :veryconfu

The idea of using compressed air or hydraulics to get it out is an interesting one.

Hopefully I get the stuff this weekend .....my BIL is a busy bloke

[Bret4207]

If you go from the muzzle you'll be compressing the wood into the barrel as the rod dents into the wood. I would go from the chamber end, at least to get it broken loose.

[3006guns]

I would go with brazing a drill bit on an extension, then grinding the outside corner of the leading edge to prevent digging in. I would NOT put this in an electric drill......you need "feel", not power. Use a tap wrench for turning which would slip on the smooth rod if the bit hits something solid (the rifling).

Another approach might be to use a 5/16" steel rod and heat it to bright red, then insert quickly until it touches the wood, thus burning it. It would take many applications but should finally reduce the wood to charcol, which has very little strength. Done carefully it shouldn't hurt the barrel.

Another thought...get a piece of bronze rod (welding shop) and heat/forge the tip into a spade bit shape. Sharpen and twist (by hand) through the wood....go slowly, removing wood chips frequently. This approach might be the best.

Edit: After thinking about it, why not simply grind (or file) the end of the bronze rod to appoximate the shape of a twist drill? Doesn't have to be perfect, but be sure to give the lips some angle for cutting and grind a couple of straight flutes about an inch long on each side to give room for chips to accumulate. Twist a few times and remove chips with compressed air, then continue. Probably takes more time to explain it than to do it. Do NOT use brass rod. It is soft and might twist off, leaving brass, wood and lead jammed in there!

[JSH]

I tried tape to hold my bit centered and then I ran across some solid plastic bushings, that fit the bore of my rifle. The bit idea sounds good and is wellintentioned, but is easier said than done to hold it centered. I am picked up a brass cleaning rod with various lengths. I am going to make a bit that will scrw into the cleaning rod in place of the jag. As mentione shorter lengths are easier to control.
Mine is going to be a winter project so I will keep looking in here to see what kind of progress is being made.
I have about 5 different diameters of brass rod just for this now. All of them right by my cleaning rods. I also have a couple I take with me too the range, just incase..............
jeff

[Bret4207]

Just to be clear- when you have to drill an obstruction out you add your bushing (tape/heat shrink/metal tubing/whatever) up just behind the drill bit itself, maybe an inch at most. The bit can't dig into the barrel. You just have to keep backing it out and clearing it as with any deep hole operation.

[largom]

Thankyou all for the suggestions. I have my brother in law sourcing some 5/16" brass rod for me (about 1m long). He also has a 6mm forstner style bit that is about 300mm long.

I think I will try the pounding method with the rod using a 6lb mini sledge. I have it rock solid in the barrel vise so it has a good platform for shifting it. It is interesting about the oil in the bore. I thought that it may swell the timber a little but I plan to lube the exposed sections of the bore again. The big question is do I go from the muzzle end or from the chamber end. I;m laning toward the muzzle at present.

I'll try the drill bit after some hardcore pounding proves not to be successful. Take it in baby steps :veryconfu

The idea of using compressed air or hydraulics to get it out is an interesting one.

Hopefully I get the stuff this weekend .....my BIL is a busy bloke



I would start at the chamber end so as to drive against the lead slug. I would also use lots of penetrating oil.

Larry

[phaessler]

Ok, first off, I have never had one stuck, I usually slug bores with muzzloader balls (soft) and dowels, of which I place a spent brass case over the edge to prevent them from mushrooming or peening against the bore.
Second, a dear relative of mine just had this happen and eventually sad to say we changed the barrel on a ver y nice shotting VZ24 8mm.
From my stand poing if it was a good shooter, I would put away anything that resembles a drill, IMHO its only going to ruin the bore. Removing the barrel is ok, but then you find it harder to secure it to try extraction procedures.
I would go with a steel rod of land diameter, or as darn close as you can get it, bushed in brass or tape to prevent bore rub and shape the point as suggested
by 3006guns, subsequently drive it from there wether it be toward the chamber or the muzzle. You could warm the entire assembly with hopes of drying out the dowel and hoping it shrinks, wood does when it gets warm, I said warm, not heat warm being hot enough to hold onto it yet for a long period of time.
Keep us posted please.

[badgeredd]

I am thinking that for a 8mm bore, I'd find some brass or copper tubing to fit the bore fairly closely. Then get a drill that would go inside of the tubing to slowly drill out the obstruction. Baby steps in the drilling to clear all of the chips. One nice thing about drilling out the material is it would relieve the pressure on the bore and MAY allow it to move more easily. A sacrificial cleaning jag of the correct diameter should allow one to get the remnants of the wood/lead slug out with some judicious brute force. Not a fun projects at all.

Edd

[twotoescharlie]

use the old stuck ball in the muzzleloader trick. figure out a was to affix a grease fitting to the barrel and put the grease gun to it. makes a mess but will not hurt the barrel. and it will come out.

TTC

[fourarmed]

Nobody has mentioned this, but I think if you can get some sort of clamp on the end of the dowel to hold a light piece of chain, you could attach the chain to a solid point and run the rifle away from the point using its momentum to jerk the broken part of the dowel out. That would make it a lot easier to drive out the rest.

[Red River Rick]

I am thinking that for a 8mm bore, I'd find some brass or copper tubing to fit the bore fairly closely. Then get a drill that would go inside of the tubing to slowly drill out the obstruction.

Edd

As BadgerEdd mentioned, that's probably your safest bet. 5/16" soft coil copper tubing placed inside the bore and a 1/4" drill, brazed to a piece of drill rod would work just fine.

RRR

[carpetman]

On another thread someone mentioned that paper is wood. Just think of it as a paper patched and shoot it out--light powder load.

[fourarmed]

I've been thinking (I know, I know). Take two pieces of strap steel about 1" wide, 1/8 to 1/4 thick, and a little longer than the protruding part of the dowel (6" long should be plenty) and drill holes about every inch down the long edges of both straps. Sandwich the dowel between them, and bolt them together tightly. Where the ends of the straps extend beyond the end of the dowel, put one bolt across holding the end of the chain. Attach the other end to something solid, and let the chain pull the dowel out from the unstuck end instead of trying to drive it out from the stuck end.

Now that I think about it, you could take a piece of pipe or tubing that will just slide over the dowel, slit it full length, and attach it to the dowel with pipe clamps our U-bolts. Attach chain to the pipe.

[JSH]

Bret, understood on my end. Slow going. If I had done that in the first place, slow going ......lol I wouldn't be in this predicament.

Carpetman, find the gent who posted that originally and send him my way. I will supply case, primwer and powder of his choice. Along with a 9-1 waiting on the phone to hit the next 1.

Bob, I looked back through and Bigdaddy nor I have a piece of dowel outside the barrel, nothing to grab.

[JSH]

This is Ken, 45nuts fault. If I had just kept shooting FLGC's I would never had such an adventure,lol.
jeff

[3006guns]

The idea of a brass or copper "liner" with a drill inside is excellent and would probably work. Inside diameter of 5/16 tubing should accomodate a 1/4" drill to remove the bulk of the problem and protect the rifling. Just keep pushing the tubing in as you make progress. The remainder would be easy to knock out.....if it didn't just fall out anyway.

I still don't think I'd try to pound it out.

By the way, I know the comments about shooting it out are made in jest, but for a real eye opener read Hatcher's Notebook......chapter on bore obstructions. Everything mentioned was tried by the Army arsenals with pretty dismal results. Using a low charge bulletless round resulted in everything from pressure held by the obstruction (until the bolt was opened....pop!) to a bulged barrel on a Springfield.

[iron mule]

well from experience the copper tubing liner and drill will work ok at least it did for me on a barrel that a customer brought in that had a j bullet stuck in it and a wooden dowel compressed behihd it // i tried to knok it out with a big hammer and stell rod but it would not move at all // finally told him the only option i had left was to drill it out did this with a copper sleeve to protect the bore thu jb and the compressed wood then used steel rod to knock out the rest /// do not add any lube this was done to the one i worked on prior to it coming in the shop and it will make the wood swell to an ultra tight fit and you do not have any benefit from it if it was an unrifled barrel it may do some good but it does not on a rifled one
mule

ps no damage was done to the barrel but it was done slowly in small steps

[Three44s]

Before you slug your next barrel ........ buy this book and heed the author's advice on how to do it:

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm

Good luck with you current predicament

Three 44s

[BigDaddie]

Well I'm still waiting on the rod and the D/Bit. By the looks of things, I'll have em in about a week and a half when my BIL gets back from an interstate job. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

Cheers,

BD

[scb]

Sorry for your predicament. This makes the cost of cerrosafe look cheap. If it gets "stuck", as I have done in a badly eroded throat, one can melt it out with a heat gun. If I were trying to remedy this situation I would try the copper tube and drill route.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

This is why I bought Brass rod from Speedymetal.com

Sam :D

[3006guns]

Sam........rod or TUBE? Did I miss something?

[Muddy Creek Sam]

I bought the Brass Rods to avoid the dowel. The used to be oak, now some of them are pine, way to soft.

Sam :D

[3006guns]

Oh, of course........I got sidetracked there for a bit.

[shotman]

How come no one has mention a grease gun? Remove the nipple and get tne long shank zirk and rethread and put in gun accach grease gun and start greasing
this is for a ML problem. The 8mm, a hyd jack and steel rod with tape

[mroliver77]

I always use steel rod for slugging a bore. Make sure it is clean and smooth. I use tape or shrink tube on if if needed to keep centered. The main thing is to have an end that fits the BORE as close as possible. Use a heavy hammer. When trying to drive something out with a smaller rod you will drive it into the obstruction and wedge it in tight like a properly fitted hammer handle. I have drilled out obstructions with no damage whatsoever. I have drilled .22 jacketed bullets out with extended bit and tape as a pilot. I like the metal duct tape as it will not gum, up but GOOD electric tape works well. I have successfully drilled out obstructions without damaging the barrel and am not just theorizing on the outcome. Done haphazardly it would be easty to damage the barrel. done properly there is little danger.You still need a rod end that fits the BORE close after drilling to remove the remains of the obstruction. You are only drilling a hole through the obstruction to remove the pressure NOT trying to remove the complete mass. Had an aquantence one time whos motto was "Half assed gets you half assed." When I do it right the first time I rarely end up in these situations. When leaping before looking I have to learn the hard way.
Anybody know what the hole is for in the end of a pipe wrench?
Jay

[KCSO]

Well I've been here!!! Had a fellow bring in a rifle with a LIVE 270 round stuck in the chamber, the extractor gone the rim pulled off and he tried to pound it out with a dowell and when that broke he soaked it in oil and expanded it further with a brass rod. The fix was to put the barrel in the vise and remove it from the action and then turn off the base of the case without setting off the primer. Then I had to make a piloted spade bit and drill out the wood and THEN use a stuck case tool to pop out the case. All this took about 10 hours of labor and at $17.50 an hour he would have been cheaper to buy a new tube but the gun was a custom Griffin and Howe and was so marked. There was NO damage to the barrel in this case.

DO NOT char the wood, this will not be good for the barrel IF it doesn't warp it right off.

Unles you have only a short section of wood DO NOT try and pound it out it will only wedge it in tighter.

Grease pressure will work only if it is not too tight to start and if it was you wouldn't be asking would you?

Oh and the pioletd drill bit, it had to be a rear pilot with 1/2" of drill in the front and you cut and clean in 1/2" intervals.

GOOD LUCK

[3006guns]

Hole in the end of a pipe wrench? Let's see.........for a lanyard that goes around your neck? No? Uh, to hang on a nail on the garage wall............right over your wife's porcelain collection stored below? No? For turning a pipe reamer?

[BABore]

No offense to the original poster, BUT it simply amazes me at how many times I have argued with folks on using a wood dowel to slug a barrel. Including many on this forum. Yeah you can get away with it, then this happens.

Wood and lead are softer than aluminum or brass. Barrel steel is harder than aluminum or brass. You see any reason you couldn't cut/grind some half-assed flutes on an aluminum or brass rod and then drill out the obstuction safely?

[fourarmed]

I still wouldn't completely give up on pulling it out. If you have a copper pipe that will go around the dowel inside the barrel, pour some acraglas gel in the pipe, hang the gun muzzle down, shove the pipe up around the dowel, and let it set up. Don't do it muzzle up, as the acraglas has a tendency to drip.

[mroliver77]

Hole in the end of a pipe wrench? Let's see.........for a lanyard that goes around your neck? No? Uh, to hang on a nail on the garage wall............right over your wife's porcelain collection stored below? No? For turning a pipe reamer?
Lanyard is right, just not around your neck. ;) I learned this after I dropped a pipe wrench down a well a buddy and I were drilling with a home made rig. We could not get it out and asked old timmers and then went to the library and found some books on well drilling. (pre internet) The book stated "The best way to get a pipe wrench out of a hole is to not drop it in there in the first place!" Always tie a line to a pipe wrench when working over a hole. We should have read the book first! Sometimes it is better to research a project than to go at it "By guess and by God"

Jay

[38-55]

Hey Ya'll,
I had this happen to me many moons ago.. How I solved the problem was the make up a threaded piece quite similar to what a muzzle loader guy uses to pull a ball.. ( machine threads on on side and a course wood screw on the other ) .. threaded it into a cleaning rod and screwed in into the wood and pulled til a section of wood came out.. kept pecking at it til I got all the wood and then used a metal rod to drive out the obstruction. May help may not..
Stay safe
Calvin
Ps I found the best way to 'get a chunk' was to put the rod in a vice and yank the rifle....

[BigDaddie]

Well I got the bugger of an obstruction out :drinks:

I used the 1/4" extended drill with some brass collars I made (essentially a little tube) out of brass rod that I bored with a 1/4" drill then I turned down until it just fit the bore. These slid over the drill nicely. I went slow, adding lengths of the collar as it went along. It came out pretty easy. After each pass, I used an extendable cleaning rod with a nylon brush to pull out any remaining swarf.

Once I reached the limit of the drill's reach, I inserted a 5/16" threaded rod (brass) and proceeded to belt the living daylights out of it. It took some serious pounding to get that stuff out. It was slow going however as they say, patience is a virtue.

After it was out, I cleaned the bor and had a good look at it. There does not appear to be any marring of any sort in there so I guess I was lucky. I then slugged it again using the brass threaded rod

Lesson learned :groner:

Thanks again for all your suggestions and help

[3006guns]

Congrats on a job well done and glad there was no damage!

[Freightman]

The suspense was great glad it came out OK, stuck a jacketed bullet in a FAL and tried to drive it out with a brass rod, it broke and stuck also finally had to dis-assemble and get a big hammer. To my surprise no damage, not for me not trying though.

[StarMetal]

Waaaaaaay to go, that's the best news I've heard today. Glad the barrel is fine too.

Joe

[BigDaddie]

Thanks fellas. I decided to touch the crown up before I put the barrel back on the action just to be sure.....Seeing that 5/16" rod being pounded from the muzzle end got me a little nervous!

[azhunter12]

When I first slugged a bore my dowels broke so I just used a broken cleaning rod. That solved the problems.