Stuck Ball Story

[Melnic]

OK,
Well, yesterday I took my Goex and wonder wads out to the range with the Pawn Shop Find Hawken. First 2 shots were within 1" of each other @ 50yds so my curiosity was running amuk. Well, I ran the longer end of the short starter then cut the patch at the muzzle. OOPS, so I had about 4" of patch material in front of the ball. I tried to seat it but it would not go more than an in more. Pulled the nipple out and then ran rem oil into the back end and down muzzle and packed it up and took home. At home, I soaked the back end, then tried to use a bullet puller, but the extra patch would not let me get the screw on the ball. I was able to seat it all the way down. Soaked and such and was able to remove more powder as it dissolved. This morning I tried a plastic attachment to my tire pump and no go. It got up to 80PSI but never moved. Then was advised from another forum to use grease gun.
Got the 6mmx1 fitting from Harbor Freight and borrowed the gun and was given a grease tube. It pretty much used all the grease from the one tube. It pumped out rather easy out in the parking lot of the HF this morning.

Now the task of cleaning it up.

 

[Clovis]

Yep

 

[Mooseman]

I think I would sell that one rather than clean it.

 

[Mdeng]

That is one way to remove a stuck ball. Find a friend with an automotive parts washer to clean the grease out. It will take forever any other way.

 

[Melnic]

That is one way to remove a stuck ball. Find a friend with an automotive parts washer to clean the grease out. It will take forever any other way.

Really? I was hoping I could heat it up and get it to liquify, but I guess a good grease will have a very high temp for that. I think it said 300F.
I have an industrial oven at work, I may try to heat it up and see if I can drip it out.
My thoughts this morning was to clean as much as I could with patches and such, then to use mineral spirits dunking it in,then running a patch or bore brush back and forth. (I have a PVC Pipe I dunk my Mosins into I can fill up).

Here is a pic after I pulled the nipple and then pushed the bulk of the grease back out using a rod and patch.

 

[lee2]

OK,
Well, yesterday I took my Goex and wonder wads out to the range with the Pawn Shop Find Hawken. First 2 shots were within 1" of each other @ 50yds so my curiosity was running amuk. Well, I ran the longer end of the short starter then cut the patch at the muzzle. OOPS, so I had about 4" of patch material in front of the ball. I tried to seat it but it would not go more than an in more. Pulled the nipple out and then ran rem oil into the back end and down muzzle and packed it up and took home. At home, I soaked the back end, then tried to use a bullet puller, but the extra patch would not let me get the screw on the ball. I was able to seat it all the way down. Soaked and such and was able to remove more powder as it dissolved. This morning I tried a plastic attachment to my tire pump and no go. It got up to 80PSI but never moved. Then was advised from another forum to use grease gun.
Got the 6mmx1 fitting from Harbor Freight and borrowed the gun and was given a grease tube. It pretty much used all the grease from the one tube. It pumped out rather easy out in the parking lot of the HF this morning.

Now the task of cleaning it up.

that must have been a site!

 

[Americus]

why didn't you just seat & fire it?

 

[lx1x]

 

[rseymorejr]

As distressing as this story is, It was no where near as bad as I was imaging when I read the thread title!

 

[AntiGun]

As distressing as this story is, It was no where near as bad as I was imaging when I read the thread title!

undescended due to overuse of ramrod

 

[MeatGrinder]

That is a clever trick!
Was anybody watching you in the parking lot?

I would think that cleaning out the grease would consume some time, but not be hard.

 

[pseudonym]

As distressing as this story is, It was no where near as bad as I was imaging when I read the thread title!

I thought it was gong to be a "franks n beans" story.

 

[Melnic]

The barrel was removed so no one had a clue. It only took about 5 mins or less to thread on the grease fitting and pump it out. Out it popped and took the pick and put the paper towels in a trash can and left.

Did a soap cleaning then patches then mineral spirits.
Now I think it's as clean as it's ever been.
I will have it back out Friday . My club has a steel shoot at AGC. Gonna take the afternoon off

 

[Melnic]

Oh
I did not shoot it out cause I could not seat the ball until it soaked in oil.
The grease gun method allowed me to remove the ball and clean it before I was able to have time to go out to a range again.

 

[Blacksmith101]

Aint shooting the holy black fun? It is always a new adventure it certainly makes you appreciate those ancestors who used them all the time because there wasn't another choice.

 

[sxs]

Whew! After reading this thread I breathed a sigh of relief! I thought you might have had yourself a predicament like this: http://www.strangecosmos.com/content/item/23601.html

(read # 1)

 

[damifinowfish]

One of the guys I used to work with had a ball stuck in his barrel. We made a fitting that screws into the nipple hole. The other end fits the valve on an air hose.

Shop Air lines ran about 125 psi or more

We aimed the muzzle at a skid of paper and turned the valve on.

The ball shot out the muzzle and embedded it's self in the unopened skid of paper a good 3 inches.

 

[coopermania]

I have one myself, Its a great tool to have.

 

[Melnic]

my issue I think was my patch and lube. The pillow ticking I was using I think was too thick to use the thin mix I had soaked it in. Today, it was HARD as heck to push it down.
Plus I ran a ball down w/o powder. But this time ball was seated and I just loaded powder through the removed nipple and it shot out first time.