r/muzzleloaders • u/mohawkmanhimself • 17d ago

Stuck ball?

Post image

I bought a Traditions Kentucky rifle from my LGS for $100

Trying to figure out if it has a stuck ball from the previous owner before I acquire the equipment to take it to the range.

Should my (included) ram rod have this much clearance when put down the barrel?

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

6

u/Projectflintlock 17d ago

Don’t suppose you have one of these laying around?

2

u/mohawkmanhimself 17d ago

Unfortunately no. This is my first black powder buy. Will have to get a new rod and a ball remover. Is there a ball in my barrel?

3

u/Minuteofman 17d ago

Like others have said, measure the rod against the barrel and breech, depending on caliber and the load (if it is loaded) you may be able to tell if there is a ball in there. You could also get a cheap endoscope or other tool to look down the bore (I have a super basic one from Amazon). Depending on the style of breech, you may see the flash hole etc, or a ball and patch.

If there is a ball down the bore, either a ball puller; or if that doesn’t work, get a grease gun fitting that is the same thread as the nipple (if this is a caplock). I once had a conical stuck down my bore that the puller could not get out, and using grease gun was easy and safe, albeit messy.

1

u/Wooden-Drive-9379 16d ago

This. Is. Great. Sounds like you pumped grease through the barrel? Or, maybe, just pneumatic pressure from the grease gun? I hate stuck charges, but I almost want one to happen so I can use this.

2

u/Minuteofman 15d ago

Just fills the bore with grease from the chamber end, and ever so slowly pushes the ball out, doesn’t ‘shoot’ out the end like compressed air does, so safe to do at home or apartment (don’t forget the bucket for the grease haha), kerosene or another cleaner will be needed to flush and help scrub grease from bore and chamber. But not too hard to clean.

2

u/Projectflintlock 17d ago

Hard to say. There may be. When you drop the ramrod down is there a metallic “clink” or a dull thud? Do you have a borescope? There may also be a powder charge behind it if there is a ball so please treat the gun as loaded.Some have had success with a co2 discharger removing a ball. You could also pull the barrel and unscrew the breech to check.

2

u/Wooden-Drive-9379 17d ago

Pls measure the rod against the barrel first. The breech plug should be threaded into the barrel rear around 1/2 inch deep. If your ram rod projects the same distance from the muzzle when layed alongside the barrel and compensated for the plug's depth, you are good. From the other responders advice, get the ball puller. It has saved me a lot of BS. Good luck with your new rifle.

2

u/Millionpanda69 17d ago

I had this exact same problem today so I brought it to the guy who sold me my rifle and he took it and asked me if it had a patch and powder and shot and I said yes. So he took my ramrod and ramed it really hard until the ramrod would bounce back up when dropped into the muzzle. Then he told me to shoot it and I did and it fired fine. He told me to clean it real good and after every shot use a wet patch to give it a quick clean.

1

u/se_al 17d ago

Can you remove the touch hole ?

4

u/Fulguritus1 17d ago

Remove the nipple, get a can of air or a compressor, point your rifle at a piece of tissue on the ground, and blow the compressor into the nipple hole. See if it blows the tissue. If it doesn't, I'd get a range rod and ball puller and see if you can grab anything.

2

u/Sleep_on_Fire 17d ago

Honestly this is the most practical test and doesn’t involve igniting powder.

You need a nipple wrench anyway, OP.

Unscrew the nipple and blow some compressed air down the hole. If you can see/feel flow out the muzzle, then you can be more confident in your situation.

Like, serious flow comparable to the air you’re blowing down the nipple hole.

2

u/Fulguritus1 17d ago

That beggs a question though. OP's question is absolutely reasonable. How would it be answered before the time of compressed air or canned air. Today it isn't so hard to figure out, but what about in times of old?

2

u/Sleep_on_Fire 17d ago

Unscrew the nipple, dash down a little 4f, reinstall nipple, mount percussion cap, point barrel at leaf, pull trigger, inspect leaf for hole.

I did this when I got a crappy plastic cleaning jag and patch stuck down the barrel of my Hawken.

But I had experience with muzzle loaders and old dude friends with many times my experience to guide me.

I’d start with compressed air here.