Clearing a stuck cleaning jag
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video I’ll show you how to clear a broken cleaning jag out of the rifle’s bore when you are in the field.
This method will also work should you load a ball without a powder charge…also known as “dry-balling”
Good helpful vid, you can now braze a copper penny over the hole and still use your cup.
That's an idea!
@@la_old_salt2241 👍had to do myself after shooting my dad's copper bucket as a lad. Saved my beacon!
@@nigelkavanagh2048 👍😉
That'd be one from about 1982 and earlier, before they started going to that crummy cupro-nickel sandwich and finally just copper plated zinc.
@@bwhog yea it's even before that they where non Magnetic.
EMPHASIS: Fully seat the obstruction against the powder after charging.
That is a lovely looking rifle. And thanks for the knowledge.
Hi Mike! Thanks for showing us that the unexpected can (and does) happen to everybody at one time or another when it comes to muzzleloaders!
Yes, the hole can be patched. Good video Mike!
About 26 years ago I was cleaning my Pedersoli Brown Bess after a relaxing afternoon at the range. This was before I learned to stop using bore brushes in a smoothbore! I had attached a bore brush to the metal rammer and after reaching the breach was beginning to draw the rammer back towards the muzzle. That's when the 3 piece, friction fit rammer decided to come apart.
The rammer came out but the brush, its adaptor, and the lower piece of the rammer had come completely off. I ended up getting it out by taking a 45-inch piece of fencing wire, bending a hook in one end that looked a lot like a shepherd's crook, pushed the hook through the bristles( not easily done) then retrieving the offending pieces. No harm, no foul, except now I had a nonfunctioning ramrod.
I eventually found a machinist that produced a solid, once piece ramrod for me, complete with the threaded end. The button end actually looks more period correct than the one that came from the manufacturer. He said he made it in the same way that nail heads were made. I only use the new rammer to clean in the field.
At home, I fashioned a wiping stick from a 5/8 inch oak dowel I bought. I carved an indention about a quarter inch up from the bottom of the "jag" end. I submerged it in a PVC pipe filled w/ boiled linseed oil & coal oil for a few weeks to waterproof it and prevent breakage. Now I only use moist pillow ticking to swab the bore.
I still use that same wiping stick, and Bess and I are still together 26 years on, w/ many happy memories afield to look back on. Best regards, JA
Interesting, where do you purchase Coal Oil from?. Personally I like using Pine Tar mixed 50/50 with Turpentine, wipe it on the wood generously, let it soak overnight, then with a propane torch and a clean rag, heat the up so the pours soak in the pine tar, and wipe it clean, something my Father used to do with fence posts.
Sry Eric, I'm used to calling it coal oil. It's kerosene. My grandfather was a WW1 vet, he walked a mail route for the USPS and owned a small farm. That's how he supported himself , my grandmother, my mum , my 5 uncle's& aunts and a neighbor who's wife died through the Great Depression & home front rationing of WW2.
He told me the farmers used to fill a milk pail w/ sand then pour in a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil & coal oil( kerosene), then insert the wooden handles of their hand tools.
Wood will still draw fluid up, that's why old dead trees rot. Kiln dried wood breaks b/c there is no sap to keep the cells of the wood supple. The linseed/ coal oil acts in that function preventing the tools from breaking as easily and essentially waterproofing them from the inside out. It preserves the wood cells.
I wood is wood. I treat all my wood like this. Wood stocks get a few months soaking in a tub I made for that purpose. Wooden ramrods/ wiping sticks, tool handles, ect. Best regards JA
@@SteveAubrey1762 Hello Jack, thank you for the reply. Okay, Kerosene👍, My Grandfather was a WW1 Veteran as well, and my Father was a WW2 Naval veteran, My Dad had enlisted in 1933 and was a radio radar operator with the ZP-12 Squadron (lighter than Air) in the Atlantic, then He spend some time on the USS Arkansas(years unknown), then was deployed on the USS Redfin (Gato class sub) 1942/43 then finished off with the USS Wasp (essex class Aircraft carrier)1943/45 South Pacific theater.
Don't know much about Grandfather, all I know is he was in France during WW1.
Take care of yourself, thanks again for your time and response.🇺🇸✌️
Hi Eric, that is so neat about your Grandfather & father. Do you have any pics , like a old photo book? My grandfather was an engine mechanic on airplanes in the Army Air Service, as it was called back then. I used to have lots of pictures he had taken , but after a few moved I can't find them. It's neat learning about ones family history. Very best regards, JA
@@SteveAubrey1762 Hello Jack, Unfortunately the only photos I have are a small handmade leather photo album My Father made while aboard the U.S.S. Arkansas and a bust portrait of my Father from 1938 ish, I had my Father's portrait tattooed on my upper left arm, like your senario with photos, many of my Fathers photos were lost in shuffles over the years, sad story.
I love engines and Aircraft, those WW2 aircraft engines were state of the art back then, that would have been an interesting trade during that era.
Well Jack, thank you for sharing your stories with me, it's always nice to speak with someone who can recant stories of themselves or Family members who have served during WW1 or WW2.
Good health to you and your Family Jack.🇺🇸✌️
Thanks Mike you have given me so much information .You helped me pick out my first blank powder revolver ,an 1858 new model army . Can't wait to hunt with it. God bless and keep your powder dry.
Mike I swear I learned something from you every video thank you for sharing that Joe the security guard from Oklahoma
Thank you Mike for another great topic this one on the Colt Walker: I appreciate your channel very much.😊
Hey BIG MIKE! I thought you would have installed a "touch hole liner" in your barrel. Much easier to unscrew the liner & add powder than "pick it through" that small touch hole, as I'm sure you would agree!! This has to be your "shortest video" on record! And maybe MY "shortest comment" on my record too!!! "Gesundheit"!
I've had to do this with percussion guns. It's amazing how much energy that small amount of powder produces. Nice to this kind of video.
I had a steel ramrod tip come off a hardwood dowel inside my brand new Ron Luckenbill Bean style Tennesse mountain rifle because the glue failed. I paniced! When I calmed down, I ran hot water off the tip of the rod, managed to get the rod back in the tip, went outside and had a cold one and pulled the tip and the cleaning patch out of the barrel. I not only glued that tip but drilled a 1/16 hole and inserted a paneling nail and peened the ends. Lesson learned the hard way! Thanks for the video.
Its probably the easiest way to remove a jag or round ball. Been doing that for several years myself. Thanks for the demo...
Great tip to know
I always wondered what I would do if the end of my rod broke off trying to clean or pull a ball...now I know! Thanks for this!
Glad to know I'm not the only one that does it this way. I always fire into the dirt and never takes more than a couple of grains to do the job. Always find the jag in the first 3-5 inches of dirt.
Bout two weeks ago I got my cleaning rod stuck in my double barrel 12ga pistol but its an in-line that uses 209 primers so I just used the primer to fire the rod out. Worked great.
Excellent. I've done the same one when I dry ball a rifle. I used my rammer to make sure the ball had exited. Beautiful rifle, BTW!
Thanks Mike for another useful tip. I will put this one in my back pocket for sure and hopefully never need to use it
mike,,i had a homemade jag break off when i pushed a ball down on the main charge..and,,i fired it out ! no problems !, i will never use glue again to hold a jag on,,threads only !
Good tip to show Mike . Shoot black powder enough and it will eventually happen to ya . Never broke a jag off , but i'll admit to a few dry ball loads . You usually realize it when your range rods about half way down the barrel , haha . Thanks for all the great vids .
I was a reenactor for around 15 years...we also did live fires at a range.. the trick we used to get a stuck ball (mini ball) out was a automotive grease gun.. a zerk fitting screws perfectly in the percussion hole on the Italian re-pos. A horrible mess to clean up but better than going to a Smith
I was a long time civil war reenactor and was a weapons' and range officer for my PD so I ended up working on a ton of muskets. The problem you had was most common problem I saw. It is much easier to get powder into a percussion musket Sometime these guy had been live firing and there would be a skirt from a mini ball in the chamber. I was once hit in the leg at the 1988 Gettysburg event by a skirt but it had hit the ground first. Back before we were stopped from using ramrod I saw a ram rod stick in a limb at a small reenactment in Millersburg Ohio in about 78.
Yep I’ve had to do that. About 40 years ago. I had a brass jag with the thread stem on it. I cleared it the same way. Then recycled those jags. Now I only make jags brass with a long steel set screw to thread into the rods.
It is a little easier with a percussion rifle but not much. Try using an old wool sock to try and catch the jag next time. I don't know if I just got lucky but it worked for me. Enjoyed your presentation.
It's the little things that create a big mess lol. Great job on fixing it Mike.
Glad you cleared your barrel, sorry you lost your cool cup. Have a great day, and thanks for the videos keep them up.
Had a dry ball happen with a .50 caliber t/c hawken where I almost seated it in the breech so I removed the nipple and put about 15 grains of powder in the breech and put the nipple back on and seated the ball on that 15 grains of powder and shot it out with no problem. It's easier with a percussion gun
Done that to deball a caplock. Sometimes you get excited and, well, forget a rather important step... In my case, the chamber appears to have eroded a bit and while I had a bullet puller that DID firmly grab the ball, I couldn't pull the ball and patch past that wide section and bring it out into the barrel. Unscrewed the nipple and put in about three or four grains of powder, all I could manage to shove in. It ended up being just enough to push the ball up about two inches which gave me more than enough space to let me get a good 20 grains behind it before re-seating and that was enough to blow the ball into the (very loose) river sand a few yards in front of me.
Have you ever tried one of those Universal CO2 Dischargers? I was sold on them when I used a friend's to clear a jag out of one of my rifles.
Good advice for what I hope will be a rare occurrence.
I had this happen to me with a .50 caliber T/C Hawken. Put some powder down through the flash hole where the cone/nipple screws in and reinstalled the cone/nipple and fired it into soft dirt. The jag end went three inches into the dirt. I cleaned it off and finished cleaning my rifle.
I did same thing for a 58cal Zouave replica. Of course much easier with removing nipple to put powder in.
Wish I could get one cheap again, seems like they're much more expensive than modern guns now.
Love that old gun
Been there... done that. Never drank from a creek before though!
Mike sure does have a lot of nice looking guns.
Thanks Mike. Keep a few tin cans around fir this next time. The best moor tante thing is to keep the obstruction, whether it is jag or ball seated on the powder charge. I guess you could still blow the barrel if it wasn't, even with a light charge.
Thanks for the tip Mike. Bummer about the cup.
Thats a pretty good tip thanks mate
This is a very helpful lesson. Thank you.
Nice! Maybe using blank cartridges can help gets squibs out of barrels?
Great video. I learned something new today, thank you!
Good to Know Thanks Mike 😲😀
Sorry bout your cup, good vid thanks
good job brother 👍
Thank you Mike. Good advice as always.
By the way a cup like that can lead to drinking problems☺.
Beautiful rifle....my 1st build was a Dickert style.
Thanks for sharing
What about using a air pressure device? I have used one before. Next, I used a ball removal jag. A lot of work but it does work at times. If all else fails, I helped a buddy remove the breech plug and simply push it out.
I see people on the net using jags all the time. I ended up with the stupidest gun cleaning kit in the world. It came in a silver sort of briefcase. No matter what you wish to do, it seems like nothing fits.
The rod you want to use won't match up the to tool you want, or the handle you want to use won't match up to rod you want.
None of the tips match up to the right anything.....mind numbing.
Anyway, I just got into a .50 cal Pedersoli Hawken flintlock. I put a cleaning patch on the .50 cal jag, put a cleaning patch from the kit on it, slid it down the barrel, and I'll be damned if I could get the rod out.
I found your video, and was able to get enough 4F stuffed in the touch hole to shoot the stupid thing out.
So here's a question, if I have a tight .50 cal rifle, should I be using a .50 jag, or should I find maybe a .490 jag?
Should we ditch jags and use mops?
This barrel is so tight, that a .490 ball with a .18 mink lubed ticking patch would need a mallet to get them both down the barrel.
This is all seeming stupid and confusing to me. Why is it when I put a cleaning patch on my guns rod with a jag, that when bottomed out, there's hardly anything left of the rod to even get ahold of?
I've been casting, shooting and reloading a number of calibers for many years. I've just never seen anything so frustrating as this.
Am I an idiot, or what?
Pedersolis have very shallow rifling. With a .490” ball, I would not use a patch thicker than 0.010”.
Your gun may also have a rough bore. I have a video on how to correct that on a Lyman Great Plains rifle. You may want to smooth your gun’s bore. It will load and clean easier.
I’ve used compressed air w an accelerator nozzle through the nipple hole,percussion gun
Thank you so much man that came in handy today you earned yourself a like and a subscriber!!
You are the very best
When I`ve done the same, I have shot the jag in to a pile of sand, easyer to retrive.
I had the same issue a couple months ago. The range rod is fine after getting the threaded part out of the rod. Got the barrel cleared buy shooting it out but my gun is a caplock so it was a bit easier buy removing the clean out screw.
Was always curious to see what kind of power a light charge could manage, now I know.
most important think to learn from this is push the obstruction down to powder after getting the powder in there.
Excellent. Shoot lots and stay safe.
I think I would've sacrificed the rifle sock over that lovely cup.
I have more cups. I found a half dozen of them in a junk store for a very cheap price.
I had this happen on my fowler. I ended up pulling the breech plug. I wish i knew this trick at the time.
good video Mike!
Rather than sacrifice a perfectly good copper cup, would you consider placing a block of wood 2-3 inches in front of the muzzle?
Great tip👍👍👍👍
Had to take the nipple off my percussion pistol and feed small amounts of powder through the rear reinstalled it made sure there was no gap between the patch and charge fired that thing out like a projectile never did find it. This is a particularly frustrating thing to have happen it disables your gun when all you wanted to do was maintain it or clean. Word to the wise the rod that comes with Lyman pistols has nothing keeping the end cap on except a bit of glue on one end.
Ouch... I clear a dry ball the same way. Sorry Mike
Why does this come up in my recommendeds...
And why do I enjoy this kind of stuff?
Beautiful rifle. I have read stories of soldiers during the civil war being so close to being over run during the heat of battle they actually fired their ram rods because they didn't have time to remove it... Can your cup be repaired?
JH: Sure, he can solder a copper patch on it easily. Basic plumbing.
Lol i’m sorry to laugh about your destroyed cup but i had no idea that the little bit of powder you were able to get in was capable of 1. Blowing the cup down range and 2. Blowing a .45 hole in the bottom of it hahahaha
Can I do this with an IGT airgun with a cloth stuck inside the barrel close to the exit? I mean shooting air without pellet. I'm afraid that the air pressure, if the cloth don't get out, may be too strong and damage the gun.
I still believe I have found something else to sacrifice other than my good copper drinking cup
thanks for the info
With that cup you won't drink the creek empty ;)
Alceehol is gonna get expensive, using that cup!
Mike have you ever used pyrodex in flint lock? Maybe a video showing the good and the bad of its use Please, Thank you
Sorry, but I have not used it.
Next video , soldering a patch in cup.
That's why I don't buy those all-brass jags. I've had one break, fortunately not inside the gun! I had dropped it, and didn't see where it was, and stepped on it. Broke clean in two! No thanks! I insist on steel threaded ones.
Great video, Mike! How many times has this happened to you?
i can only remember one other time when a jag broke off
Hi Mike! Great video. Was this a flat-bottomed breech? I've done this with a patent style breech, but wasn't sure if you could get enough powder between a patched roundball and a flat bottomed breech to shoot a stuck (dry balled) roundball out.
I couldn’t get enough powder behind it to shoot the jag out the first time, but I moved it. That let me get enough powder in for a successful round two.
😊
Excellent I did it wrong great for right answer
Been there, done that !!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Yep, that's how ya do it but I'm sure some nervous nelly will be along saying how it's unsafe etc.
a couple of months ago i had a nightmare! i was using damp patches in my 62cal jaeger. one of the shots sounded weak. like an idiot i loaded the rifle. the ball stuck half way down from gummed up wet half burned powder. it froze! i have a 3/8 steel rod with a large screw welded on the end and a T handle on the other. screwed it in the ball, it would not budge! i ended up putting a porta power against the T handle and the edge of the muzzle and jacking it out! i should have swabbed!
You did it yourself? Mitch wasn’t holding a gun to your head!
I hate it when that happens!
it happens
Wow, who knew? When in doubt, add gunpowder.
Nice videos, but I wouldn't drink out of a creak ... microbes .
I currently have a patch stuck down my barrel. The jag itself came out but the patch stayed. What should I do?
Buy a patch worm from Track of the Wolf, and pull it out.
@@duelist1954 yes! As I wrote this earlier I answered my own question!
Thank you for the reply! Your videos are Awesome!
Just how I do it, lol
What if you have a wet barrel from cleaning? Will this still work, or would you have to resort to compressed air?
It will still work
Great tutorial. I've seen advertised years ago that there is also a tool that is operated by a Pellet gun CO2 cartridge and was specifically designed for clearing out muzzleloader barrels, are you familiar with those?.
By chance did you purchase your period correct Eye glasses through "Jas Townsend and Son" ( TH-cam 18th Century Cooking) located in Indiana?.
Have a great day!🇺🇸✌️
Yup. These glasses frames come from Townsend.
outfit made out of buckskin or linen?
Nice outfit
I had a bad experience with black powder years ago but now i want to get back into it, i am looking for a custom percussion 32 but im having trouble im about to give up and just get a David pedersoli 32cal percussion do u have any advice
The Tradition’s Crockett rifle is pretty nice for the money, and a little cheaper than the Pedersoli. I got it through Muzzleloaders.com as they had the best price (and free shipping at the time) compared to Dixie Gun Works and a few other stores. Ironically it was that gun that I had the same thing happen to but with undersized bore brush (pulled out of the base when trying to clean down in the recessed chamber). Didn’t even think to feed powder in through the drum to blow it out, but took the breach plug out to remove it. Mine shot low out of the box but was quickly remedied by filing the front sight down (couldn’t get either sight to budge in their respective dovetails so I just bent the rear edge of the blade to adjust the windage). Due to the smaller bore size, it did foul up pretty quickly so I had to swab it out after every shot or two.
@@NoahCline i want a custom 32 at some point but to get my foot back in the black powder door im kinda leaning towards the Kentucky pedersoli, iv found some beautiful 32s but all n flintlock far as curly maple stalks
I know Dixie Gun Works has some selection of Pedersolis. The Cub and Scout rifles come in both flint and percussion and a .32 option, as well as finished rifles and kits.
@@hbmoore7803 I’ve had the Pedersoli flinter in .32 for about 15 years. It’s the Pennsylvania model and I really enjoy it. I swab after every shot. .310 patched roundball, .015 patch, 25 grains Goex 3F with 2-3 squirts of 4F in pan.
Of course today, the cleaning jag and a dry patch came off of the ram rod, which is why I’m here. Tried rethreading the ramrod onto the jag, but feels like threads are stripped. So on my next day off, I’ll be doing my best to shoot it out. I’ll sacrifice a tin can rather than a nice copper cup.
you blew it, blew it right outta there ;-)
Maby you could do this with compresed air or aerosol like potato gun ?
compressed air works fine, if you happen to have some with you in the woods
Linus: I had a stuck brush in my .54 cal Hawken. 100psi wouldn't budge it. The powder trick did it.
@@KB4QAA Good-grief, stuff happens, just pity the copper cup had to die.
@@linasmagnum Not dead. just needs a copper patch and solder. 5 minute plumbing job!
I got a jag stuck the whole way down against the breech plug face, no space for powder, now what ? When I removed the touch hole screw I could see the jag taking up all the space.
Trickle in some 4F powder and replace the touch hole and fire the gun. It should move the jag at least a little. Remove the touch hole and check. Put in a decent powder charge, re-seat the jag on the powder, and shoot it out. If the first charge did not move the jag, remove the breech plug, and drive it out.
@@duelist1954 breech plug is all one piece with the barrel , and I said jag but mean copper brush with a cleaning patch around it leaving no room for powder. Powder just lays on the outside of the patch
@@duelist1954 the brush broke off when I drove it down the barrel with the ramrod, there seems to be something in front of the touchhole protruding from the inside of the barrel, almost like a ball stop in case you hadn’t put powder in. The brush got down in the through the smaller hole and stuck in the powder chamber just inside where the touch hole leads. And then it broke off.
@@jackson4861 no breech plug is one piece with the barrel. If it looks like that, it is just well fitted. All breech plugs screw into the barrel.
@@jackson4861 you are going to have to remove the breech. It will be tight. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it, find a gunsmith.
D
Hello Mike I'm a long time follower of your videos and I've learned a lot from you. I have a Facebook friend who owns an original Griswald and Gunnison revolver and is wanting to sell it but has no idea of its value. Can you give me an estimated value to tell him ? I'm trying to keep his name private. I'll contact him through Messenger.
Griswold & Gunnison values vary quite a bit, depending on the condition of the gun, and the rarity of the variation. So, the best I can say is that his gun is likely to be worth somewhere between $10,000 and $30,000
I was afraid of backsplash towards you.