Help-Cleaning jag stuck in muzzleloader

T

turkeybuzzard

New member
I bought a used 50 cal muzzleloader and gave it to my 23yr old son. It didn't have the ramrod so I bought an aluminum one. He was cleaning it last week with the cleaning jag and a piece of cloth on the end when it got stuck about 3/4's of the way down. Needless to say he pulled the rod loose from the end of the piece that screws into the cleaning jag. He was cleaning it in hot soapy water just like I have done for forty years. I'm all open for ideas to get the jag out besides the breech plug. Maybe pull the nipple, put some powder in and shoot it out? Do you think it will ruin the barrel? I tried to set the piece of cloth on the open side on fire so we could maybe fit the rod back on and unscrew it from the jag and get another rod threaded on. Nothing I tried will stay lit long enough to reach the cloth hanging over the jag. Thanks for any ideas.
 
You can buy a co2 discharger but I'd just get a little powder behind it and shoot it out. I don't use patches and jags anymore. I use bore mops.
 
Hawg do you wash your bore mops? That seems like a more economical way. I go through a lot of patches for cleaning my muzzleloaders.
 
If you are going to shoot it out be sure to seat the obstruction farther down the barrel to the breech. I'd use 5 or 10 grains at the most and shoot it into the ground a few feet away. I've shot out stuck ramrods as well but only use a few grains of powder. I remove the nipple to pour in the powder.
 
I agree to shoot it out, remove the nipple, insert a few grains, get a small nail or pin and poke it in and tap the side of the gun to help the powder get near the jag. seat it onto that powder and shoot it out. It should come out.
 
Remove the nipple. Find someone who has a air-compressor ask him to give the barrel a shot of free-air. (free-air is: non-regulated air straight from the tank.)

From my experiences:
Those little CO-2 discharger's work good for discharging things stuck in or quite near the breech but seldom have the volume of air needed to discharge stuck things 1/2 way up the barrel.

One other way to remove. Pews automotive grease gun that requires a Zerk grease fitting matching the thread of your nipple. Screwed in place. (1/4X28 American or 6.1mm for European) Pump the barrel full. Hydraulic force pushes the stuck thing out.
 
It will come out !!!

Turkey,
We need just a little more information or I'm missing something. What M/L do you have? Is it a MM/L or side-cocker?

If it's a side-lock then I suggest you do not try and remove the breech plug as there is always a better way. The CO2's as Hawg suggested, do work but make sure you have a good seal on the nipple. The pinch of powder under the nipple, may not produce enough force to remove it but if you see or measure any movement, repeat the process but stick with a pinch. I once went through four CO2 cartridges before I could removed a stuck/broken wooden ramrod. ..... ;)

If it's an MM/L then you have more options,

An important point is not to panic as the obstruction will come out without damaging the barrel. .. ;)


Keep us posted and;
Be Safe !!!
 
It was a cheap used made in Italy percussion 50 cal. It groups good, barrel is not pitted. I will put some powder in and seat the jag and shoot it out. I didn't want to mess the barrel up. Guess it wont hurt it. Will get a good wooden rod next. Thanks.
 
I had to unload a .58 caliber a while back and did the co2 thing. It took me 4 cartridges to get it to blow out the end of the barrel. I just kept reseating it and trying again and it would move the prb out to about 4 inches from the muzzle. Those cylinders don't have enough volume to do the job sometimes, especially with the larger bores.
 
If you're going to shoot it out, you want want a bucket of dirt to shoot it into. I did it at the range once and was lucky to have found the jag. :o
 
They need to make a discharger that you can screw onto a paintball gun tank, more volume and refillable. And it would probably last a good long time

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
I have removed balls with an air compressor. They make a decent seal with the bore, so no problem. A stuck jag might come out if the rag is still on it. A bore brush with a rag might have too much blow-bye. I'd go with the propellant first. After that I'd fashion a hook to go on the rod end. That's how I got my brush out. I was fortunate in that The arm was a New Englander, with a short barrel.

I have a couple of rods that I pinned the end caps on by drilling the cap and placing a brad through the rod, then grinding it flush with the cap to add some strength. That let me use the bristle brush with cloth and get away with it. I confess to being somewhat stubborn.
Hawg has it right. Get the bore mop. Keep bristle brushes out of there.
 
If worse comes to worse - see if you can find a grease zero with the same thread as you nipple. Remove the nipple, screw in the zero and use a grease gun to pump the bore full - the pressure will/should push it out. Only problem is that the grease method is messy, you have to remove the grease from the bore afterwards but I have donate on some originals years ago when the obstruction was "unknown".

The other methods mentioned would hopefully get the jag out with much less work. Just remember that the jag will become a "projectile" so make sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction and when the jag lets go, it isn't going to ricochet off something and come back at you.

And don't feel bad . . you aren't the first ones this has happened to! :)
 
Here we go again,

Easiest and safest way to clear a stuffed up muzzle stuffer is to replace the cap nipple with a metric grease zerk and then to pump grease into the barrel with a grease gun, everything will come out in a safe and controlled manor.

https://www.facebook.com/shoot.the.guns.of.history/photos/a.1504412039798874.1073741836.1485885784984833/1542036979369713/?type=3&permPage=1

10698677_1542036979369713_1739619382088100524_n.jpg


10696356_1542036909369720_7720177330342174965_n.jpg


1512325_1542036816036396_4405063162789065989_n.jpg
 
clean up is easy, blow out the grease with compressed air, flush out with brake cleaner, then re-assemble

no need to dampen, it will come out on top of the grease,

BTW, I could have cared less about the mess, I basically got the rifle for free because 2 others could not figure out how to get the rod and rag out of the barrel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top