How do I remove a .17 bullet from the barrel?

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Good grief! So much angst over such a simple operation!

mrgoodwrench76 - just go get the bullet out. You won't damage your rifle.

Remove the bolt. As so many have said, pour a little penetrating oil into both ends of the barrel. Drill a 1/4" hole in a piece of plywood (to protect the muzzle). Run an aluminum, brass or steel rod of the proper diameter (as close to the land diameter as possible minus a few thousandths) through the hole in the wood and into the muzzle end. Hit that rod with a hammer of your choice. Gently at first since the bullet will probably come out easily, then a little harder if necessary.

You will be successful, and no gunsmith will be necessary.


How did the bullet get in there, you ask? The primer went off, but not the powder, i.e., the cartridge was defective. (powder contaminated? who knows?). A primer almost always creates enough pressure to push a bullet into the lands by itself.

Welcome to "squib-land". That may be the only one you ever get in your lifetime. Sooner or later almost every shooter gets one.
 
Thank you all again. I apreciate all the responces. Im on the same page with Mal H.

The Rifle is a Savage 93R17 BTV. Great shooting rifle. It definately shoots better than I do.

I initially removed the bolt and stock and applied penetrating oil but I couldn't bring myself to bang on a cleaning rod without asking questions first.

I also wasnt sure (and im still not) if the direction of removal would matter. A barrel sure seems like a one way street.

I did have one of my 'crazy notions'..... What if I were to pull the bullet from another case and give that stuck bullet a second chance at flight? Not sure of the best method to keep the powder from falling out but.....

Ill let you guys know as soon as I can get back to it. I'm sure the brass rod will work fine.
 
I also wasnt sure (and im still not) if the direction of removal would matter. A barrel sure seems like a one way street.
It's not. In general a bullet will travel in one direction as easily as in the opposite direction.

However, you do bring up a good point. You might want to insert the rod from the breech end because of the design of the particular bullet that is stuck in your barrel. IIRC, the V-Max has a plastic tip that is designed to cause expansion when it hits the target (game). If the rod is pushing on the tip end of the bullet it may exert more pressure as it gets pounded on than if you hit it from the rear of the bullet. For that reason, it might be best to go at it from the breech even though the travel will be a lot longer.

You might need several different lengths of rod since you don't want a lot of it sticking out of the barrel - it tends to bend.

Honestly, I wouldn't use a cleaning rod, not because it won't work, but because you might bugger up the end of the rod making it unusable for its intended purpose. Almost all hardware stores carry welding rods and they are very cheap.
 
Success!!

Using a .22 coated cleaning rod (Dewey) with no tip, inserted in from the muzzle, I was able to drive out the bullet in just a few light taps with a rubber mallet.

I mated the rod to a live round to see how it would match up to the bullet and the threaded hole in the end cleared the ballistic tip of the vmax and settled on the copper. The threads start about a quarter inch deep in the rod so I didn't even damage the rod, still usable. All and all, a pretty painless procedure.

Thank you all again for the suggestions.

I was suprised to see the very large amount of plate powder that had made it past the bullet and settled in the barrel.

After a quick cleaning, I took a few shots at 100 yards and she's still dead on. Very relieved to see there was no damage done.

I do have one final question, should I contact Hornady? The best I can tell, it was their defective round that caused this problem and consumed my time to remedy. I'd say a few box's of vmax are in order. Any suggestions?
 
Wow, I was stunned at how complicated people made this.

Been there, done that and what he did was both right and simple.

Compressed Air? My god, though I guess you could get a special fitting made that matched the rifling spiral, super glue it in and then get a divers tank filled with air. As I recall the best tone would be an 81 cubic ft tank that you use 3000 psi in. Someone needs to do the math, but it would be quite the sight as long as I was far away (U tube anyone?) Dumbest videos?

And so what if a wood down splinters? Its going to hurt what? Tip it up and the remnants fall out. Soft cleaning rod (aluminum) would be my first choice but a good wooden dowel would be fine.
 
MrGW,Glad you were successful in clearing the bore.

Some people make a mound out of a mole hill around here.It's a simple problem that has a simple fix.
As long as you use a material that is softer than steel,there's no way that you will damage the bore or muzzle of a rifle barrel.It's that simple!
 
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