Help, messed up bigtime! Black powder, flintlock

[Axelgear]

So what happened was I was shooting a flintlock pistol at the range, some guy came over to see it, I got distracted while talking and rammed a Wonderlube patched round ball without loading powder! STUPID STUPID STUPID I know, but then the plot thickens - left the range, got a ball puller and it didn't work, just put a big screw hole in the lead round ball and seemed to make it worse, so then some other guy (a self proclaimed black powder expert) said "Oh, you can drill the ball apart!" Now there's something resembling one half of a round lead ball in the barrel.

I did try pushing a tiny amount of powder at a time through the touchhole to try and propel the ball out a bit, but after 10 tries, no results.

Removing the breech plug is also not an option, it seems the manufacturer (CVA) welded the plug, making this barrel permanently one-way.

I've also considered attempting to dissolve the lead with one part white vinegar / one part 3% hydrogen peroxide. According to a person I DO know is a very experienced chemist (think real life Walter White from Breaking Bad) this mixture should dissolve lead into a dark goopy sludge, BUT is extremely toxic and dangerous - apparently I need to do it somewhere very open and I can't let the sludge touch me or even breathe around it, and I need gloves, a breathing mask and eye protection. The chemist begrudgingly gave me this information, and I received a very strong warning about trying it.

What the hell can I do to save my flint pistol?!

[oregonnative1968]

I have seen CO2 devices that blow the gas into the flash hole and can expel a stuck ball. Other option is to lube the ball and barrel and use a larger screw. I've had to fight a couple bad loads before. It sucks but they will come out.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[Axelgear]

I have access to an air compressor, think that might work? Like blowing into the touchhole....? Wow, that sounded bad.

[Citadelgrad87]

Can't you just slowly heat it and melt the ball?

[Flintlock Tom]

Dixie Gun Works...

[Axelgear]

Can I? Is it safe to, and how would it be done? I'm reluctant about heating the barrel for fear of warping something. The barrel is stainless steel.

[TKM]

Go with the compressed air solution.

It won't turn your garage into an EPA supersite.

Technically, it would be possible to pull your barrel and leave it in a pot of melted lead for long enough to melt the ball without doing any damage to the barrel. 800 degrees won't bother your barrel at all. Do you know anybody who casts?

[Axelgear]

Don't know anybody who casts, and I don't have a garage. I tend to MacGyver my way through problems, and it usually works, but this time I'm out of my area of expertise.

[CGT80]

You might want to post your location or rough area, so that people who may be near you can reply if they are able to help. I have never messed with black powder or flint locks, but I do cast boolits and have done a lot of fabrication, auto work, and construction work and have many tools.

The compressed air is a good idea. I would try some lube on the ball..................scratch that. With half a ball, the air will probably escape.

I wonder if you could come up with a metal rod that has a hook of some sort on the end. Maybe you could run it down the bore, twist the rod, and hook the ball.

Is only half the bore obstructed now, or is just the muzzle end of the ball broken off?

A small dab of epoxy on the end of a rod might glue the ball to the rod and allow you to get it out. Only problem, is if you get epoxy on the barrel, it will be very hard to fix, as far as I know.

[TackyDriver]

I believe there used to be a device called a bore worm. It looks like four spikes that were wrapped like a spring around a tube about the same as the inside diameter of the barrel.

The problem with the screw tool is that it swells the lead ball and can cause a tighter grip on the bore. The bore worm would engage the ball around the outside. If I recall, when you rotated it, it would rotate the ball so that it would have it spin in the same direction as the rifling if the gun was a rifled. That would also help it down the barrel.

Good luck

[Beelzy]

Find someone with a torch.....heat the barrel breach SLOWLY, and pour it out.

[madsend81]

From personal experience, I've found that when using a ball screw, if you don't allow enough engagement of the threads, the screw will just pull out of the ball. The brass alignment plate on many of the ball screws is adjustable. I had to back mine up enough to allow enough of the threads to engage the ball and then it managed to pulled the ball out.

It's a tough way to learn an important lesson: Don't allow anyone to interrupt your loading sequence. If you are interrupted, clear your barrel and start the process over again from the beginning. Repeat after me, "Powder, Patch, Ball."

[09rubicon]

If your close to the Tracy area, I have liquid CO2. We can hit it with about 600psi thru my regulator.

[RP1911]

Cap the muzzle, put a small hole in the cap for some air to escape. Use compressed air to move the ball down the barrel towards the muzzle. You may be able to pull the ball out with a rubber coated or electrical tape covered bent coat hanger end.

[Axelgear]

Sorry, San Diego is my area, and I guess I'll try to use the compressor at work later this morning - hopefully it can blast the damn thing out!