Dumb Old Man Week!

[Hawken]

Seated a .54 cal RB with NO POWDER!!

Can a GRRW Hawken breech plug be removed safely??

Anybody having done this.....have you had any luck using a special fitting to screw into the nipple and using Co2 to blow out??

With a tight patch do you think I could put a few grains of FFFF below the nipple and blow out with no harm!

A stupid ole man would be much obliged!

[Ohio Joe]

Hawken, you could do the 4f under the nipple.  If the ball doesn't come all the way out, just remove the nipple again and work in more powder, push the ball back down, then set it off again. 

[greyhunter]

Yup, remove nipple, pour in 4f and shooter out. Never used a co2 but many here swear by them. I have never failed to shoot one out in either flint or cap.

[Hawken]

Thanks guys!

This was my first thought but being as how it's DUMB OLE MAN WEEK for me....I thought I'd ask!

Much obliged!

[Bigsmoke]

Yep, the shoot 'er out technique works quite well.
Quick story.  Years back, I took the staff of a local sporting goods store out to teach them about things muzzleloader.  I loaded and fired a couple of shots then had each of them load and shoot a couple of rounds.  As will happen, one of the guys loaded without powder.  I was watching as he went through the motions and decided not to stop him before he seated the ball, sensing a teaching moment.  Sure enough, he seated the ball, capped the rifle, brought it up and it went pop when the cap went off.  Seeing as how there was no powder in the barrel, it sure didn't go boom.  The "what now" expression on his face was priceless.  Anyway, he surrendered the rifle and said something like what do I do now?
Having a few choices to choose from, I thought we would do the powder under the nipple routine.  So, I showed them how to take out the nipple and put powder under it, replace the nipple, and cap the rifle.  There was a Styrofoam cup set on a post, so I pointed the gun in that direction, pulled the trigger and I'll be darned if I didn't hit the cup.  I nonchalantly walked over and picked up the cup, came back and said something about never wasting a shot.  To the day the store closed, that cup was on a shelf with the words "Never waste a shot" written on it. right under the bullet hole.
So, yeah, that works.
I have also had success with using a ball puller and a CO2 discharger.  With the ball puller, I like to dribble a little bore solvent down the barrel to provide some lubrication and with the CO2 discharger one must be careful to point the rifle in a safe direction.  The ball will come out with some velocity.  Could probably pierce a piece of 1/2" sheetrock.  And be sure the ball is seated firmly all the way down.
John

[Winter Hawk]

Seated a .54 cal RB with NO POWDER!!

Anybody having done this....

I find myself doing this on a regular basis, like every time I go to the range....    I have become pretty adept at dribbling some Ffffg on the touch hole and working it down with the pick.  It seems to take a lot of time, and I am looking at one of those CO2 thingies.  It always happens when I start feeling cocky and my mind wanders elsewhere.  I might have to get one of those caplocks so I can unscrew the nipple and get the powder in easier. 

~WH~

[Hanshi]

Now I never dry-ball, mind you - Ahem! - but whenever a dry-ball mysteriously occurred I easily put in some 4F through the vent hole or under the nipple and cleared the gun.

[Ohio Joe]

I realize conserving powder is a good idea, I've done it myself - but accuracy really falls off....  

[Hawken]

Seated a .54 cal RB with NO POWDER!!

Anybody having done this....

I find myself doing this on a regular basis, like every time I go to the range....    I have become pretty adept at dribbling some Ffffg on the touch hole and working it down with the pick.  It seems to take a lot of time, and I am looking at one of those CO2 thingies.  It always happens when I start feeling cocky and my mind wanders elsewhere.  I might have to get one of those caplocks so I can unscrew the nipple and get the powder in easier. 

~WH~

Read ya loud and clear! It is a 'thinking mans game' for certain! Once the procedure of loading starts....nothing but the coming of the Good Lord should stop a man till he's done!!

[amm1851]

There's only two types of muzzleloader shooters - those who have dry-balled, and those who are going to. 

[Bigsmoke]

Over my years of burning sulfur, in all honesty, one could probably count on the fingers of one hand the times I have dry balled.  That probably works out to once every 8 years or so.  The last time I did it was the worst.

With a very red face, I will admit to this.  First shot I set the  ball on the patch on the muzzle, started it and rammed it home.  Capped the rifle and for some reason it wouldn't go off.  Wonder why?
 
No powder, dummy. 

So, I went back to the loading bench, and proceeded to very intentionally measure out the charge I wanted to fire, methodically poured the powder down the barrel, set the measure into the barrel (so I knew the powder was in there). When I was ready, I removed the powder measure and placed the ball and patch on the muzzle, started it and seated it with the ramrod.  Again, I stepped boldly to the firing line, seated the musket cap on the nipple, aimed the rifle, pulled the trigger, and again, just the pop of the cap.

Do you think I should have taken the time to pull the first ball out of the barrel so the powder would have had a better chance of going off?

One would think.

At that point, I decided my head was definitely not in the game, so I loaded my stuff into the car and headed home.

Dumb old man?  Yessir, I do qualify on that point.

John

[Hank in WV]

I think you should have tried loading again. No doubt it would have fired then.

[Bigsmoke]

No, I don't think even  would have helped by then.
Just saying we all have our moments. 

[Uncle Russ]

No, I don't think even  would have helped by then.
Just saying we all have our moments. 

Oh, come on John, one more little ball down there shouldn't hurt nothing! 

You offered some very sage advice, in another post, on being careful where and how you use one of those CO-2 dischargers.
You were spot-on because I unloaded a .54 in the garage once.......but only once.

Some of the old timers have heard this before, but a "learning lesson" is always worth telling again.

That ball glanced from the floor to a stack of saw blades, which I had hung neatly on the opposite wall,  what with all this incredible noise happening, I still somehow manage to hear glass breaking as that ball went through a beautiful old fashioned 6 pane window behind me!

I didn't even look around at it for a short while, because I just knew in my heart what had just happened.
And yep, right on a cross pane it had taken out 4 pieces of glass.
I tried to convince Mama Bear it wasn't near as bad as it looked because there was still 2 pieces left.
I'm not sure she ever bought off on that, but I stuck to my story and got the window repaired in Olympia where it looked good as new.

Be careful with those things!
They are nice to have along, very convenient, and not all that expensive.
Certainly easier than pulling a ball by hand, with a worm.

Uncle Russ...

[Roaddog]

I just picked up a crokett 32 for 100.00 it is just like what Bigsmoke did.So far co2 has faild.The guy I got it from trided to pull it and buggerd up the ball so a puller will not work.It is a older gun so I will try and pull the breachplug.