metaldonnieg

I was super excited today because I was going to get to take a trip to the range and sight in the Bobcat. I also took my Savage .270 and S&W 9mm and I'm glad I did, otherwise it would've been a wasted trip.

I got out there and ripped off a couple of shots with the .270 and while letting the barrel cool I was going to work on the Bobcat some. I swabbed 2 wets and a dry just like always and sent 90g Pyrodex RS, the patch, and the ball down the tube. I capped like always, drew a sight picture at 50 yards and squeezed the trigger.

That was one of the most disappointing excuses for a bang ever. I've had a hang fire before so I just held the sight picture for around a minute or so and recapped and tried again. Same story. This time I laid the rifle down pointing down range and shot the other guns a bit and came back and tried capping and shooting again. Nothing.

Long story short I tried everything I could think of to get it to shoot but it looks like I'm just going to have to pull the load.

I feel pretty sure that I know what caused it, too. When I cleaned it for storage and I put that Bore Butter down the barrel I bet it packed the nipple area full of it and even though I picked at it I probably just moved it around.

Any advice on what to do here? Like I said, as far as I know I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to pull it. Any advice for that other than make the powder inert, be careful, and have patience?

cayugad

[hr]


First off, so you're sure the rifle is still loaded. You said you had a hang fire. But did the rifle actually fire? Put the ramrod down the barrel and it should almost disappear down the bore if the rifle is not loaded.

If the rifle is loaded, I think you might be onto the problem of why this happened, with the over bore butter problem. First thing we need to do is to get that rifle unloaded.

If you have an air compresser, remove the nipple, with a jet air attachment, put the end in the nipple port hole and apply air until the pressure blows the projectile out the end of the barrel. Aim it at a cardboard box or something. You will see the ball come out and hit the box. Sometimes it is necessary to put a small piece of something to make a good seal on the jet air attachment to the rifle.

If you have a ball puller, then pull the ball. With all the bore butter in there it should come out pretty easy. Some people drown the load, I personally do not. That is my business though, and any manual will tell you to pour water down that barrel and kill the powder charge.

If you were on the range I would tell you to pull the nipple and pack Pyrodex into the bolster through the nipple screw out port. Then replace the nipple. With your ramrod make sure the projectile is seated properly, and now fire the load out the end of the barrel. Aim at something you are sure that you will be able to spot the ball hitting. But do not aim right in front of your feet like I saw one person do. Lucky he did not shoot his toe off.

If you swab with bore butter it is critical that you get as much of that stuff out of the barrel before loading, as possible. Normally some dry patches will pull it out. Also before you load, put a clean patch on your ramrod jag. Push that down the barrel to the breech. Now pop a cap. Pull the patch and see if there are burn marks. If there is not, that means the fire channel is not open. Pop three caps through the rifle and repeat the patch test. Do not load that rifle until that patch comes back burned.

I hope you get everything squared away. Nothing worse then going to the range and have something like that happen.

frontier gander

All you had to do was pull the nipple and add power to the drum. $5 says if you pull the nipple now, there wont be any powder in the drum. That happens every now and then because i forget to tilt my rifle to the side as i pour the powder.

eldeguello

Yes, I have some advice for you!

In any case, regardless of the type of stuff you use in your barrel for a preservative during storage, when you get to the range, always pop several caps on the nipple before loading up. When you do this, hold the muzzle down close to some blades of grass or leaves on the ground, and observe to make sure the cap flash is coming thru the breech and barrel with sufficinet force to blow the grass or leaves around a little. This shows you that your flash channel is open, and that thecap fire is going to reach your powder charge. (This is sort of a substitute for Cayugad's patch test-do one or the other!!)

If you DON'T see evidence that the flash channel is unobstructed, DON"T load the rifle until you investigate to determine the problem, and eliminate whatever is blocking the flash channel!

NOW! The next time you clean your rifle, instead of that damned Bore Butter, use a patch soaked in Birchwood-Casey SHEATH and swab the bore to prevent rust! The next time you load up, you WILL NOT HAVE CRAP IN YOUR BARREL! BUT, always do the cap popping test, regardless, before putting in any POWDER!

Always remember: If your gun misfires, IT IS PILOT ERROR!

rem 700

You need a ball puller to pull the ball, then the patch if that didn't come, and the powder should come out with some hits from the ramrod to loosen it. Once your rifle is clean I'd be sure to take it out of the stock and remove the nipple and make sure everything gets clear and dried.

I use bore butter on my traditional...but before I shoot it I only use dry patches to swab. Maybe the wet patches did something with the bore butter that stuck in the barrel? You also should have used more than one dry patch just for good measure, and then a few caps to clear the firing channel. That should make everything go well. And next time you see some pick up some #11 mag caps and a hot shot nipple. They're a great combination to stop those hangfires I hope everything works out with your bobcat, tell me how that el-cheapo shoots!

1SHOT_1KILL

Chalk it up to lesson learned. BTW, that Bore Butter isn't worth a crap for nothing. A light oily patch will do the same thing, but like eldeguello said B-C Stealth is excellent for preventing rust. And always pop a few caps when you get to the range, before you load your rifle to make the nipple and flash channel is clear.

LaneNebraska

This is my, "Sound like A Broken Record Time":







You might want to check this out:




http://hubbardsoutdoorproducts.com/mag.html


Mag-Spark The most innovative improvement to muzzle loading since the rifled barrel. It fits your rifle in the place of the percussion nipple and uses inexpensive, readily available SHOTSHELL PRIMERS for instant ignition of all powders and propellants. No more misfires, slowfires or dangerous hangfires. Works in any weather, with any propellant. Shotshell primers provide abundant fire to burn the propellant charge-completely. EVERY TIME!! This makes for consistent velocities, which makes for tighter groups (Also reduces flinching). Another important feature of the shotshell primer is that it is made with a rim , or flange, making it impossible to be put in upside down or sideways. This is not tru with rifle or pistol primers. If you have ever tried to use them, you already know this. Moreover, rifle and pistil primers stick when fired. Have you ever tried to get one out in time for another shot? Forget it!!. You CAN remove the shotshell primer from the MAG-SPAR, because of the rim feature.
Made of stainless steel, the MAG-SPARK features a hardened firing pin, and is intended to last for a lifetime of normal use. Nothing, not even an expensive in-line rifle can deliver the reliability of a MAG-SPARK equipped rifle. It is FULLY GUARANTEED, INEXPENSIVE, EASY TO INSTALL, LOOKS GOOD ~ AND IT WORKS.

MAG-SPARK $15.00
Spare cap $7.50
Mag-Spark and Spare Cap Combo $22.50


When I get my sidelock, this is all I'm gonna use with it

nchawkeye

In addition to other thoughts given...I noticed you said you ran a wet patch down before shooting...A wet patch will dampen the next load, even if you think you dryed thoroughly...Only dampen a patch before or between shots...

Other than than, make sure the flash channel on the drum and nipple are clear...If your gun doesn't let powder into the drum area easily, you might remove the drum and cut a taper on the inside, I have done this on several percussion guns...

denis1112

Bore butter is your problem.All it's good for is to plug passage between then the nipple and the powder.It doesn't do anything to prevent rust.Your barrel ain't made out of cast iron like the originals wereso you don't need to try to season it,steel doesn't need to be seasoned.I use boiling water to clean with,it evaporates fast and birchwood casey's sheath as quick as I can get it down the bore,use another one or two after the barrel cools off.Check again the next day.Before I load I put a little acetone down the bore to make sure it getsto the nipple,then swab the bore with a couple of patches soaked inacetone to dry it up good then load.Itwill go off unless the cap is bad.When I go hunting I put some powder under the nipple.Another cause of hang fires is wiping between shots and not getting it dry.I use Hoppes #9 plus for patch lube,I don't wipe the bore between shots.I shoot 50 plus shots when I go to the range with goex or triple seven,flint or caplock.

metaldonnieg

I don't have time to break down a response to each person but I will say that I did try to remove the nipple with a pair of pliers. I couldn't get it to turn more than maybe 1/4 turn and I do not have nor could I find a nipple wrench on a Sunday evening.

Also after seeing that I wasn't getting it off I did try, using a pick, to poke as much powder into the greater nipple vicinity as I could and all that gave me was a slightly louder than the cap pop.

Thanks for the responses guys. It's going to be Friday (if I'm lucky) before I'm even in the same town as my rifle again.