Need help....

[knifemaker3]

OK, I am at a total loss on what to do with a TC Hawkin rifle I guy brought to me to fix.  I own and operate a gun shop and do gunsmithing on modern guns and have done some on percussion but not to this extent.

It has a bullet in it....can't tell for sure if it's a ball and wad or a flat nosed saboted bullet.  I believe the sabot but like I said can't tell for sure.

So, I'm thinking ok, no problem.  Thread a nipple in to fit the air compressor on and blow it out.  But, I shot a little air in and it just blows around the bullet and comes out the muzzle?  I'm pretty sure there is no powder behind the load.

So, since I can't blow out the bullet and using grease to hydraulic pressure it out wouldn't work either, what are my options?  

I was going to take out the breech plug but having never done it on one of these rifles before I wanted to ask if it's just a simple twist it off or if there is more too it.

HELP!  

Thanks

Oh, and before you ask, I did try to pull the bullet but it was too hard for the puller to screw into it.

[huntinguy]

By good fortune I have not dryballed yet... I have had to pull one before. I used a wood screw welded to a custom built slide hammer, with bushings so I didn't damage the barrel. But, they make c02 dischargers.

Your air compressor is not going to have enough pressure, volume or be able to deliver it quick enough to dislodge a ball.

Have you tried pulling the nipple and dribbling in some black powder and set it off that way?

[knifemaker3]

No, would rather do it without any kabooms if possible.  Being as there is air getting around the ball I would think the gases would escape to and just lodge the ball further up the barrel......maybe? 

[T*O*F]

Shooting it out is still your most viable option and the easiest.  The TC has a patent breech which means there is a cavity which will hold several grains of powder.  Trickle 3f or 4f into the nipple hole until it is full.  Hit it with your palm a couple of time to settle the powder and add any more as required.  Then discharge it into the dirt.

Pour 2 ounces of water into the barrel.  Block the nipple and set the gun vertically for a couple of hours.  This will kill any load IF there is one, will provide some lubrication on the way out, and form a compression seal around the bullet.  After your time is up, check to see if any water will leak from the nipple, but don't let it run out.  If it does leak, hold it at an angle until the water won't leak out and hit it with your compressor.  It should blow out.

Debreeching a TC is a bioche.  If it has a saboted bullet, then it is probably copper.  You would have to drill a small hole in it and the bit should have a pilot to keep it centered.  Once the hole is drilled, you can use a ball screw to remove it.

[George Sutton]

Thompson Center sold a tool for the removal of the breech plug on the Hawken rifle. I don't know where you would find one today. I would give them a call maybe you'll luck out.  Good luck.

Centershot

[J Henry]

Centershop,, T/C gone beaver..
           Screw on the end of a rod,,screw into the ball in the barrel and clamp the rod in a vice,so your not in front of the muzzle, and pull the stuck object out..
  When I taught Hunter Safety I dry balled all my M/L for class, over protective yep,but I never have a shot fired>>>and I should how it looked to dry ball a rifle and measure the ram rod...Then pulled them at the end of the class.
 I found if I file a slot in the side of the screw,like a self tapping screw, it got a bite quicker and held better,just screw it in and pull.

[JTR]

Knifemaker,

Why not ask the owner what he did, and what type of bullet/ball is in the barrel?

Seems to me his answer would help lead you in the right direction to get the whatever out of there...

John

[flehto]

Just wondering if the bullet has a thru hole made by a bullet puller or a drill on the end of a rod seeing air escapes.  At any rate, a bullet puller should work.. Asking the "stuckee" for a truthful answer makes a lot of sense.....Fred

[WadePatton]

I'll not ever pull a ball if i can get powder behind it.  Show me a nipple, i'll show you a nipple wrench and how to nudge some powder into that hole. 

Doesn't take as much as you might think.


MOF, If it had crossed my mind to pull my vent liner last dryball,  I might have.  Just so much easier to launch than yank.

[B Staley]

Are you sure a ball is stuck? I worked on one that the owner swore a ball was stuck the ball puller was screwing into the breech.

[Acer Saccharum]

If you drill into the ball for a puller, sometimes the hole goes right thru....if you then later decide to try to shoot it out, all the fire goes thru the hole. 

If you can get powder behind the ball, push the ball back down on the powder before you fire it.

[J Henry]

  I don't pre-drill  then screw the spur in to pull the ball,I screw the spur direct into the ball,when/if it wont go any further,you at the full length of the screw into the ball. I f you pre-drill and go through, just put a bigger screw on the rod and go at it again...

[T*O*F]

Some of you guys are giving answers for a lead roundball, which doesn't apply if it is a copper jacketed bullet inside of a sabot.

Another wise move might be to contact the owner and have him bring in a bullet so you can see what you're dealing with.

[mark esterly]

gee golly guys a small maglight should reveal whether it's round ball, maxi or copper.

[shortbarrel]

Unscrew the breech plug and see what is going on. There is something in the bore that doesn't need to be there, could be something other than a lead sabot.

[J Henry]

K.I.S.S.  It isn't rocket surgery,,I f the screw doesn't bight into the plug then do something different!!!!Simple then going more complex,,,,,, bore light could answer many  questions....figuring a Gunsmith has a bore light with a view!!!

[Captchee]

yes the breech just screws in .
the TC tool was made to fit the breech so as to not mar up the edges .
 just pull the breech plug and clear the obstruction .

[SCLoyalist]

The TC breech plug wrench looks like this:


Still available on ebay, but I don't know if they came in different sizes, though.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

This is interesting. Within the last month I have had 2 individuals contact me with stuck ball problems. The first was a young guy who dry balled a 40 cal. I told him how to nudge some powder to dislodge it. He got back to me that he had drilled through the ball with a puller and had also broken the tang off, and he had also ordered a new 45 cal barrel that he wanted installed. To make a long story shorter I install his new barrel and removed the breech on his old barrel. To his good fortune the old barrel was badly pitted.

The second instance was a gent who had dryballed his 32 Cal. He had drilled through the ball with a puller and to make things worse had used a patch puller and had broken that off as well. He took it to a modern gunsmith who did not know how to fix it and had it a couple of weeks when he contacted me. After contacting me he mailed me the barrel and I pulled the plug an pushed the ball out, The hard part of that one was getting the piece of lead out of the inside of the White Lightneing TH liner. It must have jammed in there when he used the patch puller, and he had drilled through that with a small drill in his efforts to clear the bore.

I always use "trickle some powder" as my first choice to dislodge a ball. My second choice is to blow it out with a CO2 discharger. Never had any luck with a ball puller on a dirty barrel. Last choice and this always works is pull the Breech plug.

[B Staley]

Mike the first two were tried with no luck that's when things went downhill. I am extremely grateful for your help in this matter.....B Staley