Yesterday's 30 shot w walk included a broken tumbler notch in a T/C and one that puzzles me still! The walk included a time out at the clubhouse to recharge and fill out the powder and ball supply for the rest of the walk..... One ol boy cleaned his rifle using LV lube (which I judged a waste of good stuff) Anyway, while loading his patched ball for the 2nd shot after the cleaning session, the patched ball got jammed halfway down the bore of his Pedrosoli long rifle and would not budge. We tried pounding the thing with 2 different range rods and it was solid in fact felt like steel on steel. He chose not to take the time to p down the bore or whatever; but simply quit. He had also tried pounding the rod against a concrete bench to no avail. I am at a loss to guess just what in H bound up that ball thataway. Not cold enough to freeze in the bore. Ideas??
Hard rock fouling pulled from the plug that pulled off the jag halfway out the bore and the following patched ball jammed on said fouling halfway down the bore 
Its a puzzlement. What say you. I told him to go home and soak the @!*% thingee!
Mighty Queersome, mighty queersome indeedy. Having to wipe after 1/2 of a little 30 shot trail walk means he's not shooting a tight enough combo and he's fouling. Weak combination and burning patches, or too sharp a crown cutting the patch may have allowed ball/bore contact and with the fouling already there, ended up leading the bore at that spot. Just a thought now. Wiping it with LHV merely cleaned the fouling off the lead, leaving the leading streak or clump with a clean surface. Sounds as if he'd cut the next patch on loading and when the exposed ball's surface made contact with the clean leading, they two became one, virtually welded in place. One possibility that requires freak circumstances?
Way back, almost prehistory
, when we were learning what to use in our guns to make them clean shooting, we stuck balls in the bore - usually 1/2 way down. Lucky for us we had 1/2" hickory rods and usually used them against a range roof post or pillar to seat the ball on the powder. I've driven a few of these 'range' rods 2" into a pine or sprue post trying to get a stuck ball down the bore. They can be tight, that's for sure, and that's only from fouling. We learned then, that a ball only .005" under bore size and 10oz (.020" to .022") denim made a ball/patch combo that didn't get stuck, allowed unlimited shooting without having to wipe and shot well in all rifles we used that combo in, past and present.
