Removing a Bullet from an Antique Musket

[Von Hayek]

A friend of mine has a Belgian musket that belonged to one of his ancestors. It is still loaded, and he has asked my advice on getting the bullet out. I can recommend a gunsmith to him, but any problem trying to use a puller? I'm sure someone has encountered this before.

The extra twist is the at some point in the past, a leaky roof filled the barrel with water and rusted it. It is not going to be pretty.

I was going to recommend him soaking it every few days in PB Blaster or something similar.

All advice appreciated.

[45-110]

I would pump penetrate into the nipple hole and let it set for a few days, then unscrew the breech plug. Liquid wrench, acetone and atf ect. should get it freed up.

[Pukka Bundook]

As 45 says above.
Acetone and ATF 50/50 mix is the best penetrant there is.

[rich pierce]

I don’t think it will come out the length of the barrel by pulling if the bore is really bad. Unbreeching is the best approach, and driving it out the breech end. One other approach is to replace the nipple with a grease fitting and pump it full of grease. If it works it will be messy but the bullet will be out.

[Dave Patterson]

I've been through this:  all of the above is good advice.  MUCH simpler, and much safer, to remove the barrel, un-breach it, and drive the old load out the breech end. 

WITH, of course, and please forgive me for jumping to an assumption here, you don't personally have experience removing old breech plugs from original barrels, you might want to consider locating and enlisting someone with the bench, vise, tools, and experience to do so without further damaging your old barrel.  The process isn't anything like post-grad level gunsmithing, but it's not something to tackle as a first project, either. 

Welcome to the Forums.

[Von Hayek]

I've been through this:  all of the above is good advice.  MUCH simpler, and much safer, to remove the barrel, un-breach it, and drive the old load out the breech end. 

WITH, of course, and please forgive me for jumping to an assumption here, you don't personally have experience removing old breech plugs from original barrels, you might want to consider locating and enlisting someone with the bench, vise, tools, and experience to do so without further damaging your old barrel.  The process isn't anything like post-grad level gunsmithing, but it's not something to tackle as a first project, either. 

Welcome to the Forums.

This is good advice. I'm no gunsmith, and I don't want to booger up a friend's heirloom. Taking it to a gunsmith may perhaps be the wiser route.

[Von Hayek]

Can anyone recommend a gunsmith in the Northern Virginia area that would be a good fit for removing the bullet from this musket?

[Ky-Flinter]

I have not tried this and I am not recommending it, just throwing this idea out there for discussion. 

I have used Evapo-Rust to remove rust from badly rusted bores of unloaded barrels and gun locks with rusted frozen mechanisms and the effect of Evapo-Rust is nearly magic.  It cannot fix pits but it will remove all the rust.  If the gun was mine. I would think about removing the barrel, filling it with Evapo-Rust and letting it sit for several days.  Then dump out the Evapo-Rust and the sludge that was rust.  If the bore is still rusty, fill it with fresh Evapo-Rust and let it work.  Once the rust is gone, pour some lube into the barrel and try pulling the bullet.

Ron

[Paul from KY]

I agree with Ky-Flinter, Evapo-rust is great for melting rust away. I use it on antique tools that have been left out in the weather for decades and the end result is almost miraculous. It will leave a gray finish on the steel and requires no brushing/scrubbing.

[T*O*F]

Depending on conditions, the basic flaw with ball pullers, as well as some EZ-outs, is that as you screw them in, they expand the lead making the ball even tighter.

[mesabi]

As far as gunsmith recommendations in Northern Virginia, it may be worth asking on the North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) forum.  Should be some guys in that area that can point you in the right direction.

[frizenspring]

Two resources that do this stuff all the time

A. Brian La Master TN 304-856-333
PO Box 107
Highview WV 26808-0107

He's located about 45 minutes west of Winchester , Virginia.
He does restoration on Kentucky rifles and is also a talented Builder. He's real busy so may take him a while.

B. Ed Rayl 304-364-8269
PO Box91
Gassaway, WV 26624

A lot of guys on this forum will know one or both of these gentleman. Ed has done a lot of barrel stretch jobs for me and has removed old loads from old barrels. Again he's real busy so you will have to wait a while . He's located quite aways to the west side of the state. You can catch him at Tim Hodges  Martinsburg Gun show later this spring. That will save you a long trip.

Hope this helps

Regards

Frizenspring

[alacran]

Before I tried anything else, I would try using a CO2 discharger with the proper cap attachment. If you are concerned about the powder, you can always pour water in the nipple, if the bore was rusted do to water it would have gotten by the bullet allready.

[Von Hayek]

Great advice. Thanks so much. I have been meaning to get one of those CO2 tools anyway.