How To Remove Bullet From Chamber

January 03, 2022

In that location are only ii types of shooters: those who accept had stuck bullets and those who volition. If y'all shoot plenty, and especially if you shoot handloads, odds are pretty darn adept that you or someone you are shooting with will experience a stuck bullet. Fortunately, there'due south a simple and easy way to remove a stuck bullet when information technology happens.

Removal of a stuck bullet begins with determining only where the bullet is located. This is done past marking the shaft of a cleaning rod at the cage while it is resting against the stuck bullet.

A stuck bullet is generally caused by lacking ammo. In most cases with handloads, in that location was insufficient powder to button the bullet all the way out the bore. More oft than non, this shouldn't cause whatever major problems if information technology is dealt with properly. The bug arise when improper technique is used to remove the bullet.

The classic example for me occurred years ago when a fellow brought a .22 burglarize into my shop. He had been shooting and noticed that he didn't observe a bullet impact after firing. He thought he might have stuck a bullet in the barrel, so he went back home and tried unsuccessfully to remove the bullet. I knew at that place was trouble when he brought the rifle into my shop because in that location was a piece of arc welding rod sticking out the barrel! I somewhen cleared the diameter of several pieces of assorted welding rods and wire along with a unmarried .22 lead bullet. Incredibly, later all of that at that place was trivial or no impairment to the diameter. I have seen more harm done to barrels from attempts to clear the obstruction than caused by the stuck bullet itself.

This spring I was out on a prairie canis familiaris expedition with a group of friends. The dark before nosotros headed dorsum home 1 of my buddies brought me his custom .17-caliber Ruger No. 1 with a bullet stuck in the bore. He had tried to remove the bullet with a cleaning rod but had been unsuccessful so he asked me to have at look at information technology.

I took the rifle back to my shop and so I would accept access to my tools. I had no thought where the bullet was located or if, for that matter, there was just 1 bullet.

Step ane: Locate The Bullet

The first chore was to determine the location of the stuck bullet every bit that could affect how I would arroyo removing it. To exercise this I carefully ran a carbon fiber rod downward the barrel from the muzzle until it contacted the bullet. I and so made a mark on the rod at the bespeak where it entered the muzzle. The rod was removed and laid along the barrel with this mark even with the cage. A marking was then made on the exterior of the barrel at the finish of the rod. This indicated the front, or cage, finish of the obstruction. The aforementioned procedure was followed from the breech end to locate the rear end of the obstruction and to make a 2d locating mark on the barrel. At present I knew where the obstruction was and its length. In this case information technology was apparently a single bullet and was located about ane inch alee of the end of the chamber.

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The rod is and then removed, laid along the barrel with the locating mark even with the muzzle, and a mark is fabricated on the outside of the barrel at the finish of the rod. This marker corresponds to the front of the stuck bullet.

Step ii: Drive The Bullet Out

My friend had tried unsuccessfully to drive the bullet out with a cleaning rod from the muzzle. I generally find that information technology'southward best not to apply force to the front end of a stuck bullet in a rifle especially if it'southward a bullet that is designed to easily expand or mushroom considering what happens is that the rod expands the bullet and wedges it tighter in the bore.

If the knock-out rod is too small, the point of the bullet can force it off to the side into the wall of the bore. This could result in a scratch or other impairment to the diameter from the rod. Brand sure your rod is as large in diameter as possible that will still move freely in the bore.

For that reason, I will tend to drive a bullet out the muzzle from the breech cease.

A give-and-take of caution is definitely in order here. Many years ago I heard of an accident that took place in a gunsmith shop.

A gunsmith was tasked with removing a stuck bullet from a burglarize. Using a steel rod that closely fit the diameter, he inserted it from the breech until it contacted the base of the bullet. He and then took a large hammer and struck the cease of the rod to brainstorm driving the bullet out the muzzle.

Apparently at that place was some pulverization residuum at the base of the bullet as there was an explosion, the rod was driven back toward the gunsmith, and the bullet came out the muzzle with enough energy to penetrate a toolbox on an adjoining bench. From what I was told, there were no injuries, but at that place were several very surprised and shaken folks in that shop.

The process is duplicated from the chamber finish of the barrel, revealing where the stuck bullet is located and how long it is.

Because of that, I always wash out the butt backside a stuck bullet to remove whatsoever traces of pulverization. This is easily done with a solvent. The barrel is positioned vertically with the muzzle downward and a generous amount of solvent is used to fill up the bore. Later on it sets a bit, the barrel is inverted and the solvent dumped into a suitable container.

I also seldom employ a steel rod to drive out a bullet to avoid any possibility of a spark or damage to the bore. If I must use a steel rod, I make sure the contact cease of it is perfectly apartment and smooth and the edges are slightly rounded

The old jointed aluminum cleaning rods you used to see so oft are to be avoided. They will easily curve. The finish of each section is drilled out and threaded. If this hollow finish is used to strike an obstruction information technology will sometimes collapse and mushroom. In the worst case this volition result in having an aluminum cleaning rod stuck in the barrel! No matter what blazon of rod you lot use, make sure it is solid.

With handguns used with moderate to calorie-free powder charges, stuck bullets are not uncommon. When I was involved in cowboy action shooting I would generally see at least 1 stuck bullet at any match I attended. For that reason, I always kept an 8-inch length of brass rod in my shooting kit. For handguns that is generally all that is necessary t

o remove a stuck bullet.

When working on my friend's Ruger No. i rifle I used a carbon cobweb rod that just fit the diameter of the bore. Information technology is wonderfully strong, yet there is virtually no possibility of impairment to the bore.

Always use as large a diameter rod as possible. During a previous try to remove the bullet, a smaller diameter cleaning rod had been driven downward inside the bullet, expanding the bullet and making it more difficult to remove.

In this case there appeared to exist simply one .17-caliber bullet, and it was located very near the finish of the chamber. Because of this I secured the rifle in a padded vise and inserted my carbon rod in from the muzzle until it was firmly held against the forepart of the bullet. I then took a brass-faced hammer and with a few blows to the stop of the rod, carefully drove the bullet out the bedchamber end of the barrel.

Examination of the projectile revealed that my friend'due south cleaning rod had been driven downward into the jacket of the bullet. This had expanded the bullet and had caused it to stick in the diameter. My carbon rod, on the other mitt, was large enough in diameter to avoid entering the bullet and instead pressed confronting the sides of the jacket. This fabricated removal much easier.

Step 3: Clean The Diameter

With the bullet removed, I cleaned the bore and checked for damage where the bullet had been stuck. Fortunately, the bore appeared to exist unharmed. More often than not, a single stuck bullet will seldom harm a bore. Unfortunately, a lot of the impairment is caused by well-meaning folks who just apply the wrong tools in trying to correct the problem.

Stuck bullets in most cases are just an inconvenience. With care, a few uncomplicated tools, and good procedures, yous should be able to handle this problem hands. Simply keep in mind that if you shoot plenty, sooner or subsequently you will meet a stuck bullet!

Until next time, good luck and skillful gunsmithing!

Source: https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/gunsmithing_1106/100356

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