Post by hunter on Oct 18, 2019 10:40:17 GMT
I inherited a couple of old rifles
A few months ago I inherited a couple of old rifles from a relative, they were stashed in an upstairs closet for years.
The one that concerns me is a Thompson Center .54 cal. flint lock. Its not super clean but I suppose it was at one time being used to hunt with.
I found it and an ammo box full of supplies and powder. My guess is that its been loaded for more than 15 years.
I actually didn't know for sure at first but after removing the touch hole screw, I found powder inside there.
The barrel is dusty, it was facing up and it had a ton of dust in inside, I blew it out a bit with compressed air and it doesn't look rusty other than a bit of surface rust at the very top. I wasn't able to push the bullet down any at all. The ram rod goes into the barrel to about 4" from the end of the barrel where it meets the end block clamp.
Someone told me to make sure the bullet is down all the way and try to fire it so I tapped down on the bullet with the ramrod and I tried putting some powder in the pan and tried firing it. All it did was fizzle a bit out of the touch hole.
I can't say whether this is loaded with a ball and patch or plastic sabot and a bullet. I found a box of plastic sabots and a tube full of bullets already in sabots soaked in lube as well. I found no round balls or patches so my guess its loaded with the same sabot/bullet combo I found in the box with the gun.
What concerns me is that I likely burned out the powder charge or its dead from sitting, and still can't move the bullet downward any.
I'm not sure what all that looks like inside one of these barrels?
The powder i found was Goex F, FF and FFF3. I found no powder measure of any sort.
It looks like someone was trying to separate the back end of the barrel from the main barrel, there are some marks on the steel, but it could have also been from assembly if this was a kit.
I found a signature and date on the bottom from 1974.
I suppose its likely just a wall hanger at this point but I don't want it sitting around loaded. Someone said to remove the touch hole plug and to try filling it with fresh powder, enough to dislodge the bullet but the plug won't budge either, and I didn't want to apply any heat not knowing for sure what the condition of the old powder charge is. it could be burned out, dead but not being sure I didn't want find out the hard way.
I was thinking of taking a length of 1/2" bar stock and brazing a wood screw to the end to try and grab the bullet that way but if it won't hammer downward at all, I was concerned about getting a tool stuck in the barrel or breaking off the screw. I did try putting air pressure in the touch hole as well but nothing moved even with 150 psi behind the bullet. Releasing the air pressure let out several particles of black powder which I collected and was able to ignite in a bottle cap. So the charge isn't completely dead.
At this point I'm not sure if its a dead charge, low charge, or badly stuck bullet.
Is brazing a drill bit to a rod and cranking it through by hand an option here if the bullet is really stuck? If so, what size?
I would think that once enough lead is removed it should collapse slightly lowering its grip on the barrel but the question then is how to get hold of it.
Any ideas?
A few months ago I inherited a couple of old rifles from a relative, they were stashed in an upstairs closet for years.
The one that concerns me is a Thompson Center .54 cal. flint lock. Its not super clean but I suppose it was at one time being used to hunt with.
I found it and an ammo box full of supplies and powder. My guess is that its been loaded for more than 15 years.
I actually didn't know for sure at first but after removing the touch hole screw, I found powder inside there.
The barrel is dusty, it was facing up and it had a ton of dust in inside, I blew it out a bit with compressed air and it doesn't look rusty other than a bit of surface rust at the very top. I wasn't able to push the bullet down any at all. The ram rod goes into the barrel to about 4" from the end of the barrel where it meets the end block clamp.
Someone told me to make sure the bullet is down all the way and try to fire it so I tapped down on the bullet with the ramrod and I tried putting some powder in the pan and tried firing it. All it did was fizzle a bit out of the touch hole.
I can't say whether this is loaded with a ball and patch or plastic sabot and a bullet. I found a box of plastic sabots and a tube full of bullets already in sabots soaked in lube as well. I found no round balls or patches so my guess its loaded with the same sabot/bullet combo I found in the box with the gun.
What concerns me is that I likely burned out the powder charge or its dead from sitting, and still can't move the bullet downward any.
I'm not sure what all that looks like inside one of these barrels?
The powder i found was Goex F, FF and FFF3. I found no powder measure of any sort.
It looks like someone was trying to separate the back end of the barrel from the main barrel, there are some marks on the steel, but it could have also been from assembly if this was a kit.
I found a signature and date on the bottom from 1974.
I suppose its likely just a wall hanger at this point but I don't want it sitting around loaded. Someone said to remove the touch hole plug and to try filling it with fresh powder, enough to dislodge the bullet but the plug won't budge either, and I didn't want to apply any heat not knowing for sure what the condition of the old powder charge is. it could be burned out, dead but not being sure I didn't want find out the hard way.
I was thinking of taking a length of 1/2" bar stock and brazing a wood screw to the end to try and grab the bullet that way but if it won't hammer downward at all, I was concerned about getting a tool stuck in the barrel or breaking off the screw. I did try putting air pressure in the touch hole as well but nothing moved even with 150 psi behind the bullet. Releasing the air pressure let out several particles of black powder which I collected and was able to ignite in a bottle cap. So the charge isn't completely dead.
At this point I'm not sure if its a dead charge, low charge, or badly stuck bullet.
Is brazing a drill bit to a rod and cranking it through by hand an option here if the bullet is really stuck? If so, what size?
I would think that once enough lead is removed it should collapse slightly lowering its grip on the barrel but the question then is how to get hold of it.
Any ideas?