Epic 686 jam
- Thread starter 460harry
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Or find one of your friends who shoot muzzleloaders
"first the powder then the ball" is a rule we sometimes forget.
"first the powder then the ball" is a rule we sometimes forget.
Telecaster
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Until the live rounds are removed, this might be a good use of the IL.
Well 460harry, did you get the squib out???
Dentists have a floss that is abrasive. They use it for insuring a space between teeth for flossing after a filling is installed. Maybe some if that will saw through the squibb? Hope it is lead
Negative. I tried using a 6" lag screw, but it ripped out the lead (hollow point). Could not get a good grip, and honestly I was scared ****less having my hands that close to a loaded gun. I certainly do not recommend that you try, ever.
Next I tried to tap the bullet back into the cylinder with a screwdriver taped up in electric tape to protect the barrel, and then theoretically wanted to smush the loaded bullet deep enough into the casing so that the squib would ride right in behind it, freeing up the cylinder, but it would not budge. MF'er is jammed in there good. I was hiding behind a quarter inch slab of metal plate with layers of welding equipment on and a face shield.
I think the gun is gone. I am sick to my ******n stomach. About the only thing that would work at this point is removing the barrel I think, but will gunsmiths touch a loaded weapon?
edit: I did remove the hammer and the firing pin before trying any of this, in case you were wondering. Also the bullet is a soft point, hollow point Speer 158 grain .357.
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You could try cutting through the squib using a jeweler's saw blade. They are very thin. If you don't want to order a whole set, perhaps a local shop would sell you two or three. (See post #4)
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Here you can see the copper shining back at the camera from the gap between the forcing cone and the cylinder. I won't show the bullet in the barrel so as to not indirectly encourage anyone to look into loaded gun barrels generally, needless to say. This 4" lag screw shows you about where the bullet is.
I hope there are smiths out there who will work on loaded guns.
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I would keep at it with the lag screw. Eventually you would not have much bullet left. You could get a big brass screw and braze it to a 5/16 brass rod to be near bore diameter with your puller, Use a die to tread the muzzle end of the rod, double nut the rod and thread it in to the squib well, remove double nut and then use a couple washers with grease between them on the muzzle and then use the a nut to pull on the rod. But your pounding on the bullet with its base against something probably swelled it up in the forcing cone. If you had to the barrel can be removed by cutting off the ejector rod and center pin at the yoke face. I would do that by placing the barrel in a milling machine and using a 1/8" end mill to first cut the pin then work back to real close to yoke. A pin and rod are not that spendy. Cutting through a lead bullet with a jewelers saw seems like a good way to damage your cylinder face or barrel extension. Plus lead will fill the teeth up fast. If I went that way I would drill out as much of the squib as possible first. a piece of something like a feeler gauge in between case head and recoil shied is a good idea. With that in place it wouldn't make me that nervous.
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I would try the .36 caliber puller from Buffalo Arms. Wouldn't hurt now. Ultimately, you may end up destroying the rifling. But, if successful, you can replace the barrel. Just my 0.02.
I would get a 5/32 drill from home depot
long enough to drill thru the squib and
the bullet in the chamber. Go real slow
like it's an auger. Once I drilled thru
the bullet in the chamber I would kill
the round with WD-40.
At that point you have a weapon you can work on.
long enough to drill thru the squib and
the bullet in the chamber. Go real slow
like it's an auger. Once I drilled thru
the bullet in the chamber I would kill
the round with WD-40.
At that point you have a weapon you can work on.
kleiss1
Member
Not so fast. I worked in a gun shop in Colorado years ago and had a revolver come in with 3 wadcutters stacked in the barrel. Only reason the guy stopped pulling the trigger was because the fourth on jammed the cylinder like this one.
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The jeweler's saw sounds to be worth a try, if it is not wider than the barrel/cylinder gap.
I would also contact factory customer service, describe your predicament (especially the loaded round thing) and see what they can offer. I bet after almost 170 years of business that they have seen and dealt with this problem before.
I would also contact factory customer service, describe your predicament (especially the loaded round thing) and see what they can offer. I bet after almost 170 years of business that they have seen and dealt with this problem before.
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I thought about that but my hands and face are exposed in the meantime to a live round.
I just thought of something: a solvent. I have a bunch of Sweets 7.62. That stuff is toxic as hell and eats copper for breakfeast. I may fill the barrel up with it, since it is stainless, and let it just sit and eat the bullet out. Not so sure how it works on lead but considering how aggressive it is, it may work.
What about hydrogen peroxide? Google says it eats lead quickly.
I'd avoid the H2O2 - probably not good for the steel - even stainless can be made to rust.
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Thank you for the pictures, it definitely helps me understand your situation. With that picture in mind I'll have to re-read the thread but I can't imagine how there could be a loaded round lined up with the barrel--a squib, yes, but a squib is usually caused by the primer detonation alone--no powder, hence not a live round.
OK, let's see if I got this straight--you were shooting your revolver, presumably off a bench and chronographing your shots.
One shot recorded a low velocity, but you had already cocked the gun for the next shot, so you lowered the hammer on a live round and that's when the bullet (presumably stuck in the bore/forcing cone) "fell back" into the chamber mouth and got wedged in tight when you tried to open the cylinder with a mallet--right?
If your chronograph recorded a velocity for the last shot fired, something had to have exited the barrel, no? Perhaps because of the low velocity loading the bullet got stuck in the barrel, the lead core separated from the jacket and went out the barrel, thus giving you a velocity reading. The jacket would be pretty well lodged in the bore, so how could it "fall back" into the chamber on the next shot?
When you tried the lag screw did you get pieces of lead out of the stuck bullet? In other words, do you know if the lead core separated from the jacket?
If the jacket got stuck in the bore I don't see how it could shrink enough to fall free of the rifling and drop back into the chamber in the short period of time between firing the shot and cocking, then lowering the hammer (unless maybe it was very cold at your shooting point? Could cold weather have caused a jacket to "shrink up?" IDK nothing about cold weather--I'm in Honolulu.)
Was your bullet a Speer half-jacket by chance? I've read warnings about not using those particular bullets with reduced loads specifically because of the risk of core separation. For that matter, were you even shooting reloads or were they factory?
Try the dental floss, it may take a while to get through but it will cut. I've seen where steel bars have been cut with it. Adding a bit of ajax or similar abrasive may speed things up. If this sounds like it won't work, just ask any Correctional Officer.
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