I purchased some factory ammunition that turned out to be problematic. I understand that the bullet will have to be hammered out. My questions are, where is the best place to put the gun in a vise? What are the best tools and methods for doing the job? Will a 3/8" diameter rod fit in the barrels? I have two guns affected by this issue. Both are revolvers. A no dash model 19 4" and a 64-3 3". Ammunition being used at the time was 38 special 125 GR. Thank you for your assistance.

For a .38/.357 you need a 5/16" brass rod, NOT a wooden dowel as many recommend, and a brass or steel hammer of at least 16 ounces. A 3/8" rod is larger than the bore of the barrel! DON'T put the gun in a vise, hold it by the barrel in your hand. Strike the brass rod very firmly, don't try to just tap it!. Drive the bullet out from the muzzle to the breech. obviously. The fewer strikes on the brass rod the better so firm strikes are imperative. A few drops of gun oil in the bore behind the bullet can make removing the squib bullet somewhat easier.

The brass rod will not harm the bore. A wood dowel will just shatter. A steel rod can/will damage the barrel unless you are extremely careful to keep it from ever touching the bore, just don't!

The brass rod and hammer are the only tools that will work. Hopefully these are lead bullets, not jacketed, as jacketed bullets can be a real problem! I assume/hope you didn't fire a second round in either gun after the squib. This will work with jacketed bullets too, they will be somewhat more difficult than lead!

A word to the wise! If you experience a squib load STOP right there. Do not shoot any more of that ammunition in any other gun. Hopefully you have already figured this out on your own.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

Unfortunately, the ammunition was jacketed. I did try to do it at the range with the range officer on the model 64. They had a maintenance and storage shed with a vise. We clamped it on the barrel with wood pieces to prevent marring the barrel. He did find a 1/4 wood dowel, but it sheared outside of the barrel and the bullet did not appear to budge even with a few drops of CLP behind the bullet. Is there another solution for jacketed bullets? Alk8944 thank you for your advice at this point.

The afore mentioned process will work just as well as it does on lead bullets.

I had to do it on one of my 1911s, .45acp. Did just fine.

I carry a 6” 5/16 steel bolt, wrapped with masking tape to protect the bore, also a small hammer, in my range tool bag. Just tap it out by hand. I have needed that bolt several times. Works with any bullet. I do something else for bullets stuck in a rifle bore.

I'd like to know what ammo it is so that I won't consider buying it.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I have done bore test several times by driving a lead bullet or ball through the bore. The key is a heavy hammer, 2 lbs preferred, 1 lb minimal, brass rod close to the bore size and solid strikes. You can't tap it out but need not swing as though you were John Henry. As said above put a light oil behind the bullet and invert the gun for a few hours.

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Front sight and squeeze

You can often find brass rod in hardware stores. A steel bolt or rod would be Ok with some electrical tape, but I would get a long one, cut of the section with threads and slightly round the front edges.

I clamp barrels in a vise all the time. But even though I have equipped the vise I use for that with brass jaws, I also use 2 pieces of Oak flooring. The back side of the flooring has 2 grooves machined in it and they work perfectly on most revolver barrels

Pro tip. Warm the barrel up with a heat gun. It really makes it easier to come out.

Rosewood

The only squibs I've had were with my 32-20 and lead bullets. Used one of those large aluminum gutter nails. They are a soft aluminum and with the pointy end cut flat are about 6 1/4". Lubed up the bore with some gun oil and tapped lightly with a steel hammer and they came out easily.

John

5/16ths, 8" brass rod from Amazon, less than $10...

Also, if you have a dead blow hammer, that will work better than "regular" hammer.


Edited to add... I should, perhaps, mention that you want a dead blow hammer that has a metal striking face.

You can damage the bore with a Brass rod trying to remove a stuck bullet.

If the brass rod is too small in diameter for the bore size, wacking on it to drive the bullet out can allow the undersize rod to move to one side of the bore and seat itself against the bore as you are tapping on it.

Being somewhat smaller than needed in dia for the job, it starts to bury itself in the bullet (base or nose depending on which direction you are forced to work from).
At that point, the top of the rod, even being brass is being pounded into the barrel steel itself and can result in a damage to the inner wall of the bore.

Bbl steel as rule is generally soft. It doesn't take all that much to work with it. It can be deformed, dented, scratched etc fairly easily.

Make sure the rod you use to punch out the stuck bullet is as near to bore size as possible.
A wrap or two of tape will work well to bring an otherwise almost perfect fitting punch-rod up to spec for you as many here have shown that they do.
File or grind the tip of the punch that will impact the stuck bullet with a slight radius so as to avoid it's edge from contacting the bore tself.
The rest of the rod's surface if smooth and straight will just be a sliding fit along the top of the Lands of the rifling and not cause any damage.

Use enough hammer and get the bullet moving with some substantial wacks. Light strikes have a tendency to just upset the one end of the bullet that is being struck.
That can rivit the bullet ever more tightly in the bore,,especially when working on a jacketed bullet.


Don't use wooden dowels, they will usually shear off at a steep angle and often leave both wedge shaped pieces deep in the bore.
Then when those are stuck again, their wedge shap break mearly drives them tighter together on top of the stuck bullet.
Now you've got a compounded problem.

People would often bring the 'bullet stuck in the bbl' problem in for a fix.
When presented, the bullet was stuck,,and there were wooden dowel(s) in there broken off,, and sometimes an Aluminum cleaning rod section or two on top of that as well.
All well intended attempts to remove the projectile.

I specifically did not name the manufacturer of the ammo because I have been using it for ten or more years without issues. I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt as this may be an isolated incident with the lot I received. I did contact them, and they responded quickly with a return label and refund offer. If you really want to know, I will PM you.

Most hardware stores sell brass hinge pins. They fit nicely in a .357 barrel, are about 4" long, sturdy and come 2 to a pack. Their larger, flattened head is great for hitting with a hammer.