Skirt stuck on breech

[3rdTennCo.C]

Hello friends, went to a nssa shoot a few weeks ago and it appears while my dad was shooting my zoli zouave, the skirt of a bullet was blown off in the gun, it is currently stuck in the bottom and I have tried what I could to no avail. I've tried hooking it out with a sharpened bent brass screw on my cleaning rod, using a hook attachment on my bore camera, I tried removing the breech plug, but it's really on there, tried soaking with acetone and atf for a week, applied heat in the vise and the barrel turned before the plug did ( barrel was held with 2 three inch vise with lead padding treated with melted rosin)


Is there anything else I can try before sending it out? I heard from someone that I can try melting it out by blacing the breech in my pot of melted lead?
Any help is appriciated.

 

[Don Dixon]

Since they actually shoot these things in the N-SSA, might you not be better off posting your question there?

 

[Story]

zoli zouave,
Any help is appriciated.

You guys just need one of these

reGtqm - Le Webzine pratique de l'actu au quotidien

Le Webzine pratique de l'actu au quotidien

regtqm.com

Lead tends to yield to iron.

I'm actually kind of disappointed that someone else on the range didn't help you out by sharing/using their's.

 

[JPChurch]

You must be casting imperfect bullets with skirts already prone for failure. The vintage Zoli Zouaves have always been very forgiving. Unless you're using ammo that's not 100% lead I don't see how what you describe happened. The .58 worm might help but those are used more for removing somethin like a stuck cleaning patch. They make a .58 breech scraper that might work. I'm surprised the N-SSA safety range officers didn't step and assist you. It may be that you weren't at their range in Winchester, national hdqtrs. of the N-SSA.

 

[3rdTennCo.C]

I'm sure it was a imperfect cast that was the reason it happened. I'll try that worm trick but there is a reason no one in the nssa stepped in, its because we didnt know it happened til the evening when I was cleaning the gun! It happened in the first relay, because I noticed my dad ( it was his first shoot) had shot the middle of the field, I thought he flinched from the recoil, but it was that skirt blown off, I did t know that's what happened til I looked it up, but the gun shot well for the rest of the day, a couple of misfires though.

 

[3rdTennCo.C]

Since they actually shoot these things in the N-SSA, might you not be better off posting your question there?

Havent set up on their forum yet, but I've been here for a bit already, figured some here may know a thing g or two as well

 

[Booner]

You said you have a bore camera, have you looked down the bore to verify it's the lead skirt and /or how far it's off the breach face, or if it's up against the breach?)
Have you cleaned the bore? Perhaps plug the nipple and let the atf soak a day or so to help loosen the fowling. Perhaps the subsequent shots that were made have really pressed the lead into the chamber.
Assuming it is a lead ring from the skirt, perhaps using a bore scraper to reduce the inside diameter of the skirt would help to loosen it's hold on the bore? If your cleaning or range rod is made of steel you can attach a vice grip up by the handle to give you some leverage as you rotate the rod and chip off pieces of lead; hogging out the inside diameter of the lead. Once that diameter gets small enough then you might be able to grab an edge of the skirt and pull it out. Also by using the bore scraper, your reducing the inside diameter and shortening the width of the ring too. So if the lead ring is thinner and has been reduced in width, it will be more malable and be able to be either pulled out or the ring would break and then it should be easier to be removed.
The bore scraper I had is slightly under caliber, made out of brass, and had a brass lip on the end that was flush to the bore and would scape the fowling off the face of the bore. You want the edges of that lip to scape bits of lead as it bites into the skirt as you rotate the rod with the vice grips.

It's too bad you don't live in Missouri, I'd love to help you with this.

 

[Rhea Cole]

I passed this along to my gunsmith-all things CW musket guru. His first question would be how do you know what is fouling the breech of your musket? He has found all kinds of things in the breech of muskets. His advice, given with the caveat that he hasn't actually hasn't examined the piece, is to soak & clean the bore with boiling water. If that does not free up the obstruction, do no harm. If the obstruction is not removed with normal worming, take it to a gunsmith. That is the advice of a pro.

 

[3rdTennCo.C]

I'll also try the bore scraper method to give it a try, the skirt has been pushed all the way down against the breech face, it probably happened when I cleaned the gun (I do the hot water soak method) I may have pushed it down by mistake with the rod when cleaning before I knew what was in there. I've considered sending it out to a gunsmith but I'd have to do just that, ship it out, no gunsmith here in northern illinois has any experience with such things. I wanted to try all I could first before resorting to that. @Booner I do believe you are right that subsequent shots really packed it in there and the cleaning only added to it.

 

[kenysd]

take off the breach plug, plug the barrel just ahead of the 'chamber', then pour a cast of chamber casting metal. It will full the area, very low melting point. then use a rod and push from the muzzle. guaranteed to remove it.
this is how we take a broken shell out of a BP chamber like a sharps.
Ken

 

[3rdTennCo.C]

take off the breach plug, plug the barrel just ahead of the 'chamber', then pour a cast of chamber casting metal. It will full the area, very low melting point. then use a rod and push from the muzzle. guaranteed to remove it.
this is how we take a broken shell out of a BP chamber like a sharps.
Ken

You may have missed it in my initial post but I am unable to get the plug off, it is really on there, a 4 ft pipe extention turns the barrel that is mounted in 2 three inch vise with lead padding and melted rosin for grip

 

[JPChurch]

I wish you the best. I'd ask your N-SSA team mate about a reputable gunsmith if you can't get the breech plug out

 

[3rdTennCo.C]

I wish you the best. I'd ask your N-SSA team mate about a reputable gunsmith if you can't get the breech plug out

I've got a couple in mind, will send to them if nothing comes of my efforts