Pulling balls from a loaded cylinder

[Rex in OTZ]

I had to cut short a shooting session so I uncapped the nipples of my 1860 and when back to town was faced with a revolver loaded with powder and ball, Lucky the 1860 is real easy to pull the cylinder from, I used a 3" decking screw and screw'd it in the ball one at a time and used pliars pulling each ball, ther was enough powder I dumped it back in the powder jar and that was it cept for post shooting cleaning, I pull the grips and wash in the sink like doing the dishes useing a nylon bore brush on the cylinder and barrel and tooth brush on the frame and barrel web, metal parts dry fast when rinsed with very hot tap water then a good spray down with my favorite petrolium based lubricant (AMSOL HD Lubricant) then a good wipe down of everything with a oily rag, oil mop the cylinder bores and a snoot of spray thru the nipples.

I guess shooting a cap & ball requires a bit of planning, what to load and how, then cleaning and what is required.

I suspect that not all boogerd screw heads stem from a willingness to do bad (BUBBA) to the revolver but they do require some post haste to clean (Rust dosent sleep) with that motivation a screw head may fall victom to a std slotted screwdriver in the process of cleaning.
Most the new shooters wouldent consider a proper fitting screwdriver as one the required assessorys one should purchase when buying a cap & ball revolver (dosent say that on the box) most centerfire revolver shooters havent taken a screwdriver to a new Ruger or Taurus, seems to happen when in the heat of cleaning that what's in the kitchen drawer it what will be used in the midst of cleaning.

[Flint]

I was taught years ago to pull the nipples to dump the powder out the back, then push or tap the balls out from behind with a brass rod, or similar, through the nipple's hole. (don't use steel, it can damage the threads)

[coyotejoe]

I was taught years ago to pull the nipples to dump the powder out the back, then push or tap the balls out from behind with a brass rod, or similar, through the nipple's hole. (don't use steel, it can damage the threads)

The problem with that technique is that if the powder is compressed into a solid mass, it won't just fall out the nipple hole, it takes some serious digging with a small screwdriver or similar tool and that is a risky operation.
 That is one very big and seldom mentioned advantage of breechloading guns. Say you're camping for the night in Injun country. You fired your C&B revolver at a jack rabbit earlier in the day and you now want to clean it. Would you fire off your remaining chambers and advertise "here I am with an empty gun"? With a breechloading gun you can unload, clean and reload quickly and silently, you'd not even have to empty the magazine of your '73 Winchester.

[Rex in OTZ]

 The ball puller for a long rifle/musket was basicly a wood screw on the end the ramrod.
for a revolver cylinder a drywall screw and some pliar's will work in a pinch.
Neighbor Kid rammed a ball in a dry hole, helps to keep this in mind, I done it myself in the past.

[curator]

CO2 ball dischargers work good to unload C&B revolvers. One CO2 cylinder will usually pop 3 to 4 chambers. If my guns are capped and I have to make them safe, I remove the caps and take them home with the cylinder out. If I can shoot in the next few days, I re-cap at home and "water proof" the cap with m'ladies clear nail polish and wrap the loaded cylinder in insulated bubble plastic and store it in my ammo box. I clean the revolver frame and barrel and carefully re-assemble at the range to continue the shooting session. Be careful with capped & loaded cylinders as dropping them is sort of dangerous. I try never to pull balls with screws having repaired numerous muzzle loading forearms having been literally "screwed-up" with wayward screw-type ball pullers.

[NickSS]

In the good old days they typically would not clean the gun as often as we do.  I have read diaries that indicate that it was nothing to go a week or two without cleaning their guns or they would wipe the frame and  run a patch or two down the barrel and leave the cylinder loaded.  I personally have done this during a week long hunting trip and potted grouse with my Remington replica on several different days during the week.  When I was ready to go home I fired off all chambers then cleaned and oiled the gun once I got it home.  There was no rust or deterioration of the pistol at all.

[Uncle Howie]

Be careful with capped & loaded cylinders as dropping them is sort of dangerous.

Understatement of the year...

Bubble wrap or not, I'm not capping until I'm ready to shoot.

[Rex in OTZ]

Last week We took out the cap & ball for some fun, last cylinder last cap the cap was a dud, ended up with a ball & powder in one cylinder, later at home during cleaning a sheetrock screw and my leatherman soon had it clear, to get the powder out I unscrewed the ball off the screw and doug out the pyrodex and dumped it down the drain while washing the dishes & the 1860. I wash the barrel and cylinder after the dishes are finished, I keep a couple my favorite brushes close by, one a cylinder brush with a long wire handle and a M16 tooth brush and work around the hammer and recoil shield (keeping the grips outta the water) rinse with water so hot the steel dries itself, then oil it inside and out.

[El Gringo]

I was taught years ago to pull the nipples to dump the powder out the back, then push or tap the balls out from behind with a brass rod, or similar, through the nipple's hole. (don't use steel, it can damage the threads)

I'll admit my stupid mistake ....
While not paying very good attention I managed to ram a ball onto another.  I knew it soon as the ball would only seat in about half way.  That cut my shooting session short!

What I did was tap out the wedge on my 1860, remove barrel then the nipples.
I had a small spray bottle of Ballistol so I shot some into the powder to make it inert.

At home I laid some leather across my vice that was opened enough to let the balls drop through and tapped them out from the rear / nipple ports.  I was kind of surprised how easilly they tapped out...but very happy that it wasnt a major pain.

I learned a lesson that day.

[His lordship.]

I have a screw in ball puller in my tool box for insurance, if I load a ball accidentally and forget to put in a powder charge I have had great success with removing the nipple and stuffing some powder in that way, then fire the gun.  I never take my gun completely apart after shooting, I run the cylinder under running water, clean nooks and cranny's with tooth brush and rod/patch.  Wipe down frame area with wet cloth, and swab barrel.  I use plain cold or warm water.  The gun is given a good spray with WD-40 or better yet, Remoil, etc.  Oil gun as normally done with cartridge types, put back together. 

This method of taking a gun completely apart, grips off, all screws out, is a good way to strip and bugger up the screws and shorten the life of the gun.  If I had the situation where I only fired one or two cylinders and had to wait a few days to empty the gun of ammo, I would use the CO2 method, or just spray some WD-40 into the fired cylinders to inhibit moisture contact.   

[ZVP]

Once the ball has been rammed into the cylinder it'sbearing surface is mere thousandths of an inch thick and the ball removes quite easilly.
 You can use either a self tapping sheet metal screw or a very pointy sheet rock screw to pbore into the ball and pull it.
 I have an old .22 caliber ramrod with a sheet metal screw imbedded into it for pulling balls.
 For chambers WITHOUT a powder charge inside, you can remove the ball this way.
 You first dimple the ball with an awl and then use a dremel tool or orher small drill to drill a pilot hole and screw in one of the afore mentioned screws in and pull the ball.
 In either case (with or without powder) you might have to use an awl to provide a center point to screw the sheetmetal/rock screw into the ball therefore avoiding marring up cylinder walls.
 Paying attention while loading is much simpler, but we all make mistakes or maybe get bad powder that misfires. Don't feel all alone!
 ZVP

[Rex in OTZ]

You know ther's a few of us that use a short squirt of WD40 as starting fluid to start sno-go's.