by Woodsbum
For those that read my site regularly, you know that I am fairly into firearms. I like all types of firearms, archery, knives, and about anything that flies through the air towards a target. Some weeks ago I had a problem with my muzzleloader where a jag got stuck in the barrel and I somehow pulled the tip off the end of my ramrod. These obstructions are now cleared of my barrel and I will be taking it out to shoot sometime soon.
It is not an easy task to clear something from a muzzleloader barrel. In most muzzleloaders the breech plug is not something that is easily removed. Instead, you have to pull out the nipple and cleaning plug to pack in some black powder to shoot the obstruction out. Only do this if you know that the obstruction is not double load. You do not want to discharge a double load of black powder. This may cause injury to yourself and/or your firearm.
To clear the stuck jag in my rifle, I ended up having to use 50 gr of Triple 7 powder. This is almost a full charge. At lower charges the jag wouldn’t move at all so we had to increase powder loads until it came loose. There really was little other choice, but luckily it came out without issue.
Just remember that you do have a cleaning screw that increases the flash hole size to pour the powder into. That screw has to come out to load it. If you don’t do that it is possible to have the nipple bust loose due to back pressure. Once filled, you will need to put that screw back into place along with the nipple.
