Hi-

Anyone know a trick for getting a stuck breechplug out of a muzzleloader barrel? I've got one here that the previous owner never cleaned right. It's corroded real tight I think. I've tried as much brute force as feel comfortable with, as well as heating the plug, but no joy. Maybe boiling the breech end in oil? Any other ideas? Thanks, maxman

Soak it in Krol for a week or so then try again. Heat it too.

Are you sure it's not pinned on? Some breech plugs from some commercial makers are threaded and pinned or some such similar thing. The pins can be hard to see from what I'm told.

Brent

Aren't the plugs supposed to be removable? I would think that pinning them on would make it real hard to get them unscrewed for cleaning...

Maxman, you are only supposed to remove a breechplug once every century or so. No, they are not made to be removed. Of the rifles I have built so far, once finished, I have taken only one of them off. I don't recall why though. But easy enough to do if coated with a might bit of grease.

Brent

If it's a inline type breachplug, send it back to the manfacture. The inlines are supposed to be removable. Any petroleum based grease on the threads will convert to asphalt (in the threads) the first time the gun is fired, so use the right lube.
If it's a hook breach style (standard side lock) (while it should never need to be taken out) you need to take out the nipple thimble first.

maxman,
I had an inline that after soaking in Kroil for about 2 weeks, I bored and split a wooden block to hold the barrel in a big vice. Then I used an impact driver to finally loosen the plug. You might try this if you are working with an inline.
George

I have pulled alot of breech plugs from antique guns with good results, here is how. Make sure the gun is unloaded, i realise you know that but you know how it is. Clamp the barrel in a padded vice and pour a table spoon or so of WD40 down the barrel. Heat the barrel with a torch, not enough to discolor it but keeping it moving, untill the Wd 40 boils. When light "smoke" is comming out the muzzle you got it. Try to loosen the plug, if it does not come out let it cool and try again. Sooner or later this process will work even on rusty Civil relics. By the way this is also great for removing frozen nipples.

I have never seen a pinned breech. Many times however the nipple screws into the breech plug.
Good luck!

Triple Seven is notorious for siezing breechplugs. A few days soaking in Kroil or PB Blaster usually will remove them. The fix for this is using pink Teflon pipe sealing tape on the plug threads and then coating them with anit-seize lube with PTFE. H.H.

Heating the PLUG expands it! Heat the barrel, and expand the barrel away from the cooler plug!!

On many Spanish made and some Italian sidelock percussion rifles the drum is often not only screws into the barrel but will be threaded into the breach plug as well. This forms a psudo pattened breach. A true pattend breach does not make use of a drum which form the transition from the nipple to the bore ... it is a solid unit. The nipple screws into the breach assembple wich screws into the breach end of the bore.

It would be best to contact the manufacturer for specifics on your rifle. Be advised that many manufacturers will void there warentees if you remove the drum and or breach.

This one is a used sidelock percussion rifle we picked up. Turns out that there was a powder charge that was left in the barrel for who knows how long. We chipped out that powder and cleaned it up as much as possible.

It appears to function properly and shoots well, but I was thinking that it might be a good idea to get the breech plug out and inspect that area of the barrel. I'm not sure what, if any, damage might be lingering there because of the old powder left to collect moisture over time.

I know that inlines are supposed to have removable plugs, but I wasn't sure about sidelocks. Maybe this is one we will just go on shooting, unless it would be wiser to get the plug out and inspect the barrel? Is there anything to worry about here? maxman

Maxman, are you sure what you chipped out was black powder and not pyrodex? The latter I would not want in there for long periods of time, but the former is quite inert in its unfired form.

If you do not feel any corrosion down at the very bottom, it is probably fine. But who's make of rifle is it?

Brent

Corrosion of the breach and drum threads is your biggest threat. If it where me I would want to get both out and inspect them. Corrective actions can be explored once the condition is known.

First of all, make sure that the drum is not threaded into the breechplug!

To do this insert a ramrod with a properly sized jag for the bore size. Make sure it is against the breech face, then mark it @ the muzzle. Lay the marked rod next to the barrel and see if it reaches the rear of the drum when the mark you made is even with the muzzle. If it does not reach the drum when the mark is even with the muzzle, this indicates that the drum is threaded into the plug, and must be removed before attempting to remove the breechplug.

Heat the barrel @ the breech area until it will "sizzle" a drop of water, then plunge it into a 1# coffee can filled with ice-water. (You will have to use a larger vessel if the barrel has a long tang) The more ice the better. You should hear a sharp crack when this is done. This will break the corrosion in the threads, allowing easy removal.

I have seen this method used several times on antiques that have not had the plugs removed for perhaps 100yrs or more. I have never seen it fail.

Perhaps a combination of this method combined with the heat & WD-40 method might be neccessary on a really stubborn one.

Use Never Sieze when re-installing the plug! (After a thorough cleaning of coarse)

[ 07-04-2003, 01:14: Message edited by: wildcat junkie ]