The Accurate Reloading Forums
OOOPS...Question/Advice Please
27 March 2025, 01:22
Michael MichalskiOOOPS...Question/Advice Please
My father would have called me a shoemaker for doing this, but I fess up.
Beretta 92X. Had some reloading fails and have a few 9mm reloads with no powder. My fault, no excuses. Problem is I used a 3/8" Craftsman punch to remove the bullets from the barrel. Worked but I nicked/scratched the bore slightly. Big problem? Suggestions?
Mikle
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27 March 2025, 02:05
rcraigBummer. "Slight" probably won't be a big deal. Shoot it and find out.
Old Corps
Semper Fi
FJB
27 March 2025, 02:42
nvmichaelquote:
nicked/scratched the bore slightly
Probably won’t hurt. If slightly. I’m in the shoot and find out camp.
New barrels are available
27 March 2025, 04:32
HipshootMy suggestion is----Stay away from handguns!!!

Hip
Yeah, don't use punches in barrels.
But you will be fine; shoot it.
True story; we were on the M3 SMG range one day. Bak then every tank had an M3 in a rack in the turret.
One soldier's gun quit firing. The sergeant looked at it, and called me over; the entire barrel was FULL of bullets. One round with no powder did it.
Of course we did NOT use a punch; we turned the gun in.
The correct way to remove stuck bullets is with a piloted/bushed drill. Or on a pistol, a snug bore fitting punch.
27 March 2025, 05:00
shootermetalI'd used a slightly undersized brass rod or even a hardwood dowel depending on how tight it was in the bore. If it was just one bullet just jammed from the primer I'd knock it out towards the breech end as it would be closest to it.
27 March 2025, 06:00
Michael MichalskiGot some dowels today. Will run 100 or so hardball through it in the next few days. Thanks for the responses. I'll report anything unusual.
Mike
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27 March 2025, 06:39
matt salmI used speerchucker’s method of a grease gun once and while it did work, you need a danged heavy duty grease gun to do it. I see in one of his videos he’s upgraded to a homemade screw actuated grease device.
Shoot straight, shoot often.
Matt
The real problem is that often, the barrel will be bulged and can't be reused. I have a 357 Ruger barrel that a guy did that to; I installed a new one.
I'll post a picture when I find it....
27 March 2025, 08:30
richjarbor press. easiest thing to do, Use a pipe clamp and a steel or brass rod as an arbor press.
works with revolvers too,
27 March 2025, 09:18
MyNameIsEarlThis reminds me of the Mod 10 that came in my shop with 5 slugs wedged in the barrel. Yes they shot it 5 times. How they didn't blow themselves up is a mystery. Had to replace the barrel there was no saving it.
27 March 2025, 15:30
p dog shooterDecades ago when I brought my first progressive press.
I was happily running rounds through it 9mmL.
I looked up and the powder measure was empty.
How many rounds no quest but I had a fairly decent size box full.
I used them just for practice being very aware of a off sound when firing them. They were mostly shot through a Browning HP.
I would step out the door and shoot away then pop click or what ever.
When that happened I pull the slide take the barrel out.
Grab the brass punch I turned on my lathe for the job and drive the bullet back wards towards the chamber.
Never fail to get one out with a light tap never hurt the barrel. Most of the bullets were used again.
After that every time I filled the primer tray I filled the powder measure.
27 March 2025, 16:49
jeffeossoGET A SCALE - weigh the "loaded" bullets, even a beam scale will do it fast --
shesh, "hit it with rock" isn't always the answer
you could have impacted the barrel, a little bit, shot 100 rounds, then see if it's less accurate than you remember
27 March 2025, 19:06
nvmichaelPut a wooden dowel in your range bag.
For the Opps moments

27 March 2025, 19:43
p dog shooterquote:
GET A SCALE - weigh the "loaded" bullets, even a beam scale will do it fast
Enough variations that that method doesn't work well.
Been there done that.
27 March 2025, 21:33
Michael Michalskijeferoso, As p dog shooter also asks, with the case weighing 67g+/- and bullet weighing 125g, would 3g of 231 be detectable?
NVmichael, already have dowels and hammer in range bag.
All, Thanks again for responses.
Mike
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27 March 2025, 23:06
FjoldHardwood dowel, not the pine or fir ones.
Speaking from experience.
Frank
"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money."
- Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953
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28 March 2025, 02:30
jeffeossoquote:
Originally posted by Michael Michalski:
jeferoso, As p dog shooter also asks, with the case weighing 67g+/- and bullet weighing 125g, would 3g of 231 be detectable?
NVmichael, already have dowels and hammer in range bag.
All, Thanks again for responses.
Mike
Sure. It's easily solvable. Weigh 20 of them, set those that are more than 2 gr light to one side, continue till you have 20, use THAT average and variance.. anything 2 grain or more light is likely without powder. Almost certainly, and are subject to tear down.. keep the dowel handy, but it's unlikely at that point
28 March 2025, 03:17
Michael MichalskiI'll try the weighing technique. Non hardwood dowels split/crack/break. Ordered 1/4" brass rod.
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28 March 2025, 04:10
jeffeossojudging from the squibs i've had in a 38, they should come out easy with a 1/4, 5/16 brass rod -- oh, i'd use a dead blow hammer .. like 6 bucks at HF
28 March 2025, 05:07
Michael MichalskiOrdered a brass rod and dead blow hammer. Trying to understand this weighing method. Maybe in AM when IO get 10 hours sleep.

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28 March 2025, 06:29
jeffeossoit's an old logic question -- but you can find the mean (which is something like the average) but cast off the outliers --
nevermind, don't overthink it --
28 March 2025, 07:06
Michael MichalskiAt my age, overthinking is seldom if ever a problem.

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28 March 2025, 09:26
rcraigquote:
Originally posted by richj:
arbor press. easiest thing to do, Use a pipe clamp and a steel or brass rod as an arbor press.
works with revolvers too,
I would like to see a revolver (or pistol) set up in the pipe clamp arbor press.
Old Corps
Semper Fi
FJB
28 March 2025, 16:02
p dog shooterquote:
(or pistol) set up in the pipe clamp arbor press.
Put only the barrel in.
28 March 2025, 16:07
p dog shooterI knocked a lot of bullets out of revolvers and pistol barrels.
A couple taps from the muzzle and out they have come.
A proper dia. soft rod does the trick.
Long rifle barrels with jacketed bullets are a another problem all together.
29 March 2025, 19:02
kda55quote:
I would like to see a revolver (or pistol) set up in the pipe clamp arbor press.
So would I.
You LOOK into each case to make sure it has powder, before you seat the bullet. I have never had a round with no powder, that I reloaded. I have a Hornady Pro Jector and you can see the case when it comes around to the bullet seating step.
29 March 2025, 21:02
Saeedquote:
Originally posted by dpcd:
You LOOK into each case to make sure it has powder, before you seat the bullet. I have never had a round with no powder, that I reloaded. I have a Hornady Pro Jector and you can see the case when it comes around to the bullet seating step.
I have lights installed over the powder charging bench.
All cases are inspected before moving them to the loading bench.
On the subject of removing stuck bullets.
Load a primed case with powder, no bullet, and fire it!
30 March 2025, 00:14
Duane Wiebe (CG&R)In the 1960's I was a policeman with about 100 sworn pesonell in the deparment. My quick math tells me that in those six years, we fired close to 200,000 rounds of reloads (for practice)
In all, I know of only TWO "hang fires" So..what is the reason for these reloading errors ? Im not being confrontational..just asking
30 March 2025, 00:21
richjDillon 550 :-)
30 March 2025, 00:43
richjI've used this 4 times on revolvers 3 time for the same person on a M66. It is too hard to keep it centered with a long rod.
all the brass rods are at the club and yes that steel rod is too long.
30 March 2025, 01:27
eagle27An uncle once gave me a BSA Sportsman bolt action 22RF rifle saying that it was no longer very accurate. Back home I checked it out and noticed there seemed to be something in the bore about half way down the barrel. Could still see to the muzzle but some sort of constriction in there which didn't move when running a cleaning rod down.
Had a long brass rod to hand that fitted the bore loosely so hammered one end to flare it and make a good snug fit in the bore. Was able to tape the constriction out and to my astonishment it was a LR casing that had had bullets passing through it for god knows how long thinning the sides of the case and leaving part of the case rim still intact.
How a case could end up lodged down the bore god only knows. My uncle was a big ham fisted man and I can only think he may have somehow double loaded a couple of rounds into chamber driving one round ahead of another past the chamber and into the leade, managed to close the bolt and fire the whole caboodle.
I kept that casing for years but lost it somewhere along the way, very unusual occurrence.
30 March 2025, 07:09
Michael MichalskiHopefully a final report. Used a variation of jeferoso's weighing method and identified nearly 40 rounds with no powder. Also, noticed the ones without powder were near the bottom of my container (holds maybe 1500-2000 rounds). Since I use a 50 round loading block and look at every powder charge (dpcd) I must have missed an entire block back some months ago. No excuses, just sayin'.
Thanks again everyone for the advice and comments.
Mike
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30 March 2025, 07:32
richjMike
glad it worked out, good excuse to get an electric scale :-)
30 March 2025, 07:35
kda55The pony clamp is impressive but there has to be a better way. Thanks for the picture.
31 March 2025, 03:04
Michael Michalskirichj. Thought my Charge Master 1500 was an electronic scale/dispenser(?)
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31 March 2025, 03:26
richjI meant , I'll buy one.
quote:
Originally posted by Michael Michalski:
richj. Thought my Charge Master 1500 was an electronic scale/dispenser(?)
31 March 2025, 18:15
p dog shooterThe older I have became.
The more I have found out.
That sh!t just happens.
31 March 2025, 21:25
Michael MichalskiSince we learn more from our failures than our successes. I must be verry smart.

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