removing bullet from revolver barrel

[Microairman1]

Had some ammunition that was no good and loaded very light. Bullet got lodged in the barrel. Luckily I have dealt with similar stuff before and knew to stop and check what's going on when the recoil feels different.

Not sure what the best or most effective way to remove the bullet from the barrel is without harming anything in the process. Anyone have experience dealing with this or something similar?

 

[churchmouse]

A brass rod....secure the gun.....tap it back out towards the cylinder.
Cylinder open and unloaded of course.

 

[bwframe]

Fairly common occurrence in the shooting sports. I keep one of these and a brass/nylon hammer in the range bag:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004617853/arredondo-squib-rod-multi-tool-nylon-black

 

[cobber]

A brass rod....secure the gun.....tap it back out towards the cylinder.
Cylinder open and unloaded of course.

Where does one acquire one of these brass rods of which you speak?

 

[ghitch75]

Where does one acquire one of these brass rods of which you speak?

hardware store...

 

[Woobie]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076...SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=1/4+brass+rod&psc=1

 

[Hopper]

I don't have much to add, other than this happened to me with factory 38 Special earlier this summer. I also knew it was a "squib" as soon as the round went off... it felt like the primer ignited, but there was no (or very little) powder charge. As others have said, a few firm taps using a brass rod will do the trick, and the barrel should be no worse for wear.

 

[Squirt239]

It never hurts to oil both sides of the stuck bullet before removal.

 

[natdscott]

It never hurts to oil both sides of the stuck bullet before removal.

The other's have you taken care of, but Brett is 100% on with this comment as well. Spray a little Kroil on the front end and turn the gun muzzle up for an hour or so.

Your brass rod, or whatever you elect to use, is BEST sized to pretty close to bore diameter so that any flex in the rod is limited.

But once all that's done, it's not that big a deal. To judge their quality, I slug rifle barrel blanks intentionally and sometimes that's been close to 50 bullets worth.

-Nate

 

[Microairman1]

Well those are all great ideas. Got it out alright. I ended up having a piece of brass sitting around so I turned it to size. First try she wasn't moving. So I oiled it and let it sit ( actually thought of that before I saw this, great advice though!) And went back at it and it seemed to start moving much easier. Took a few minutes but it came out fine after a bit of tapping.

Next problem is to figure out exactly what went wrong. It definitely was not the right load for this bullet.

 

[natdscott]

It definitely was not the right load for this bullet.

lmao!

 

[Tactically Fat]

For others:

Wood dowel rods can also be used with great success. Same with delrin/nylon. You know for SURE that those will not gouge the barrel. HOWEVER - those things can leave material in the rifling.

But don't think that just because you don't have a brass rod that you're "stuck".

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Brass rod from McMaster-Carr. Order today, it will be here tomorrow. Order the length and diameter you need.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-brass-alloy-rods/=1a6jhcj

Just a fyi... the 7/32-.2187 is tight in a 5.56/.223 barrel that you'll need to polish it so it will fit. Works very well.

As a side note; they have a pretty cool app too. Great for looking something up.

 

[bstewrat3]

There is the risk of swaging the bullet tighter in the bore using the brass rod and hammer technique, but most of the time it works out. If you have one that is more challenging a bearing press with a rod will give a more steady push. On a few occasions in the military with rifle barrels we had to resort to a tool steel rod that had bore sized Delrin bushings to get the bullets pushed out.

 

[bwframe]

For others:

Wood dowel rods can also be used with great success. Same with delrin/nylon. You know for SURE that those will not gouge the barrel. HOWEVER - those things can leave material in the rifling.

But don't think that just because you don't have a brass rod that you're "stuck".

I use hardwood dowel rod sections cut 6-8", laid end to end as needed, when slugging bores with oversized lead balls.

 

[Microairman1]

There are probably many things you can use. Just make sure that if anything is contacting the barrel it is softer than the barrel.
My bullet came out alright, but I had thought about using a arbor press to gently push it out. Might have been a tad easier to just push out carefully

 

[Microairman1]

In case anyone was curious lol

 

[sethr]

Exactly! Good, as in real hardwood, dowel will push it out, easier to find, and safe as anything. Punched out .44-40 more than once when measuring a bore.

 

[throttletony]

Well those are all great ideas. Got it out alright. I ended up having a piece of brass sitting around so I turned it to size. First try she wasn't moving. So I oiled it and let it sit ( actually thought of that before I saw this, great advice though!) And went back at it and it seemed to start moving much easier. Took a few minutes but it came out fine after a bit of tapping.

Next problem is to figure out exactly what went wrong. It definitely was not the right load for this bullet.

So, I've only messed up ONE reload that has ever resulted in anything odd -- it was a squib load that didn't get any powder, ONLY the primer. It still had enough pressure to push a projectile 1" down the barrel (revolver, GP100 shooting mellow 38 specials). Like you, I immediately noticed it and didn't fire again.

Now when I reload, I always visually verify that each round gets powder (I use a turret press, so I just had to raise my seat to be able to see it more clearly, and the room must be well-lit).

This can even happen in the factory, so you did the best thing (pay attention) if something is a bit off.

 

[sloughfoot]

Since you already got it out of the gun, I am going to tell a little story.

In 1971 I was a 20 year old EOD soldier stationed at TCAAP in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The Minnesota Air National Guard at MSP airport had 15,000 38 special ball rounds that were past date and needed to be disposed of. It just so happened that an alcoholic SFC was passing through my unit on his way to retirement and death in a flophouse somewhere and he had a S&W Model 15 GI revolver that he was willing to trade for a case of Grain Belt beer. We made the trade and I started disposing of the ammo, one round at a time. Over the next year or so life was good and I carried that revolver and as much ammo as I could carry in my IED defusal and disposal gear. I shot that ammo up in gravel pits all over the Midwest while blowing up a variety of IEDS.

Until I had a squib one day. It kind of scared me how the gases leaked back past the brass cartridge. I was plenty used to blowing things up, but the squib and that hissing gas was beyond my experience. It freaked me out. The next time I went to Camp Ripley to blow up some accumulated military ordnance, I put that revolver on top of the shot and some C4 on top of it. And blew that revolver up with a bunch of 155 howitzer rounds.

I have always regretted my lack of knowledge and destroying that fine revolver. The 1911A1 was not as friendly to carry the rest of my tour in CONUS. And I really regret the FBI Thompsons SMG's I blew up when they switched to the UZI....But that is another story....And I really didn't have a choice.