It happened... powder, sabot, powder, sabot.

Removed the hammer and breech plug on the Knight rifle. First loading of powder removed.

What is the best way to safely clear the barrel?

Thanks in advance.

If you have the breech plug out, you should be able to push it all out, from either end using the ramrod, and then maybe another longer cleaning rod. If done from the muzzle, it will probably be easier, but messier. They make pullers to remove the balls, sabots from caplocks where it is not easy to remove the breech block, but I would not mess with that on an inline. miles

Do NOT pound on the load. If it will not push out, use a puller but they do not work with copper bullets. I just cleared a load from a CVA Hawken where the load did not fire. The guy broke the nipple and it looks like a pipe wrench was put on the breech plug. No way on earth to remove the drum or plug, rusted in. I dropped a puller in to find a copper bullet in a sabot. It is a round ball gun. The nipple was harder then a drill bit so I used a carbide burr to open the hole, I put 4F in and a cannon fuse, laid it in the grass and lit it off. I got the threads cleaned up and installed a new nipple.
Try putting penetrating oil in both sides and let it soak. Only use a strong, steady push with a good rod. NO HAMMERS.

Grease gun......think hydraulic pressure.

No way to hold it for pressure. You could make a special plug with a zerk fitting.

Exactly

If the breech plug is removed, put a cleaning jag on the end of the ramrod and run a patch down to the bullet. Then hold the rifle and push the ramrod in against a hard object like a block wall or a tree.

Nothing to it.

I had an in-line shipped to me with an old two pellet load in it. The pellets had deteriorated into a rusty mess, squirted penetrating oil into the primer hole and let it sit for a day.

Backed the breech plug out after some work, and shoved the sabot load forward out the muzzle. Wasn’t hard after I got the load to start moving.

I’d go breech to muzzle, if you have a remains of the curd ring, it might be a tight push out the breech end.

I was 14 when I bought TC Hawken, young, dumb, full of... curiosity.
Had heard the stories that balckpowder couldnt blow a gun up
unless there was a powder/bullet gap.

So,
Double round balls, check.
Double loads, check.
Powder, ball, powder, ball, check.
Never hurt anything, still use that gun.

This is an inline = safer.
Loaded with sabots = more dangerous.


If it was mine, I would figure the volume of the powder charge you removed.
Put some filler in to make up for the lighter charge,
Use 40-50 grains of black, and shoot the dam thing.

PS. My experiments were conducted by holding the gun around a log pile with the butt on a log. Lucky it didn't split the stock.
For personal safety, an old tire works well.
Stick the butt inside the beads,
zip tie or rope the barrel to the other side.
Lanyard fire it with a rope.

Air pressure might work if you have a compressor. It works for round balls with patches. make sure you aim it in a safe direction. Just get one of those small air "guns" with the rubber tip, stick it where the nipple goes, and push the valve. You'll know pretty quick if it has enough to push it out the muzzle.

I ended up sending the ML to a friend who has a machine shop.

WE soaked the obstruction with fine oil over night but physically it did not budge when we tried to push it out the next morning. He then made a sleeve to protect the rifling and partially drilled out the one bullet from the breech and drew it out, then pushed the single remaining bullet/sabot out the back.

The Barnes 290 grain TSX bullets with the yellows sabots are REAL tight in a stainless Green Mountain barrel.

Thanks for you for all the ideas.

When pushing or pulling out a bullet,once it starts moving don't stop.

If its so bad that nothing works, remove the breech plug, get a long driver bit and wrap tape bushings around it. Drill out the center (CENTER! make bushings!!) and it'll give the lead somewhere to go when you push/force it out.

It aint pretty, and if done right you wont mar anything, but as a last resort it definitley works.


1/4" is good, 3/8 bit is PLENTY.

All good. The Knight ML connected on a deer in heavy cover today.

Cheers!

That's cool. I just shot them out by dribbling powdered not granule BP into the breach end. Pulled the nipple out and put the powder in. If it didn't go far enough I put more powder in than the first time then reseated the load against the powder. It never took over twice. Just don't leave a gap for the second time. It has worked for a percussion and would work for a flinter. Just tedious to get the powder into the touch hole. Be Well, Rusty.