Squib Load - Bullet Got Stuck

millers5285 · June 1, 2007, 05:47 PM

I had my first squib load the other day in a S&W 1911, 45 ACP. I got some help from a person that worked at the range, but I don't know what he used to pound it out. I found a 5/16" brass rod, but it is a threaded rod. Can I wrap duct tape around it?...don't want to damage the barrel. Or, what do you recommend? Also, where can I get a brass rod that is not threaded?

Stargazer · June 1, 2007, 05:52 PM

Brass rod, a big hardware store or a hobby and craft store would have them.

Scorch · June 1, 2007, 06:16 PM

You can also use a hardwood dowel (not pine or fir) and a small hammer to drive out a bullet.

Bullet94 · June 1, 2007, 06:27 PM

I use a threaded brass rod (no duct tape). Works real good.

millers5285 · June 1, 2007, 06:51 PM

Thanks Bullet...I was just wondering if the "threaded" brass would hurt the barrel...guess not, brass is brass.

CrustyFN · June 1, 2007, 07:10 PM

I also use a wooden dowel.
Rusty

mc223 · June 1, 2007, 07:53 PM

Barrel steel is harder than brass.

Bullet94 · June 1, 2007, 09:58 PM

I don’t recommend using a wooden dowel. I broke one off in a barrel one time (a real mess).

The Real Wyatt · June 2, 2007, 09:54 AM

Hardwood dowel ... highly recommended.

Bullet - explain please, how a broken dowel left a real mess.

uzimon · June 2, 2007, 10:02 AM

screw driver.
with bbl out of gun, muzzle pointed down, screw driver held in place with palm of hand, strike butt end of sd on a hard surface. works every time

Bullet94 · June 2, 2007, 11:07 AM

When the dowel broke it was stuck on the bullet hollow point and wouldn’t come out. Maybe it wasn’t big enough in diameter and would flex in the barrel but it was a mess trying to drive the bullet out with a piece of dowel also stuck in the barrel. It might not have been a hard wood dowel also. I might add that I’d used a wooden dowel many times with no trouble. But since then I’ve used a threaded brass rod and had no trouble driving bullets out.

**Mal H** · June 2, 2007, 11:45 AM

I dunno about the threaded brass rod. The thought of threads of any hard metal (brass, aluminum, copper, whatever) pounding on the crown or chamber of any firearm makes me cringe. I would rather use a steel rod (carefully) than a threaded rod of any type.

I haven't had many occasions when I had to pound out a bullet, but when I did, I used a rock maple dowel. Worked like a champ. The key is to find a dowel that is almost the same diameter as the caliber.

If possible, pound out the bullet from the breech end. You will be seating the rod/dowel on the wide base of the bullet instead of the nose. It also eliminates the bronze-brush effect; that is, the bullet will tend to move in the same direction it started a tad easier than trying to reverse it. That's similar to trying to reverse a brush in the middle of a bore, but not nearly as pronounced a problem as the brush. A few drops of Kroil or any penetrating oil in the barrel helps also.

cheygriz · June 2, 2007, 01:07 PM

Get a piece of brass rod and a brass or plastic mallet from your local hardware store and you're good to go.

You can remove it working from the muzzle end, but I prefer to chuck the barrel up in a padded-jaw vise, and carefully drive the bullet out the muzzle from the breech end. It's a little more work, but IMHO at least, it protects the crown better.

BTW, if you use my method, saturate the barrel with WD-40 or Break Free before beginning. It makes the drive out a lot esier.

PeteQuad · June 3, 2007, 01:25 PM

Here's a place where I bought some brass rods for cheap. They worked fine.

http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/zrb.cfm

millers5285 · June 4, 2007, 06:45 AM

Thanks PeteQuad, just ordered some!

June 1, 2007, 05:47 PM	#1
millers5285 Member Join Date: November 25, 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 77	Squib Load - Bullet Got Stuck I had my first squib load the other day in a S&W 1911, 45 ACP. I got some help from a person that worked at the range, but I don't know what he used to pound it out. I found a 5/16" brass rod, but it is a threaded rod. Can I wrap duct tape around it?...don't want to damage the barrel. Or, what do you recommend? Also, where can I get a brass rod that is not threaded?

June 1, 2007, 05:52 PM	#2
Stargazer Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 506	Brass rod, a big hardware store or a hobby and craft store would have them. __________________ 5.56mm, reach out and touch something. .458 SOCOM,reach out and knock something down. M70 Web Page

June 1, 2007, 06:16 PM	#3
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	You can also use a hardwood dowel (not pine or fir) and a small hammer to drive out a bullet. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

June 1, 2007, 06:27 PM	#4
Bullet94 Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2004 Location: Kansas Posts: 723	I use a threaded brass rod (no duct tape). Works real good. __________________ PRO-SECOND AMENDMENT - Live Free or Die

June 1, 2007, 07:10 PM	#6
CrustyFN Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: West Virginia Posts: 2,258	I also use a wooden dowel. Rusty __________________ I don't ever remember being absent minded.

June 1, 2007, 06:51 PM	#5
millers5285 Member Join Date: November 25, 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 77	Thanks Bullet...I was just wondering if the "threaded" brass would hurt the barrel...guess not, brass is brass.

June 1, 2007, 07:53 PM	#7
mc223 Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2007 Location: n/w Wisconsin Posts: 365	Barrel steel is harder than brass.

June 1, 2007, 09:58 PM	#8
Bullet94 Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2004 Location: Kansas Posts: 723	I don’t recommend using a wooden dowel. I broke one off in a barrel one time (a real mess). __________________ PRO-SECOND AMENDMENT - Live Free or Die

June 2, 2007, 09:54 AM	#9
The Real Wyatt Senior Member Join Date: July 10, 2006 Location: South Central KY Posts: 339	Hardwood dowel ... highly recommended. Bullet - explain please, how a broken dowel left a real mess.

June 2, 2007, 10:02 AM	#10
uzimon Senior Member Join Date: April 17, 2007 Location: houston texas Posts: 115	screw driver. with bbl out of gun, muzzle pointed down, screw driver held in place with palm of hand, strike butt end of sd on a hard surface. works every time __________________ "the dogs wouldn't be playing with the guns that didnt have the rope on them" FRED MAXWELL from www.gunsnet.net

June 2, 2007, 11:07 AM	#11
Bullet94 Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2004 Location: Kansas Posts: 723	When the dowel broke it was stuck on the bullet hollow point and wouldn’t come out. Maybe it wasn’t big enough in diameter and would flex in the barrel but it was a mess trying to drive the bullet out with a piece of dowel also stuck in the barrel. It might not have been a hard wood dowel also. I might add that I’d used a wooden dowel many times with no trouble. But since then I’ve used a threaded brass rod and had no trouble driving bullets out. __________________ PRO-SECOND AMENDMENT - Live Free or Die

June 2, 2007, 11:45 AM	#12
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,955	I dunno about the threaded brass rod. The thought of threads of any hard metal (brass, aluminum, copper, whatever) pounding on the crown or chamber of any firearm makes me cringe. I would rather use a steel rod (carefully) than a threaded rod of any type. I haven't had many occasions when I had to pound out a bullet, but when I did, I used a rock maple dowel. Worked like a champ. The key is to find a dowel that is almost the same diameter as the caliber. If possible, pound out the bullet from the breech end. You will be seating the rod/dowel on the wide base of the bullet instead of the nose. It also eliminates the bronze-brush effect; that is, the bullet will tend to move in the same direction it started a tad easier than trying to reverse it. That's similar to trying to reverse a brush in the middle of a bore, but not nearly as pronounced a problem as the brush. A few drops of Kroil or any penetrating oil in the barrel helps also.

June 2, 2007, 01:07 PM	#13
cheygriz Senior Member Join Date: May 11, 2002 Location: high up in the rockies Posts: 2,289	Get a piece of brass rod and a brass or plastic mallet from your local hardware store and you're good to go. You can remove it working from the muzzle end, but I prefer to chuck the barrel up in a padded-jaw vise, and carefully drive the bullet out the muzzle from the breech end. It's a little more work, but IMHO at least, it protects the crown better. BTW, if you use my method, saturate the barrel with WD-40 or Break Free before beginning. It makes the drive out a lot esier. __________________ If you think a mighty military force is expensive, wait 'til you see what a weak one costs.

June 3, 2007, 01:25 PM	#14
PeteQuad Senior Member Join Date: March 9, 2007 Posts: 198	Here's a place where I bought some brass rods for cheap. They worked fine. http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/zrb.cfm

June 4, 2007, 06:45 AM	#15
millers5285 Member Join Date: November 25, 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 77	Thanks PeteQuad, just ordered some!