Removing leftover pellets from your non-firing .177 PCP W/O a cleaning rod

[Yarp]

Removing pellets left in the barrel of your non-firing .177 PCP if you don’t have a cleaning rod:

Why put this up? One of my (beautiful, light weight, low pressure) FD PCPs is locked up and has unfired pellets in the barrel, and I don’t own a .177 cleaning rod... Bore wires seem to do the trick for me.

Warning: If the following sounds like a set of directions for a classroom science lab, I can't help it. I'm a teacher. Also, if you’re not an airgun noob like me, you probably shouldn’t read on.

Obtain a new small-diameter (sub .177) plastic-coated wire coat hanger.
Cut off and discard the hook ends and one side of the coat hanger triangle.
Straighten the remainder with pliers, taking care not to break through the plastic sheath.
Pull back the plastic on the better-straightened end, exposing the wire core.
Remove 3/8 inch of the metal with wire-cutter pliers.
Dull the cut and remove burrs with a fine emery cloth.
Remove all metal dust.
Push the plastic back over the cut to make a cushioned end to protect the bore.
Wipe on a light coat of Pellgun oil.
Insert the cushioned end, gently pushing the pellets out of the barrel to the open breach.
Run a few dry patches through the barrel using a bore wire.

One poster suggested using a brass welding rod, and that seemed like a very good idea. I opted for plastic/meal contact instead because airgun rifling looks to be too fragile to be unaffected by brass/steel abrasion......Without a doubt, the rifling is effective, but it looks more like deep scratches than lands and grooves.

[Bicycleman]

Two things, David:  Posts like this need to be said because some of us are mechanically challenged.  I could star in the book "Air Gun Mechanics for Dummies."

And, second, you said you are a teacher.  Many owe you their success.  Thank you for doing that job.

[Yarp]

Two things, David:  Posts like this need to be said because some of us are mechanically challenged.  I could star in the book "Air Gun Mechanics for Dummies."

And, second, you said you are a teacher.  Many owe you their success.  Thank you for doing that job.

Kind words appreciated, but the plain fact it that teaching is fun.   

[Pcsail364]

Hey David I'm in st. Pete as well where do you shoot. Maybe get together and punch some paper..

[Yarp]

Hey David I'm in st. Pete as well where do you shoot. Maybe get together and punch some paper..

Sounds good Phil. Paper is the enemy.

I plan on getting out quite a bit when public schools close for the summer.
Ranges - I'm not that great of a shot, so I'm not too picky about amenities range length.
     Pistols:       Police range on 13th Ave N
     Long guns: Knight Trail Municipal Park - An hour and ten minutes away in Nokomis
     Airguns      (so far) in the yard
A membership at the Wyoming Antelope Club in Clearwater is likely in my future - $200.00 for year 1 and 130.00 thereafter.

Where do you shoot?

[Bicycleman]

Two things, David:  Posts like this need to be said because some of us are mechanically challenged.  I could star in the book "Air Gun Mechanics for Dummies."

And, second, you said you are a teacher.  Many owe you their success.  Thank you for doing that job.

Kind words appreciated, but the plain fact it that teaching is fun.

I know, I know.  I am retired now, but I taught high school for over 30 years.  Good memories!

[toine]

So far I've had luck using a weed whacker line boresnake for removing the occasional stuck pellet. I double over the line for pulling through cleaning patches, and have found this to have more than enough rigidity for the job at hand.

[Yarp]

Two things, David:  Posts like this need to be said because some of us are mechanically challenged.  I could star in the book "Air Gun Mechanics for Dummies."

And, second, you said you are a teacher.  Many owe you their success.  Thank you for doing that job.

Kind words appreciated, but the plain fact it that teaching is fun.

I know, I know.  I am retired now, but I taught high school for over 30 years.  Good memories!

This is my third or fourth career, so I've only got 25 in. I'm guessing that we've got plenty of gripes and callouses in common. 

[Ol'DeadEye]

Dig through your kitchen supplies for a pack of bamboo skewers.
Cut off the pointed end and push a few of them down the bore.
I use a short piece to remove pellets from my MRod mags.
Cut it short enough to fit in the pellet tin between loadings.
Dirt cheap and disposable.

[Yarp]

So far I've had luck using a weed whacker line boresnake for removing the occasional stuck pellet. I double over the line for pulling through cleaning patches, and have found this to have more than enough rigidity for the job at hand.

Didn't occur to me to use monofilament from a whacker.  Next time.

I've started using this stuff for cleaning (three for five bucks delivered from eBay) but not stiff enough to poke out a pellet.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bore-Wire-Ruger-10-22-Bore-Cleaning-tool-Better-then-bore-snake-22-caliber-/171064988460?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d444932c

[Ol'DeadEye]

So far I've had luck using a weed whacker line boresnake for removing the occasional stuck pellet. I double over the line for pulling through cleaning patches, and have found this to have more than enough rigidity for the job at hand.

Didn't occur to me to use monofilament from a whacker.  Next time.

I've started using this stuff for cleaning (three for five bucks delivered from eBay) but not stiff enough to poke out a pellet.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bore-Wire-Ruger-10-22-Bore-Cleaning-tool-Better-then-bore-snake-22-caliber-/171064988460?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d444932c

You can't push a rope...

[Yarp]

That's the "why" of Viagra.

[toine]

You can't push a rope...

You'd think so, but with the doubled up weed whacker line, it actually works pretty well for .177s and .22s. I can't comment on larger calibers, but can say it works very well for those two.

[Yarp]

Some of the commercial whacker line is larger than a .177 bore.....Might be worth having a chunk on hand for larger calibers.

[HYspd]

you can't..... shoot pool...... with a..... rope,...... Viagra!


a welding rod for a careful one off pellet removal is no big deal...constant contact during scrubbing is another story


the plastic coated hanger is in the same class because grit can get embedded in the plastic and wear at the rifling..

[larspawn]

Wooden dowel from homedepot. Or I picked up Fiberglas electrical pulling rods from harbor freight on special. There's like 8-10 rods in there. Cut off metal ferrule and polished.

[sr1sws]

I use a 1/8" brass rod I ordered from Hobby Lobby (why can't you find this kind of stuff in a store anymore??).  I would also 2nd the 1/8" hardwood dowel... those you can find in like Michael's.

Weed whacker line can work because there's not much room for it to flex out of alignment.

The stacked bamboo skewers is a clever idea IMHO.

And finally, I'm in Tampa and shoot in my backyard using a Discovery with a TKO LDC.  I shot tactical pistol (Glock 17) at Wyoming Antelope Club for a while, but that's been quite some time ago.  Ammo is freakin' expensive now.  Got 2 100 round Winchester White Box bulk packs for $30 each the other day and thought I'd hit gold.  I used to buy them from Wally World for like $12 each.  And forget .22lr   Of course it is nice to step out the back door and shoot on the lanai

Steve

[Yarp]

I'm hooked on the coat hanger. After all of the slick engineering and such It's become a keeper.

Regarding powder "disposables", since the Wall became unproductive I've used this as my primary source:
http://www.slickguns.com/category/ammo?caliber=1

[larspawn]

I'm hooked on the coat hanger. After all of the slick engineering and such It's become a keeper.

Regarding powder "disposables", since the Wall became unproductive I've used this as my primary source:
http://www.slickguns.com/category/ammo?caliber=1

I'd be careful with any metal rod in an AG barrel. They're so soft a hanger, .22 PB cleaning rod or welding rod can damage them. Especially want to be careful at muzzle end.

[Yarp]

I'm hooked on the coat hanger. After all of the slick engineering and such It's become a keeper.

Regarding powder "disposables", since the Wall became unproductive I've used this as my primary source:
http://www.slickguns.com/category/ammo?caliber=1

I'd be careful with any metal rod in an AG barrel. They're so soft a hanger, .22 PB cleaning rod or welding rod can damage them. Especially want to be careful at muzzle end.

The coat hanger wire is unused, uncontaminated with abrasives, and sheathed with soft plastic with a padded end. In short, there is no metal/metal contact, except where the pellet meets the barrel.