Thompson Stuck Ball

[OldTarheel]

I am new here to THR and have a question on what I think is a stuck ball in an old Thompson muzzleloader. The rifle is about 35 years old and I am not sure when it was last used. I just received it two days ago and put my bore scope camera down the barrel. Attached are pictures of the very bottom or breech area. It looks like a ball with a hole in it? The hole goes all the way thru the ball. I know this because when I shine a light in the nipple/clean out hole I can see light coming thru the hole in the ball. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Stony]

It would appear to me that someone has tried and failed to pull the ball out with a ball puller on a ramrod, putting the hole completely through the ball. I think if it was me, I would try to get a screw to bite into the ball enough that you could build some pressure behind it, put a load of 4f under the nipple and try to fire it out. The quick ignition should build enough pressure I'd think to move the ball.
Just my old brain gumming over the idea and how I would approach it.....others might disagree.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

off the wall suggestion...

Remove nipple, run some fishing line up through the nipple hole and ball out the muzzle. Then attach to some STRONG cordage, draw back out nipple hole. Either off a knot or tie off on some object you can get in there to prevent the cordage from pulling back through the ball. Then tie off cordage to a tree or other immovable object and pull barrel until ball come out.

I guarantee this would work on a MacGyver Episode

 

[Jimster]

Last resort is to unscrew the breech plug and drive it out through the back. That way you could inspect the breech face etc. This may be a good idea since its been sitting around with a little black powder in it. With the breech plug removed you could slug the barrel and get exact bore measurements to develop the perfect ball/patch combination. Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[AABEN]

I have done this before remove the nipple clean out good then put some pistol powder in all you can get in replace nipple and cap and shoot it. You might half to do this a few times. GOOD LUCK

 

[OldTarheel]

Ok guys,
After poking around a bit, I am convinced that the pic is an optical illusion. What appears to be convex is actually concave. I have come to the reason from info from the prior owner and poking around at the "illusional ball". The poking concluded that what ever is down there is as hard as steel, not lead.

 

[Jimster]

Drop your ramrod down the barrel and mark your rod at the muzzle. Remove the rod and hold it next to the barrel to see if there is a difference. Then you can be sure.

 

[OldTarheel]

Thank you Jim, that confirms it. Thank you to all who replied!

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Could be the flash hole in the bolster plug in those pictures. I have never run a bore camera down a muzzleloader to know what that is.

Find another Thompson in known condition, unloaded same model, and run a bore camera down it and see what it looks like.

 

[AJumbo]

Will air flow through the flash channel?

Edited to add- I just took a better look at the pictures. I've had the breech plug off a TC Renegade barrel, and that's exactly what they look like. The question still stands, just in case there's a smaller blockage in the drum or the nipple.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

Most TC's use a patent breech where the breech is smaller in diameter than the bore.
to test your latest theory of no ball, put a very small mechanics type magnet on the end of the ramrod. it is sticks to bottom then no ball.

Also measure the depth with ramrod then measure outside and see if different

 

[witchhunter]

Pull the breech plug and clean it anyway. Load and shoot it!