Unloaded.
Unloaded!
Reasonably the pistol had been sitting loaded for probably well over 100 years, so I figured it's not a danger in the sense that it could explode or just go off. The risk is in me creating a spark while mucking about trying to dislodge the ball.
So first I used a syringe to fill the chamber with water through the fire hole and I kept it topped up for 24 hours. I made an extractor tool - metal strip with right angle and a hole to take a self cutting screw. Then with the barrel full of water I screwed into the ball and on third attempt got the ball out. The ball seemed held by the powder rather than the sides of the barrel.
The powder was caked rock solid and took a lot more work to remove than the ball with some forceful scraping required. I kept the barrel full of water during this as well.
Having a now very wet pistol I decided to dismantle it to dry out and oil. A bonus was finding the ELG mark on the barrel under the wood. I was wondering about that and many thanks Fernando for your explanation of the Leige marks, none of which I knew.
I did not expect to have to unload and dismantle my first flintlock pistol but it's been a good learning experience. Thanks to everyone who contributed advice and suggestions.
CC
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