1861 springfield ramrod question??

[ADKhunter]

I have a Colt 1861 springfield and the ramrod that comes with it is very uncomfortable to use......just too narrow and the threads on the end tear up your hands.....I'm sure this just like the originals but what threads on the end?
Did it double as a cleaning rod?
If so what parts were issued with the rifle?
Am I missing something

what are those threads for?
or is this NOT correct :hmm:

 

Yes a number of attachments can be screwed onto the ramrod. Yep tears up my hands too. I screwed a brass ramrod tip onto it and then turned it down to the same dia as the rod, presto no hand terryuppie. I can unscrew the brass piece and still use the jag or whatever.

 

[peter]

Yes, those threads are there for a reason, and you can get adapters , etc. from several sources. I got mine from Dixie Gun Works. However, after a while I got fed up with using the 'issue' ramrod and bought a range rod. The range rod is user friendly, besides the paper I shoot at doesn't care how period correct I am.

 

[The Dog Man]

The threads are there for attaching the wiper (used as a patch/cleaning jag as well as to fish small foreign objects from the bore) and the ball screw. These were standard items issued to the troops with the weapon, along with a combination screwdriver and nipple wrench, a cone pick, and a spare nipple. Sergeants additionally carried a ball screw (privates & corporals typically didn't get these), a mainspring vise, and a set of drift pins.

 

[musketshooter]

Here is a picture of the maintenance tools used in the Civil war. All are originals.

 

[Zonie]

Also to be considered is the steel ramrod that comes with Civil War guns was meant to shove Minie' balls down the bore.

These Minie balls are undersize so they don't take a lot of force to seat them on the powder.
If your shooting patched roundballs you should get a stouter, longer ramrod. ::

 

[The Dog Man]

Here is a picture of the maintenance tools used in the Civil war. All are originals.

Left to right there are the ball screw, the wiper, the drift punches, and the mainspring vise.

 

[musketshooter]

Hello. In my haste to post the pictures of the maintenance accessories, I forgot to include the nipple wrench/screwdriver set. I also added a couple of different contract made worms. See the original picture that I edited.