Alternative ramrod tips

[Flintlock]

Jumpshots question about ramrod tips got me thinking, have any of you tried going old school and using a piece of wire coiled around the end of the wiping stick or maybe cut or turned groove into the end of a flared rod. I know neither of these methods are as secure, but did wood rods originally have brass or iron tips. Just something to ponder over.

 

[Vaino]

A RR is simply a tool for loading , cleaning, ensuring that the PRB is home and pulling a dryball. Having tips or ferrules that do all those jobs, makes shooting more enjoyable, Having tips on both ends w/ different tapped holes and a transverse through hole for pulling a ball all make shooting a MLer more simple....irrespective of whether this setup is HC.....Fred

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Yes.

I have used, still use from time to time, a wire coil that fits in a spiral groove around the tip of one of my ramrods. They hold pretty well if the ramrod is grooved...if not you're running a big risk (impe).

I also have a plain wooden ramrod on one rifle that has a [] hole in the opposite end like the eye of a needle to hold a cleaning rag or a bit of tow, and I have a gun with a plain, wooden ramrod...and I use a string with a loop to clean that gun. The string goes through the loop, and this holds a bit of tow or steel wool, what have you, and this is rammed down to the breech, trailing the string, and then the ramrod is removed and the tow/rag/steelwool is pulled out with the string.

LD

 

[George]

Yeah, I've been doing that for years without any problem.







Spence

 

[Cruzatte]

Jumpshots question about ramrod tips got me thinking, have any of you tried going old school and using a piece of wire coiled around the end of the wiping stick or maybe cut or turned groove into the end of a flared rod. I know neither of these methods are as secure, but did wood rods originally have brass or iron tips. Just something to ponder over.

The coiled wire is called a worm. And I use one all the time with a hank of tow to clean my fusil. And it is very secure as it is tornado shaped. The large end twists on the end of the wiping stick, and the tow is twisted on the opposite, smaller end. Matter of fact, I have a dickens of a time getting the danged thing off the end of my wiping stick when I'm all done, sort of like those Chinese handcuffs we used to play with when I was a kid.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Jumpshots question about ramrod tips got me thinking, have any of you tried going old school and using a piece of wire coiled around the end of the wiping stick or maybe cut or turned groove into the end of a flared rod. I know neither of these methods are as secure, but did wood rods originally have brass or iron tips. Just something to ponder over.

I've used both and they both work great in the field, if you will or for a quick short-term cleaning. I prefer to use a modern jag for heavy duty cleaning, but only because I prefer my traditional equipment have less wear and tear.

Original rods, as we all know, are pretty doggone rare. So many rods on original rifles are replacements that it's hard to tell what was the norm on our continent. Looking at high-end Euro guns, it appears the norm was a tapered rod with a sheet iron tip on the skinny end. I would think that would hold true for most 18th century rifles and fowling pieces with wood rods in the colonies. I believe there are dug examples of the coil type worm used on the bare rod. The evidence points to these being common on trade guns and fusils, being dug up from NDN sites. I don't know of any evidence for the whittled end cut like a modern jag to hold a patch/tow, at least not in the 18th century. Maybe this was common later on in mountain rifles? Wouldn't be surprised. It sure works.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Actually, now that I think of it, Jim Mullins' book "Of Sorts for Provincials" has a picture of a dug up coil worm.

 

[Flintlock]

Thanks guy's, I guess I just needed a excuse to make up some more ramrods. I don't have one f these yet.