anyone use a plain dowel as a ramrod?

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I suppose, there probably ain't much risk in trying it without consulting you folks but. . .

As I look back it has been a long time since I ever needed to pull anything from a barrel while in the hunting field. Whenever I clean I am usually at camp or home where I have access to threaded metal rods. If I dryball, I just work a little powder into the vent.

So I broke another ramrod. I am thinking of sayin' heck with the little brass end and just cutting a plain dowel to size.

It seems too simple. I wonder why I haven't heard of other folks doing this.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I have, I do, and you can.....But be warned....A rod with grain run out will break easily and you risk impaling your hand.... The type of wood the rod is made out of also make a difference...

I've gone through an entire dowel rack trying to find one good rod....

My current rod on the gun I use the most is oak...it been working fine for 3 years...

It is easier to order one from track...

Time was you could find nice ones at the hardware store.....now many of them come from china.

 

[rafterob]

Not recommended due to the grain run-out mentioned. Many have done it, only to never do it again. Order 6 hickory blanks and pick out the best one.

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Well that was part of it. I thought if I can go to a store I can pick-n-choose. If I get one from Track I'll get what they send me.

But the grain run-out is irrelevant as that problem would still exist whether I put the brass tip on or not.

 

[bpd303]

The only guns that I have with plain dowel rammers are pistols. I have had a few rods break with my rifles and plain dowels so I won't use them in a rifle.

 

[Zonie]

For those of you who don't know how to identify "grain runout", take a look at this drawing I made.



Although it looks pretty, beware. Those curved lines show the weak areas between the sheaths of the woods grain and under a heavy load, the rod can split along them.
That leaves a razor sharp edge that has impailed more than one muzzleloader thru the hand or into his forearm.

A good piece of wood for use as a ramrod will show absolutely no grain runout.

As a side-note, almost every big factory that makes muzzleloaders supplies their guns with ramrods that have horrible grain runout.
Thompson Center was among the worst.

The reason they often supply such crappy ramrods is money.
Using a machined dowel that was formed without reguard to the direction the grain was running is cheap.

Splitting wood along its natural grain, which results in uncut, long grains that runs from one end of the ramrod to the other is expensive.

 

[nessmuk]

I hope you did not throw away that broken ramrod. Cut it off about 6 inches above the brass tip and drill a hole in a deer antler and you have a short starter. :grin: :grin:

 

[coloradoclyde]

I put the old ends on the new rod.....

 

[Auldgoat]

I do now. Ever since I launched the last one down through the woods. A straight-grained dowel works fine.
will

 

[Tinker2]

Yes, but do find a good one. I do put a brass end on them mostly.




William Alexander

 

[Stringbean]

I found myself without a ramrod one afternoon after using my previous one as a projectile. Oops! The one i replaced it with is a 5/16 hickory rod cut to length. I never did put a brass end on it. It works just fine for loading a roundball in my .40 cal. I use a brass range rod for cleaning when i get back to the house,
String

I just remembered that i have an original caplock from the later 1800's that still has the original tapered ramrod. It too is without a brass end...

 

[Lonegun1894]

But the grain run-out is irrelevant as that problem would still exist whether I put the brass tip on or not.

It's irrelevant til you shishkabob your hand. Besides, a couple extra blanks, even if you have to buy 6 and end up throwing away 4-5 of them, are still MUCH cheaper than the medical bills will be when that run-out gives way and runs itself into your hand.

 

[Artificer]

Jim,

That is a good drawing and explanation of the problems of grain run out on any wood ramrod, even ones made from hickory and supposed to be ram rods. :hatsoff:

Gus

 

[Don Steele]

Colorado Clyde's explanation pretty much sums it up, and if you're still not sure what "runout" looks like Jim's picture is the best I've ever seen. :hatsoff:
I've picked up dowel rods at hardware stores and used them successfully for many years, for WIPING/CLEANING rods where little or no pressure is applied. As pointed out....even for that low-stress application you may have to pick through a lot of dowel rods to find one that will work.
I picked one up not too long ago in fact that turned out kinda interesting...after smoothing it down, I applied a stain to it and found that the contrasts along the length of the rod, wherever the (multiple) runouts occurred actually made for a very attractive finished item.
As a RAMROD...never.

 

[jbwilliams3]

I picked up a gun a few years ago with a 48" barrel with a hickory split, tapered rod with a bare wood end. You can use one of those wire two worms for cleaning, but for a really "modern" cleaning,I needed a different rod and wanted to clean right away rather than waiting for a rod in the mail so I skipped on down to the hardware store and looked at the thickest towels I could find - all of them would be completely useless as a ramrod but I picked one out that would work as a cleaning rod”¦ I’ve used it for a while and as long as I don’t try to twist it in the bore, it shouldn’t break with normal scrubbing. Boy, hardware store dowels sure aren’t what they used to be.

For in-the-gun rods, I've used bare wood hickory and they work just fine. Like I said, you can even swab the bore with one of those wire coil worms as long as you don't go crazy with a tight fitting wad of tow/cleaning patch.

 

[uno676]

Thanks for that explanation

 

[uno676]

What about using a single pieced brass ram rod ? Is this PC ?

 

[Zonie]

IMO, a solid brass ramrod isn't PC but it would work fine if you don't mind the added weight.

The added weight can be particularly annoying on a long nose heavy muzzleloader and I'm sure the shooters in the 18th and 19th century would not appreciate it.
Also, the high cost of a solid brass ramrod back in the day would work against people back then using one when a good split stick could be had for next to nothing.

Most brass tubing will bend or kink if a side-load is applied to it so if you go this route be especially careful to avoid this.

In fact, avoid side loads on any ramrod. Even a very good one with no grain runout will break if it is subjected to side loads.

One of the things that can unexpectedly cause a side load is grabbing the ramrod too far away from the muzzle.

Yes, I know. Fess Parker could grab the far end and ram the ball in one big stroke but that's not the way to load a muzzleloader.

Ram the ball in a series of steps, grabbing the rod 8-12 inches above the muzzle.

This takes a little longer but if this method is used a ramrod can last for dozens of years.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Yes, I know. Fess Parker could grab the far end and ram the ball in one big stroke but that's not the way to load a muzzleloader.

We all enjoy introducing youth and new shooters to ML'ers, and that's one of the instinctive things they all seem to want to do isn't it? Another is to THINK they've fully seated the ball, when in reality it's still a few inches off the powder charge. I used to trust them to load and shoot, but after watching a few of them do it wrong all the time, until they've shot at least a dozen shots, and every time I check the seating it's ok, I won't trust any of them. Nothing wrong with being a newbie. Hey, we all were at one time, and learned. I just don't want them wrecking MY stuff during THEIR learning process.

 

[Gene L]

Dowels you get at the hardware store are Ramin, which is a wood from SE Asia. Mostly the Philippines. ToW sells it along with other ramrod woods. It's cheaper than hickory and I'll bet it isn't any different than what you get at the hardware store.

I've used it for ramrod(s). I've also used quite a bit of it for arrows. It does a good job, but you have to flex it thoroughly to see if it runs out the grain in a dangerous manner. I believe the illustration Zonie made is called the "rift" in arrows. All wooden arrows with which I'm familiar have a rift, as they're cut round and go through the grain. Just avoid the ones with severe close-together rift near the flex point. The rift should be as long as possible between "points." The straight grain, 90 degrees from the rift is called the "reed." This is the part of the wood strongest and most resistant to bending. All this is IIRC; it's been a while.

Ramin has a very difficult grain to see, as it's almost white. Before you buy a dowel at the store, flex it to see if it breaks. If it does break, grin sheepishly, pay for it, and try another. Good ones will flex more than you'll flex them if you're properly ramming a ball; it's a simple test you can do that will save you heartache and hand damage later on. I've never used one for smaller-bores as I don't trust the 1/4" ones. About .50 caliber is as weak as I'm going to go with a tested 3/8" dowel.

Ramin comes in 1/4" on up. It commonly is in 3/8" and used to come in 11/32", but I haven't seen that in a long time.

Split hickory is by far a stronger wood; so is Osage but both are very time consuming to work down, then straighten with heat. I've never seen a ramrod made of Osage. I have some and may split out a bit and give it a try when the weather turns bad. I've also got hickory, which is easier to work and has a different grain structure.