Broken ramrod

[rkg1]

Replace it wood or delrin it's your choice

 

[JamesT]

My Springfield .69 smoothbore (actually my pop’s that he let’s me hang on to) has a steel ramrod. It’s a reproduction, so I guess it may not be historically accurate, but it makes sense to have a sturdy ramrod that won’t break in battle I suppose. Not sure why to NOT get a steel RR.

The U.S. Model 1842 was manufactured with an iron rammer. Apples to Oranges.

 

[Reno]

Any rod used improperly can break or be damaged. I use hickory and do have several blanks around that I can use if needed. I do my best to select rods that do not have grain run out.
Using a rod by taking shorter strokes but if the grain run out is extreme great care should be taken if that is all you have.
No one wants to lace their fingers together from using a rid that the grain runs out on. Several factory rods that I have seen have grain run out.
Never glue a broken rod and re use it. Saw it up and use the pieces for ball starters if needed.

 

[manbat]

A broken ramrod is like a broken ladder. Replace it instead of repairing it - the money saved is not worth the frustration and risk. A new hickory rod at TOTW is about $20. Spend the money for fast shipping, buy two, and get back out to the woods asap!

 

[ffg]

Sorry, but you are doing something wrong, I been using Hickory since the 60s still got em

 

[Montgomery]

I have wooden and Delrin rods. I use the delrin rods for range work and cleaning. I do not have to worry about them being bent, broken or ruined by cleaning etc. When I go in the woods, i use Hickory.

 

[Art Caputo]

I haven’t broken a wood rod in over +40 years. I have always pinned the brass end fitting and made sure to have a good finish. Most breaks or failures I have observed were due to:
-glued vs pinned tips, particularly if the ball is pulled.
-long strokes with a tight fitting load
-Improperly storing the rifle horizontally on the wall with the wall pin/hook in contact with the ramrod instead of one of the metal ramrod pipes. The heavy barrel will compress and weaken the rod at the point of contact, insuring eventual breakage. This is a common cause of failure that usually goes un-detected, with the blame placed on the wood construction.

 

[Eterry]

Dad told me in the winter when farm work slowed they would carve shovel, hoe, hammer and axe handles and store them in the loft. I'm sure 100 years earlier men would carve ramrods and have several spares ready to go. Otherwise it would be like shopping for a spare tire after you have a flat.

As a kid plinking, (and as an adult), I didn't spend much time swabbing the barrel until back home. I never heard of a Range Rod until about 10 years ago. Again, there was no internet to tell me how wrong i was.

So it got progressively harder to load the next round. The same thing happened when in a pecan bottom and the squirrels were everywhere.

Hence you ended up pounding the last few rounds down the barrel, and even using short strokes it was hard on a piece of long slender wood.

I am surprised that EVERYONE hasn't broken at least One ramrod in their life. I despise metal or heaven forbid, plastic ramrod in a non-martial muzzleloader. But that's just me.

The old saying " A ship is safest in the harbor, but that's not what they're made for" comes to mind.

 

[French Colonial]

So it got progressively harder to load the next round. The same thing happened when in a pecan bottom and the squirrels were everywhere.

Hence you ended up pounding the last few rounds down the barrel,

I use spit patches most of the time, when it starts getting hard to load the next patch is a little wetter and problem solved.

Hunting is different, usually tallow for that.

 

[jimhallam]

Best ramrod modern ramrod material is 304 aluminum, it’s light and flexible, can be blackened to not look like aluminum.

But it is "nasty modern stuff which they wouldn't have had back in the day" so it would REALLY upset the traditionalists ;-))))

 

[Cruzatte]

It's always the same old thing. And I don't understand why people can't figure out how to use short strokes. This ain't rocket science. I'll give you that production ramrods are junk. Good hickory or ash can be shaped into a suitable ramrod with a pocket knife and some sand paper.

 

[springfield art]

Well guys I had a terrible day at the range. The rifle shot great but I snapped the ramrod in the cold. It is not in two pieces. Just held together very thinly. Will good wood glue work? I always hear that the glued spot is stronger than the original wood but I want to be really sure before I put the safety of my hand/wrist at stake. I have a range rod, I just need the rod on the gun to be strong enough for use for reloading while hunting. Thanks!

That Titebond Ultimate says it's a 4000 lb. strength bond. It's darker color that the lighter Titebond.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

But it is "nasty modern stuff which they wouldn't have had back in the day" so it would REALLY upset the traditionalists ;-)))) It is difficult for some people to grasp the fact that for many of us tradition is important. These people often post insulting and derogatory posts about traditionalists. It is a kind of reverse snobbery in my opinion. I suspect that many of these "modernists" would be just as happy with a stainless steel, plastic stocked in-line. In any case, I have been using good hickory rods for nearly seventy years and have never broken one. I was taught the right way to use a muzzleloader and to respect traditions.

 

[BadDaditood]

No one has mentioned the old “soak you hickory RR in kerosene for a month or two”
Is there anything to that?
I’ve soaked a couple and have some untreated.
Haven’t broken one (yet), but I’ve always taken short strokes.
I love Titebond but I would never glue a broken RR or arrow shaft.
Bad wood is bad no matter how good the glue is!

 

[FlinterNick]

Good advice. This was one of the first rules I learned 50 years ago. I have since watched videos of guys grabbing the rod a foot or more above the muzzle. I cringe as the rod bows.
I’m not saying the OP did that because I know there’s the possibility of a weak spot in any wood but this is always a good rule to pass on in case a new shooter has never been told.

≥

No one has mentioned the old “soak you hickory RR in kerosene for a month or two”
Is there anything to that?
I’ve soaked a couple and have some untreated.
Haven’t broken one (yet), but I’ve always taken short strokes.
I love Titebond but I would never glue a broken RR or arrow shaft.
Bad wood is bad no matter how good the glue is!

Soaking a rod in kerosine does nothing and certainly wont fix a broken ramrod.

In the past Dixie Gun works would Soak ramrods in coal oil, but most found that it had little benefit.

Soaking an unfinished hickory rod in melted pine rosen for an hour or two will make the rod less brittle and more playable, however it will not make it indestructible. the same process for making fat wood.

The best way to make a hickory ramrod stronger is to not taper it, if your gun allows for that fitting.

 

[Eterry]

No one has mentioned the old “soak you hickory RR in kerosene for a month or two”
Is there anything to that?
I’ve soaked a couple and have some untreated.
Haven’t broken one (yet), but I’ve always taken short strokes.
I love Titebond but I would never glue a broken RR or arrow shaft.
Bad wood is bad no matter how good the glue is!

Seems like a few years ago the Bevel Brothers tested kerosene soaked ramrods and found no improvement other than it kept mosquitoes away!! Lol.

 

[dehart.stephen]

Harry Pope soaked his in kerosene to make them supple and not brittle. He probably learned that from some previous Old Timer. Folks back then may have had better hickory blanks available, just because hickory customers were maybe more demanding and knowledgeable back then ( i.e. reading the grain, coal-oil soaking, etc.). Hickory was not just for the hobby market back then. One way to have a stiff steel ramrod and protect your bore is to slip a brass extruded piece of thin wall tubing from the hardware store or hobby shop around a steel cleaning rod or or a shotgun rod or a 1-piece musket rod, and add the muzzle protector guide. Some brass water and gas fittings from the hardware make good mizzle protectors, too.

 

[dehart.stephen]

I was not aware the coal oil trick was "debunked" recently. I wonder if it worked for Harry's bunch because maybe they cut their own and started with half-dried wood instead of kiln-dried(?).

 

[JamesT]

Dad told me in the winter when farm work slowed they would carve shovel, hoe, hammer and axe handles and store them in the loft. I'm sure 100 years earlier men would carve ramrods and have several spares ready to go. Otherwise it would be like shopping for a spare tire after you have a flat.

As a kid plinking, (and as an adult), I didn't spend much time swabbing the barrel until back home. I never heard of a Range Rod until about 10 years ago. Again, there was no internet to tell me how wrong i was.

So it got progressively harder to load the next round. The same thing happened when in a pecan bottom and the squirrels were everywhere.

Hence you ended up pounding the last few rounds down the barrel, and even using short strokes it was hard on a piece of long slender wood.

I am surprised that EVERYONE hasn't broken at least One ramrod in their life. I despise metal or heaven forbid, plastic ramrod in a non-martial muzzleloader. But that's just me.

The old saying " A ship is safest in the harbor, but that's not what they're made for" comes to mind.

Great post!

 

[FlinterNick]

I broke one rod …. But I sat on it accidentally