The covered ball screw that Track carries is a cool accessory. I have seen these on antique shotgun ramrods, but they were also found on some mid-19th century “plains” rifles. The original ramrod on the James Beckwourth rifle has one. They call it a “ball screw,” but it will also retrieve a lost patch.
However, I agree with
@French Colonial regarding the ball screw with a collar to fit your bore, to keep the screw centered. As he said, this is important. In addition, the collared ball screws from Track are the best. The screw has a very sharp point and sharp-edged threads, with the proper taper.
I have no personal experience with the jags that attach to the covered ball screws. I have admired them on Track’s website, but have not tried them. One caveat may be that if you put that covered ball screw on your ramrod and get the jag for it, that jag and ball screw are the only attachments that will work on your ramrod. If you use a simple ferrule with a female thread, you can screw any accessory you want in there.
Delrin rods have been around for years. I have one for a T/C Seneca, but I’ve never used it. I’m sure they are wonderful, but I’ve been satisfied with my home-made hickory range rods. I think the barrel and muzzle wear that people warn against is exaggerated. Just keep the rod clean. I make double-ended ones with 8-32 female threads on one end and 10-32 on the other for my rifles, and I plan to make one with 10-32 on one end and 5/16-27 on the other (thanks,
@flconch53 !) for my 20 gauge fowling piece when I get to it. I have used hickory rods for pulling balls and they get the job done, although I take great pains to ensure the threaded ferrules are securely attached.
As a side note, I want to offer a few comments about the old CVA guns. The ramrods are 9mm in diameter. The ramrod pipes or thimbles are affixed to the barrel rib with M4-.7 screws, threaded into the wall of each thimble. The thimbles are strong and heavy-duty, with thick walls, and an inside diameter of slightly over 3/8”. The mounting screws only have maybe 1 or 1-1/2 threads engaging each thimble, and they protrude into the lumen or bore of the thimble slightly, which is why CVA used a smaller, 9mm ramrod. They put in a curving spring with a hook on the end down in the ramrod channel to engage that little knob on the distal end of the CVA ramrod, to hold the rod in the gun. That retention spring works
too well… I have to get a good grip and jerk the rod to get it out. I have a .50 caliber CVA Mountain Rifle, a .58 caliber Big Bore Mountain Rifle, and a .50 caliber CVA Hawken Pistol. They are all made that way, and I don’t like it. So, I recently got to work, starting with the Big Bore. I soldered the ramrod pipes onto the rib with low-temperature, high-strength Stay-Brite silver solder, to get rid of those pesky screws, and made a new, beefier hickory rod that tapers from just under 1/2” to 3/8” where it enters the upper pipe. The driving end of the rod is slightly dished or concaved to fit the ball, and has no metal fitting. None is needed. The body of the rod stays at 3/8” until the last 5”-6”, where it tapers down to 9mm. It has a 9mm ferrule on the end, securely epoxied and pinned, with 10-32 female threads. This rod fits the thimbles, and does not rattle. However, it is not tight, and has room to swell if it gets soaked. It stays in place but is easy to withdraw. It is straight, strong, and stiff, and is easier to hold than the smaller diameter EOM rod. Coincidentally, I just finished it yesterday. While I have not range-tested it yet, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and plan to give my other CVAs similar treatment, starting with 7/16” rods for the .50 caliber guns and tapering them as above.
Anyway, range rods are easily over-thought. Hickory, Delrin, and brass all work.
Best of luck to you!
Notchy Bob
