Don't use wood ramrods!

[azmntman]

Choke up on them when forcing the ball down.

How many times have we seen someone grab the rod as high as possible and try to drive the ball down in one, forceful stroke? It looks impressive in the movies, but it's a good way to break a long, thin wooden rod. :wink:

I KNOW I read in a manual or book or what have you some time long ago that one should seat the ball smoothly in one smooth push. IT DONT WORK! Or yer shooting a real loose load. I have always (cept once) used the 8-10" above bore rule. And have never bounced the ram rod or blown down the barrel (have cut myself slicing patches at bore though :redface: ). When I can afford one I'll likely get the indestructible ramrod show in a post above. Been eyeballing em for years. All my guns but an enfield and my crocket have wood.

 

[coloradoclyde]

If I use my steel range rod I can seat the ball with one stroke.

 

[azmntman]

well though I cant recall where I read that I KNOW it wasnt from the enfield or crocket so they must have referred to the wooden rod sold with the gun. Anyway, .................. :idunno:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Your're not alone....I remember it too.

Maybe it was T/C They had great advice about seasoning.... :rotf:

 

[azmntman]

Bore butter is good stuff for alot of applications.....except seasoning. Salt and pepper work better for the barrel

 

[Stumpkiller]

I don't use fiberglass or brass rammers for the same reason I don't use carbon, fiberglass or aluminum arrows. It's not what I'm after in pursuing traditional hunting or muzzleloading. I'm testing myself against the old gear. Not interested in improving it. But that's my choice and hang-up.

The difference between "what am I doing wrong?" and "what's wrong with my gear?"

Don't tell me not to use spilt hickory rammers and I won't tell you not to use brass or 'glass rods.

A 3" hollow brass rammer, full of powder and with a primer at the back end, pushing the projectile into the rifling from the breech end, is better yet. But that's not in the spirit of the concept. ;-)

 

[pab1]

I don't use fiberglass or brass rammers for the same reason I don't use carbon, fiberglass or aluminum arrows. It's not what I'm after in pursuing traditional hunting or muzzleloading. I'm testing myself against the old gear. Not interested in improving it. But that's my choice and hang-up.

The difference between "what am I doing wrong?" and "what's wrong with my gear?"

Don't tell me not to use spilt hickory rammers and I won't tell you not to use brass or 'glass rods.

A 3" hollow brass rammer, full of powder and with a primer at the back end, pushing the projectile into the rifling from the breech end, is better yet. But that's not in the spirit of the concept. ;-)

Well said! :hatsoff:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I never had a problem seating a prb in one stroke in my H&H target barrel. Could even feel the powder crunch under slight pressure. All with a Hickory range rod. Found that I did not need a tight patch and ball to shoot winning light bench groups. I under stand the need for a mallet to start a slug through a false muzzle, never needed a mallet a
Or bruised palm to start a prb.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I also have a wooden ramrod that I use in the rifle for hunting, and a metal range rod I use at the range.

I broke, but did not entirely sever my original ramrod on my Traditions PA Longrifle at a club shoot by being stupid - starting the ball and then reaching all the way up on the ramrod to try to push it down in a very long stroke. You just DON'T do that with wooden ramrods. I learned my lesson and have never broken another ramrod.

I managed to repair that broken ramrod well enough with some artificial sinew to use it for most of the rest of the day but I absolutely used short strokes of about 6" to 8" at a time. Later that same day I purchased a metal rod with ball end and brass jag for the whopping price of $10 (was a club shoot with sutlers on hand).

The metal rod is great but you are correct, you can develop the bad habit of taking long loading strokes with it that will break a wooden rod if you try the same thing. I got my replacement straight-grain hickory ramrod from October Country if I recall correctly. I got two (always good to have a spare) and finished one of them to use with my Traditions longrifle. Since there were no metal range rods with plastic knobs in the 18th century, I take that second one along to reenactments for use as my cleaning rod at the end of the day by my tent.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[jbwilliams3]

Give me straight-grained hickory ramrods, or give me death!

Just kidding. But really, a straight-grained hickory rod used correctly is effectively indestructible. "Used correctly" is the key. Everyone is guilty of rushing every now and again which promotes sloppy technique. We mitigate this by one of two ways: using a non-traditional material for the rod, or by reinforcing the correct use of the wooden rod. The latter would be the traditional solution to our rather traditional “game” we play.

To me, at least, the former solution would be akin to reverting to centerfire arms because of the potential for ignition while loading which is inherent to muzzle loading. I can’t fault anyone for wanting to use a non-wooden rod, but I feel perfectly confident with the practiced use of a good quality stick of wood.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I KNOW I read in a manual or book or what have you some time long ago that one should seat the ball smoothly in one smooth push.

Yeppers. That is one of the old "somebody said" rules. Meaningless.

 

[CrackStock]

I broke one, on a new pedersoli .45 flinter. FIRST damn ball ever seated in it! I believe I tried to load with my hand too far up the rod but there I was with a brand new gun in the woods with a ball half loaded and no other rod. Now I take a spare shooting and have one at camp hunting.

Good stuff.

But also be aware that every Pedersoli that I have shot had a tighter bore. It will be harder to load because of this.

CS

 

[Hangfire]

About 10 years ago a friend of mine told me that a large hickory tree blew over in his yard and wanted to know if I would clean it up for him and he would just give me the wood for firewood. I went over to his house to cut it up and noticed it was the straightest hickory tree I ever saw, not a single limb up for the first 15 feet. I cut a log out of the middle about 5 feet long. I then cut it up with the chainsaw into 2x4's. I let them dry out for about a year and then cut them into pieces just a bit over 1/2" x 1/2" x 5 ft. long on my table saw. I then worked them down into round pieces with hand tools. The grain ran straight from end to end. I worked one of the pieces down until it fit just a bit loose in the barrel of my 54, on one end I took a knife and cut ribs around the rod the first 2 inches from the end to resemble a patch jag. This hickory rod became my range rod and I can't tell you how many balls this thing has stuffed down the muzzle of that 54. without fail.

 

[Flintlock]

Not using a wood ramrod, might as well be shooting in-lines if your going to go all space age. I try to get molds that cast balls a little undersize so I don't have to force them down, and I've learned to wipe out the bore every so often, depending which flinter I'm shooting.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I wonder how many of the synthetic rod folks actually know whether they ever had a hickory rod or some other lesser wood. Last eastern I attended at Muddy Run , none of the Sutter open on the day I visited even had hickory dowels for sale. Maple or some other tight grained wood, but no hickory.

 

[longcruise]

One could probably split out a good straight grained blank from hardwood other than hickory.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Probably, but it would not be as tough.

 

[Stumpkiller]

The advantage to hickory is the same that makes it good for tool handles and drum sticks (and formerly wagon wheels). It splits but doesn't splinter. The fibers are long and tough.

I imagine Douglas fir would work. Almost all my arrows in the last dozen years have been that and it holds up much better than cedar to stump and ground impacts.

If anybody wants to start a ramrod tree - I have starter kits beside the house.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Compression strength is the weight that can be put on wood parallel to the grain. Bending strength is the weight put across the grain. According to the charts of hard wood strength published by the north American hardwoods assn, hickory is almost 20% stronger in compression than any other wood, and 30% stronger in bending. Other woods, whether rock maple, oak, etc, are simply not nearly as good.

 

[longcruise]

There is no doubt that the Hickory is superior wood for a ram rod. OTOH, hickory is hard to find in my area without having to pay up large at the specialty wood shops.

I'm thinking that a good straight grained oak board would plane out into a pretty good ram rod. Maybe even better than one of hickory if the hickory had run out.

I have such a board at my work bench. It was destined to be a bow, but maybe I'll sacrifice it to ram rod science! :haha: