How is your favorite range rod handle shaped?

[rchas]

My range rods are steel rods, t-handled, with brass muzzle protectors. The t-handle makes it very easy to pull a charge. I also make "unbreakable" steel cored ramrods for under the barrel.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I just like ramrods and have one for every caliber I shoot, no tip changing. My late friend must have given me at least 10, most too short for most of my rifles. I do like the Creedmoor range rods from Track, I got a new one in today for my Haines rifle.

 

[Crow-Feather]

I did see a picture on the net of a young man with a ram rod hole scar on his fore head and on the top of his head. Wish I had saved it.

 

[Woody Morgan]

I use the wood rod that came with the rifle. I have a .50BMG cleaning rod for cleaning and stuck balls. But this thread has me thinking........
On 30 December I get shoulder replacement surgery. The wife freaked out when I suggested asking the surgeon for the ball he will cut off my upper arm bone. Told her I wanted to make a gear shift knob but she's having none of it. So, maybe a new range rod handle........

Jeez. Talk about a "personal touch"!

wm

 

[toot]

I use the ramrod that comes with the gun or equivalent.
I seldom shoot at the range anyway.
No need for carrying an extra long rod around with me.

I agree it makes sense to me.

 

[DuncNZ]

I used to shoot at a range where the roof over the mound had two holes about 3" long in it , made by rods being fired through the iron roof ,One happened when I was there and the shooters fingers were bruised by the handle , but not as much as his ego. since then I have always used an elongated rod handle which will slip through my fingers , no ball, T or other shaped ones for me .
Any of you ever shoot a rod down range ? I have seen that two times as well , the rods were never found .

 

[appalichian hunter]

What range you shoot at, so I dont go there.

 

[DuncNZ]

What range you shoot at, so I dont go there.

It was Waikato ,now it is a silage shed .You can find It in the North Island of New Zealand 8232.83 miles away from you , so no worries

 

[appalichian hunter]

Never know where I might show up at.

 

[Don Steele]

I used to shoot at a range where the roof over the mound had two holes about 3" long in it , made by rods being fired through the iron roof ,One happened when I was there and the shooters fingers were bruised by the handle , but not as much as his ego. since then I have always used an elongated rod handle which will slip through my fingers , no ball, T or other shaped ones for me .
Any of you ever shoot a rod down range ? I have seen that two times as well , the rods were never found .

My "little Brother" shot his ramrod once during a sighting in session for his commercial T/C rifle at the range. After the shot went off...he expressed some surprise at the recoil which was noticeably more than previous rounds had been. It was only when he went to reload that he realized his T/C ramrod was gone.

 

[Cattywompuss]

This is going to get a little "wordy"...but there's a safety issue to be considered and I beg your kind indulgence.
99% of my loading is done for offhand shooting and a super tight combination isn't much help. In other words...my offhand shooting is so bad...that having a really tight "match grade" combination isn't going to make much difference so I use a plain hickory rod with no handle at all.
On the rare occasion when I'm shooting off a rest (Bench and Chunk competitions for example), I have a couple of rifles dedicated to those events. For those events I use a pretty tight combination ( they are 50 caliber and I use a .500 ball with .020 [compressed measurement] "dry" patch) and need a dedicated Range Rod. The one I use is solid 3/8" brass with a tapered handle that looks very much like the Osage handles Eric is showing on his files. I make it a practice to never put the palm of my hand over the end of the rod. Gripping it "in my hand" rather than pushing down on it from the top will allow it to pass through my hand safely should the rifle go off when I'm seating a load. It's a small thing. It's an incredibly rare occurrence that has been discussed here at great length. My only comment to that is to say that I have seen it happen at my club. This isn't something I was told by a friend of a friend. The individual involved was using a Range Rod with a large round knob on the end. He was seating the ball with his hand on top of that knob. When the load he was pushing down the barrel went off....that big round knob did SEVERE DAMAGE to his hand and fingers. He didn't suffer any other damage ( praise God) but he never returned to the BP range.

Dang shame about that poor fellow. I started a new habit of swabbing with a wetted patch between every shot last Sunday. Wetted with water from a bottle brought just for it, then dry swabbed. Total of three patches from shot to shot. Embers have always worried me. Never had one in a barrel, but now hopefully never will. I could give two figs for "authenticity" or HC when it comes to the safety of a hobby.

P.S. If it doesn't bring me an annual income or constantly fill the larder, it's a hobby and not worth being mamed.

 

[Cattywompuss]

This is going to get a little "wordy"...but there's a safety issue to be considered and I beg your kind indulgence.
99% of my loading is done for offhand shooting and a super tight combination isn't much help. In other words...my offhand shooting is so bad...that having a really tight "match grade" combination isn't going to make much difference so I use a plain hickory rod with no handle at all.
On the rare occasion when I'm shooting off a rest (Bench and Chunk competitions for example), I have a couple of rifles dedicated to those events. For those events I use a pretty tight combination ( they are 50 caliber and I use a .500 ball with .020 [compressed measurement] "dry" patch) and need a dedicated Range Rod. The one I use is solid 3/8" brass with a tapered handle that looks very much like the Osage handles Eric is showing on his files. I make it a practice to never put the palm of my hand over the end of the rod. Gripping it "in my hand" rather than pushing down on it from the top will allow it to pass through my hand safely should the rifle go off when I'm seating a load. It's a small thing. It's an incredibly rare occurrence that has been discussed here at great length. My only comment to that is to say that I have seen it happen at my club. This isn't something I was told by a friend of a friend. The individual involved was using a Range Rod with a large round knob on the end. He was seating the ball with his hand on top of that knob. When the load he was pushing down the barrel went off....that big round knob did SEVERE DAMAGE to his hand and fingers. He didn't suffer any other damage ( praise God) but he never returned to the BP range.

I'm at least the second owner of the early flint Leman repro. As you can see, it has been shot. Not fired, but actually shot with another LRB gun. Precautions are always worth the time and effort. Dunno how this happened, but it offers a valuable lesson.