How Many Thimbles To Use?

[musketman]

What determines the number of thimbles (pipes) is used to hold the ramrod in place?

Is it the length of the barrel, style/design, economics from the gunsmith, historic record?

What is the rule of thumb, one thimble for every "X" amount of barrel???

Some guns have only one, many have the two, some have three or more, what is the determining factor?

 

[Le Mamou]

On my French Fowler, 44" barrel, I used three brass thimbles and one Brass entry pipe. I like the look of it.

Avant Jour

 

What determines the number of thimbles (pipes) is used to hold the ramrod in place?
Is it the length of the barrel, style/design, economics from the gunsmith, historic record?

...Yes.


All of those questions basically come back to your last, being historic record.

The modern smiths building reproductions of historical guns use the number of thimbles common to that particular gun. The factors in history dictated the numbers, but mainly economically. If you had money, you could afford a fancier gun, so you got two plus a fancy entry pipe. Why 3 in the first place? Safer and more sturdy for the ramrod. However, many "cheap" guns had no entry pipe (you see this on the NWTG's, which were basically the H&R shotgun of their day--cheap & cheerful, plenty reliable). Some matchlocks had none at all and a semi-open ramrod channel went all the way to the end of the stock (looked something like the magazine tube on a Henry repeater, made with a tool something like a round head router bit). Why? they were still new and no one had yet decided "gee, wouldn't it just be easier to put a couple of small metal tubes in the channel?"

 

[Stumpkiller]

I use all of them that are on the gun. Otherwise, the rammer falls out. ::

 

[flintlockmdj]

I saw an original longrifle a few years ago that had the "forearm" extending all the way up the barrel to the last 3 or 4 inches where the ramrod grove was exposed. The owner (not a bp shooter) told me that it was a stump gun used to lay across a stump to shoot game and targets. Obviously he was refering to a chunk gun.