Importance of ramming home the ball

[Rudyard]

The OP's question was, if a patched ball was not seated firmly against the powder charge would damage result? The answer is it may. The issue of a ball not seating because of excessive fouling is a different question.

When I witnessed a drum blowing out from a ball not being seated was the result of fouling. The reason the event occurred was the shooter, as well as myself, knew almost nothing about shooting black powder rifles. It was 1968 and all I knew was what I read in a brief description about how to load a patched ball in a muzzleloader. Today we all have the benefit of resources such as this forum to accelerate the learning curve.

So, the first thing we should be advising someone new to the black powder shooting sport is to never intentionally shoot a ball not firmly seated on a charge (unintentional falls in the same category as dry balling or launching the ramrod). In my experience, the advice should have been to either pull the ball or hammer it down. Then, the next set of advice would be to swab between shots or, as you suggested, find the correct ball, patch and lube combination.

Sound advise launching a ram rod should be more carefull but if its on the ball its not the worst . if certainly NOT recommended. I once sent my cleaning rod through a running salmon two holes in salmon. rod & ball but no air gap. one "AF Douglas barrel 40 "or so long barrel( only long rifle I ever hunted with too long & too heavy) but I was younger then .
Rudyard

 

[RedPoin]

I ringed the barrel on a CVA Mountain rifle in 50cal, 4”s from the muzzle. It didn’t affect the accuracy but it bothered me immensely. I sold the gun at a good discount.

what is meant by ring the barrel

 

[RiverRat]

what is meant by ring the barrel

When you look down the barrel with a light, you can see a ring around the bore where the patched ball was. The pressure spike made that ring because the ball was not seated on the powder. When in doubt whether you seated the ball all the way down, ALWAYS double check with your ram rod!

 

[stephenprops1]

I've just become aware that if you don't ram home the ball in a muzzleloader, it can result in the barrel bursting. Is that true? If it is, why does that happen?

It can turn your load into a pipe bomb. Always ensure you firmly seat the ball atop the powder.

 

[oldwood]

If you load consistantly , accuracy will be consistant. Use a short starter , with correct patch ball combo. All should be well.