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No problem of detonation from bouncing a loading rod but in my opinion it is not a good idea as it deforms the ball and unevenly compresses the powder.
It is much easier to estimate the same loading compression uniformly with an even rod push than it is to create an even rod bounce.
 
I guess it depends on "how" one bounces the rod (how hard, how much).....As with all things, uniformity is the key.

I've done it both ways.... :idunno:
 
When introducing new shooters to ML'ing, and I get them through the loading process I ALWAYS grab the gun from them after they think the ball is seated, and give it a couple of wangs. More often than not it is NOT fully seated. I don't need a newbie ringing a barrel for me on a gun it took me 2 years to build. I've seen them hanging on the barrel applying force to the barrel too like the barrel is some giant ram rod. I get them off those in a hurry too. You never know just how strong those wrists are, and I'm not in to letting kids do destructive tests with my stuff.

I'm also careful with SxS double guns too. I only cap one barrel at a time, and re-tamp the second load after discharging the first. Then I'll cap the nipple and shoot the 2nd barrel. Why take chances if you don't need to?
 
Billnpatti said:
:grin: Will my eulogy read "He was a nice guy but he was a whanger."
:hatsoff:
Click to expand...
Better a whanger than a wanker! :wink:

Can't say I abuse the load but lift the ramrod about an inch or so and let it drop. A slight 'dink' and bounce says it's seated down...a soft 'thud' and no bounce says it's not. Better not go deep into a gun talking to me or I'll get some R&R in the State Home for the Mentally Bewildered!
 
rdstrain49 said:
No, but it's a useless practice usually done by folks who don't really know what they are doing or why they are doing it.The only thing it accomplishes is to further deform the ball.

Providing you wipe the bore between shots, you should be able to seat the ball with one or two strokes on the ramrod. You only need to seat the ball on the powder, not crush the powder.

Load your rifle properly then mark your ramrod, with that mark you can tell if your load is proper and the ball seated.
Click to expand...



I bounce my rod noting both feel and sound of the load. I’m 60 and except for self defense practice and shooting a opossum or armidillio I’ve not shot Breech loaders since 74 when I fell in love with ml.
Every now and then you toss a small charge or a heavy charge. The mark won’t help. I marked a rod forty years ago have not since I learned to load with out one about 1975.
I lightly bounce a rod, I do not throw it down the bore with force. However the best shot I have ever seen was a young guy, he was in his late teens or early twenties and was at the southwestern rendezvous in 2015. Before each shot he hammered the ball with repeated slams throwing the rod down the bore with pile driver like force. He shot some fine shots. I was impressed and I’ve seen a shooter or two over the years.
 
...bouncing a loading rod...deforms the ball and unevenly compresses the powder.
Click to expand...
I have heard this many times, but does anyone have evidence to support these statements...?
 
My rods have jags that are concaved to the shape of the ball so I doubt much deforming is being done. I must admit I do it too. Been doing it so long I don't remember where I picked it up but it works for me so what does it hurt? Another thing, I don't have the ignition problems allot of others have and almost all my guns have patient breeches. I kind of wonder it maybe doing so pushes powder down further into the channel.
 
One big difference is if you use a steel or brass loading rod or a wood loading rod.
My steel loading rod has a ball on the end so that even steady pressure can be applied through a muzzle guide. Most competitive shooter use these.
A wood loading rod is more applicable for field use and one does not have a ball on the end to push against.
Bouncing a wood rod makes some sense as you don't have the same purchase as with a ball or t-handle steel loading rod.
I still don't use the practice nor do I think it a good way to load a ball.
Most loading rods have a cupped jag so it's not the ball top I'm referring to as being distorted.
I'm talking about the how consistent the ball is being spread radially in the bore by bouncing the wood rod off the top of the seated ball.
A ball being spread radially determines how much grip it applies to the patch and then the bore wall.
This must be consistent for best accuracy.
Just an opinion.
 
Black Hand said:
...bouncing a loading rod...deforms the ball and unevenly compresses the powder.
Click to expand...
I have heard this many times, but does anyone have evidence to support these statements...?
Click to expand...

I offered a way to test just that, at the beginning of this topic...

And repeated hits or bouncing wont hurt the ball either...You can test this with a piece of pipe and a dowel
Click to expand...
 
Wes/Tex said:
Can't say I abuse the load but lift the ramrod about an inch or so and let it drop. A slight 'dink' and bounce says it's seated down...a soft 'thud' and no bounce says it's not.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the ticket!! That's how I do it. guess I'm more of a "dinker" than a "whanger". :haha:
 
With a tight patch I cant see that moving the load any fraction of an inch? As for the sound??? I am mostly deaf anyway (except for the supper bell :redface: ) and rely on a marked ramrod to verify load is seated properly.
 
Billnpatti said:
Yeah, that's the ticket!! That's how I do it. guess I'm more of a "dinker" than a "whanger". :haha:
Click to expand...
At least we're closing the terminology gap! :wink: We've got "whanger", "wanker" and "dinker". Now all we need to do is figure out how to include John Madden's term for a kicker hitting the upright..."doinker" and we're there! :rotf:
 
I guess im a dinker too then lol and it will move the ball you could probably test it with a marked rod.... But impact isn't the same as pressure if it was we wouldnt use impact drivers to loosen fasteners. Impact will move things with less force than constant pressure. Example a 500ft-lb torque impact driver is easy to hold without twisting your wrist which is not true for a 250 ft-lb drill... An air hammer will drive universal joints out and chisel through steel quite easily with a fairly minimal amount of actual pressure you sure can't do the same thing just pushing really hard or standing on something as the air hammer can without you having to strain to accomplish it
 
Last edited by a moderator:
:rotf: :rotf: what no meandering pointless story teller award?? Back in my day they gave awards for things you earned no participation trophies although I do reward my dogs for just being cute got my last dog cause it just ran out in the road in front of me and laid down my wife was in eureka springs that week seeing my daughter that’s going to school in Fayetteville.... :haha:
 

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