NEVER NEVER EVER

[Russ T Frizzen]

Been using wooden wiping sticks for well over forty years, in everything from .30 caliber to 10 gauge bores, and I've never broken one. Don't know anyone who has for that matter. A good, straight piece of hickory should serve well for a long time. Just as they did for hundreds of years, when lives depended on them.

 

[Stumpkiller]

That's all I ever use. My flinter is tapered 7/16" to 5/16" hickory. I made two spares so I know it will never brake. :winking:

If you're breakin rammers you're pushing too hard.

 

[musketman]

All:

Never never ever use a wooden ramrod (except for decoration) on your muzzleloading rifle. Even if it looks like it would never break, take my word for it, it will.......

Gene

How do you push the ball down the barrel?

Do you take one long stroke or several short stroked with the ramrod?

 

[charcloth]

Hey Gene,

Sorry man, I gotta go on the side of wood. Aside from all the previously expressed reasons, just because it is right. I've been using wooden rods since the mid eighties and have never had a problem.

Charcloth

 

[Halftail]

For me the only time the wooden rod gets used is for that reload in a hunting situation.On the range my range rod get the work.And it works for me.

 

[Birddog6]

I hunt with a wood rod, but I load & clean at the range with a brass or SS range rod. I broke a wood RR back in 1978 trying to load the 5th miniball in a .58 cal & it broke at a knot in the rod. In 1999 I broke a 5/16" rid that had a nitch cut in it at the load mark some hammerhead cut in it,, snapped off right at thet cut line.....
Otherwise I have had some good luck with wood rods. Ya got to have good straight grained hickory & know the limitations of the tool.... :winking:

For ball pulling or cleaning I usually use a brass rod with a bore guide.

Next time before ya go off on puling the breechplug & etc., ya might try a CO2 discharger, or a blast of air from a air hose, or shoot the tip out by packing a lil powder behind the vent or nipple & firing. I have removed allot of dryballs & one RR tip that way, just shoot them out. :hmm:

 

[Halftail]

I'll agree with Birddog,
Next time you have trouble with anything stuck in the Bore.Sprinkle a little powder in through the nipple or flash hole seat the object and shoot it out.Saves a lot of trouble.
In My opinion.

 

[Landngroove]

Over the years, I have had two wooden ramrods break in the bore, when swabbing, with jags on them. I was lucky, and was able to shoot them out.

 

[walruskid1]

i think one of my first posts on the forum was "who else has wooden ramrod scars?". i use a brass ramrod. i know there are those with a different opinion, each to his own.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Been using steel ramrods for many years now, not gonna change. Makes so I dont use a short starter too.

 

[Toomuch_36]

Operator malfunction? :grin:

This is most usually the case. :bow:

The thing to "never,never ever" do is to try to take a single swipe of the ramrod from muzzle to breach in one stroke, but take it in steps (about 6 inches at a time) for cleaning and loading both.
If loosing the tip is the problem, the wooden rod is not at fault but in the way the tip was/was not attached (pinned) to the rod in the first place.

I have been using wooden ramrods in many of my muzzleloaders for many years with no breakage, but prefer a nylon rod in my hunting rifle. I do not like the brass/aluminum/ss rods because of metal to metal contact with the rifling, and fiberglass is a definate no-no. :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

Toomuch
..........
Shoot Flint

 

[DrTimboone]

Well, I have a steel range rod with a brass collar for use at the range. I make my own hickory rods. Muzzle end is close to 7/16 wood..no tip. The other end is 5/16 with a steel tip glued and pinned on. it has female threads for an assortment of useful tips like a scraper, brush or jag. I have used it to pull a couple of balls :redface: it worked fine. I use the blunt wooden end to load.

The key is to never grab the ramrod more than six inches or so above the muzzle. Push it down in these short increments. If your barel is getting hard to load, stop and swab it with a wet patch.

I honestly never even use the range rod anymore. The hickory has worked just fine. :thumbsup:

 

[Cruzatte]

How do you push the ball down the barrel?

Do you take one long stroke or several short stroked with the ramrod?

Several short strokes. That way, I'm sure not to put undue stress on the wooden rod.

Cruzatte

 

[Old Charlie]

I marked my ramrod with my knife at the loaded mark. That’s where it broke at the mark. I don't mark them with my knife anymore and I haven't broke anymore.
Old Charlie

 

[bnail]

How do you push the ball down the barrel?

Do you take one long stroke or several short stroked with the ramrod?

Several short strokes. That way, I'm sure not to put undue stress on the wooden rod.

Cruzatte

I think that's the secret Cruzatte.
If the original shooters had as much trouble as I'm reading about on this thread, then why don't we see more surviving examples of metal Rammers?
not counting the cheaper sticks, could the answer be as simple as proper loading technique?

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I think this may have been the primary force driving the developement of firearm technology in the early to mid 19th century, for over three hundred years, the constant breaking of ramrods prevented proper warfare from being waged and ruined hunting oppertunities, and the massive piles of 3/8" hickory laying around must have been a real problem, then the over harvest of the hickory itself to keep up with the demand must be considered, with this kind of major problem the need for a better type of firearm was most definitly needed.[/quote]
I reckon so! :rotf:

 

[lacerote]

OK here is the solution both side can like . Go to[url] www.periodramrod.com[/url] and order a rod. These are period correct looking beautiful wooden ram rods with a solid steel inner core that is threaded directly to the end cap , No pins !!! The end can be either brass or German Silver, and threaded how you like on one or both ends . I have replaced ALL of my rods , straight wood and metal with these . You can not tell what it is exept it weighs more . I even had him make some in Ebony . Tell Robert Bill sent you !!!

 

[Stumpkiller]

I've got several just like that but without the steel liner. They work swell! :haha:

 

[roundball]

All:

Never never ever use a wooden ramrod (except for decoration) on your muzzleloading rifle. Even if it looks like it would never break, take my word for it, it will.......

Gene

I replaced every one of mine with brass...most are solid 3/8" brass, a couple are tubular brass but still much stronger than wooden ramrods I've seen since TC stopped making their 'resin impregnated ramrods' years ago.
Good peace of mind for me to be out hunting and know a solid 3/8" brass rod is not going to break and has no pinned ends to pull loose.

Other benefits of the brass or steel rod is that they add more weight out front which I find serves accuracy, plus, I can seat a ball with a single power stroke, don't have to use little 6" steps...

 

[Swampman]

I don't want any more weight. If you use brass, you may as well get a plastic ramrod. Neither are historically correct. Hickory is the perfect ramrod material.