Pre-cut patch vs Muzzle cut patch

[hanshi]

By using the ramrod without without a seating jag I've had little trouble with a sticking rod due to a "large" patch. Perhaps in the smaller calibers where the rod dia is close to bore dia it could be a problem. But so far there's been little in the way of a stuck rod.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Have you ever had to shoot a stuck rod out of a barrel before? I've never had the experience myself. I imagine it will either be destroyed, or (if metal) bent quite severely.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Have you ever had to shoot a stuck rod out of a barrel before? I've never had the experience myself. I imagine it will either be destroyed, or (if metal) bent quite severely.

Here's one http://www.periodramrod.com/bentrod.html

 

[hanshi]

Have you ever had to shoot a stuck rod out of a barrel before? I've never had the experience myself. I imagine it will either be destroyed, or (if metal) bent quite severely.

Neither have I. Just using a naked rod pretty much takes care of that problem. At the range I do frequently put a jag on my range rod.

 

[Jim C]

Have you ever had to shoot a stuck rod out of a barrel before? I've never had the experience myself. I imagine it will either be destroyed, or (if metal) bent quite severely.

No, but I have shot a "forgotten" rod out of a barrel before

 

[Loyalist Dave]

OK OK OK...true story...., no really, true story...,

I was working back in the early '90's, part time, at a gunshop. As many of us remember a large part of Eastern Europe opened up, and lots of folks immigrated to the US.

So this Latvian fellow comes into the store one day, and falls in love with a used, caplock TC Hawken. Since I was hired as I did a lot of BP shooting, plus modern guns, I helped get the guy set up. He was told to read the manual (that the previous owner had kept and provided when the gun was sold to us). We were busy at the time, so I didn't actually have time to walk him through the loading procedure. Off the fellow went as happy as a pig in fresh manure.

So the next day right after we opened, our Latvian customer came in, needing a new ramrod, because he broke the one with the rifle the previous day. Not-to-worry, as that happens to lots of beginners, so we sold him one of the "indestructible nylon ramrods", and off the fellow went, again as happy as a pig in fresh manure.

About an hour before closing, he returned, having broken the "indestructible nylon" rod, though it had lasted a couple of shots before being destroyed. So, I had him describe how he was loading and shooting his rifle.

Yeah, well I should've walked him through it the day before, because he really didn't read English well though he spoke very well, and he was intentionally leaving the ramrod in the barrel when firing.



He was lucky it didn't slide forward a few inches when shouldering the rifle, and create a sort of barrel obstruction. So, walking him through the proper loading procedure, and reassuring him that the patched ball would not fall out if he removed the ramrod before firing, we sold him another ramrod and sent him on his way.....

LD

 

[Artificer]

Square Pre-Cut patches MIGHT help cause a square hole in the target, though. Actually saw it one time and yup, it is a true story. Really....

We were holding our monthly BP match at Quantico back in the 70's. We had talked one of the better shots on the Marine Corps Rifle Team to shoot in these matches and my best friend in life always loaned him an original percussion gun to shoot. It was his second or third match and he was loading by himself.

On what was an otherwise enjoyable and leisurely shoot, all of a sudden we all stopped after hearing him exclaim an extremely loud "W....T....F....?!?!!! There is a SQUARE hole in my target!!!" Sure enough there was.

Turns out the ramrod jag and tip my best friend in life had mounted on a repro ramrod for that rifle had a "screw on/off" cylindrical head with ridges on it to hold the patch. The Marine Shooter was using pre cut square patches that were rather tight and had been loading and firing for a while and did not realize he had to check the brass tip "head" to ensure it was screwed on tight. We didn't really know what was going on until he tried to load the next shot and only then realized there was no head on his ramrod tip. The jag head hit the target sideways, not too far from his aiming point actually, and left a square hole in the target paper. He won a "Special Mention Prize" at the Awards Ceremony later that day for being the first Marine to shoot a Square Hole in a Target at Quantico.......

Gus

 

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

Could a square patch could get caught in an imperfection on a round ball and make a square hole down range?

That is a rather strange occurrence.

 

[Artificer]

I seriously doubt it. The only reason the ram rod jag head cut a square hole in the target was it hit the paper sideways. Think of a piston from a car engine smashing sideways into paper target to make a square hole and that gives you an idea of what happened.

Gus