Ramrod battered balls

[deerstalkert]

i bounce my rod lightly to insure i am on the powder. in addition to having a series of witness marks on my rod. had no idea it would ruin the accuracy! I always thought I was just a piz poor shot!

 

[Frontier's]

i bounce my rod lightly to insure i am on the powder. in addition to having a series of witness marks on my rod. had no idea it would ruin the accuracy! I always thought I was just a piz poor shot!

inconsisten pressure more like it. If its a gentle bounce, you must be shooting a easy loading combo?

 

[R Ellis]

I aiways lightly bounce my ramrod and have won many completions in my club so think I will continue to bounce

 

[Whitworth]

Stee

I ASSUME there was a brass or steel tip on the ramrod?

Steel tipped factory T/C rod.

 

[biliff]

We all know how degrees go. I was watching a show where this lady is a geologist. she proudly told a guy, shes not stupid, she has a degree and knows what gold looks like.

Turned out to be a piece of sand.

He’s also been a member of his countries national muzzleloader team for ten years.

 

[Frontier's]

He’s also been a member of his countries national muzzleloader team for ten years.

thats nice

 

[deerstalkert]

inconsisten pressure more like it. If its a gentle bounce, you must be shooting a easy loading combo?

depends on which rifle i am loading. my memory is so bad anymore, i just use one size fits all according to caliber. that and the wife gave me a set of sheets from a queen size bed with a 1000 thread count. 100% cotton. .015 thickness.
guess what my patches are made of.
only thing i vary is the ball size. i have molds for .490, .495, .530, .535 and .310 figure if it doesn't fit get a bigger hammer! (humor)

 

[Whughett]

He’s also been a member of his countries national muzzleloader team for ten years.

Me thinks we are casting pearls before the swine. ……

 

[Mr. Flintlock]

I used to explain to people that bouncing or pounding the ball wasn’t necessary or desirable but once it’s in their head it can’t be changed.

If the balls not seated the ramrod won't bounce.

 

[toot]

Wailing the hell out of ones balls could lead to early blindness. Really I see no use for this although I've seen it a bit at the range.

at least that is what my mother told me when she caught me doing it in the tub.

 

[French Colonial]

So... now we know what a steel tipped ramrod will do, how about a plain wood rod.
I think getting the ball down on the powder to the witness mark on the ramrod should be the first concern.

Personally, I think you guys have way too much time on your hands and are looking for things to argue about, this will all go away when summer comes and everyone is out shooting.

 

[Siringo]

After reading the are round balls really round thread I decided to try a little experiment. I rammed a .490 patched ball on top of 50 grains of 3f in a .50 bore and wailed the Hell out of it with the ramrod with just my hand. Removed the breech plug and powder just poured out without any signs of clumping into a pellet. I pushed the ball thru and here it is. Apparently the ramrod being less than bore diameter allows it to hit the ball off center and will rotate the ball a bit with each strike. YMMV.View attachment 127280

Hummm. What about the shooters that hammer the ball in. This is one of the reasons I cone my muzzles. I push the ball down to seat it on the powder. I do not bounce the rod on to of the ball either, which must be some sort of ritual.

 

[Wildrangeringreen]

Hmm, think about what you said, only I'll word it differently.


Does a crackhead millionaire make you want to go out and do crack, because of all his credentials?

he's also repeatedly said that it's a habit he needs to break... but you know how habitual habits are

 

[Whughett]

Cap and Ball. Any doubts as to the man’s ability with a rifle check out his latest on an American Picket rifle he restored. in 37 caliber. With those kind of groups at 50 meters with a rough bore a few dimples on the balls leading face can’t be that great of a deal.

 

[J.Campbell63]

I’m no expert at all but I haven’t blown myself up or damaged a piece ( drop or knock over don’t count ) and I hit pretty much what I shoot at within reason.
I was always told firm pressure and try not damage the projo so it flies like it’s supposed to. I have a steel ramrod on my repo and I put a Sharpie line it to show me I’m fully seated less I make a pipe bomb.
And those guys I see at the range they seem to have something done to the end of their barrel so they smack the ball & patch in , then push the projo down . Seems they are really accurate. I asked one and he showed me that end of his barrel is reamed ( right phrase ?) about an inch down, then the lands and grooves start. I only have two repo muskets both in .58 ( 577 for the Enfield ) and I don’t have to use much force at all.
I’m no expert tho. But seems to me you don’t wanna damage your projo so it flies like it’s supposed to. But if it works for others who am I to say any thing? Never owned those nice rifles you guys have.

 

[sportster73hp]

This thread is about round balls, mini’s should be undersized, what about the Lee REAL bullet. Never used them. How much work is required to seat one on the powder?

 

[Snydly]

Cap and Ball , lightly bounces his ramrod over his seated ball. He doesn't pound it down. A huge difference.

 

[XVIIc Wheelock]

I'll bet most of those indentations are from the ball seating into the muzzle. Folks seem to pound that first stroke to seat the ball into the muzzle sometimes several times instead of a firm push once. Then additional indentations are from the hand pound to push the ball down 6" or so before the final indentations seating the ball over the powder with the ramrod. No need to hand pound...just push!

 

[vintovka]

Humans watch movies and repeat what they see. Blowing smoke off muzzle is just one example.

 

[kyron4]

I'm still new to black powder shooting and somewhat self-taught; I give firm pressure with my body weight and check my scribe line to verify the seated depth. Seems to me most rods are to light to drive a tightly patched ball any noticeable distance by throwing it down the bore.

I know a ball not seated firmly against the charge can turn your rifle into a pipe bomb, but how far from the charge before that happens ? 1/16" ? 1/8" ? 4" ? Other than poor accuracy , what really happens if the ball is on the powder but not fully seated against compressed powder ? Again still fairly new to BP shooting and very curious by nature..