Ramrod Club

[grey8833]

Well last Sunday was going great. I had not shot my Jim Bridger Hawken in a while. I benched it up and started lobbing 60 cal. round balls at a 100 yard target.

Gee, I was doing good. Smacking a 6 inch target on all shots, the gun would do better, but the targets are fuzzy at 100. I was focused on the target color I was using, had a couple down there but black with big orange sighter seemed to work best.

Sighted up again and checked and rechecked before I let the set trigger pop. Damn! What the hell happened?! The gun just kicked me in the face, and I am only using 75 grain of FF. Puzzled, I checked the target.

Missed the target and back board - what the devil?

Durn, well forget that shot, load again. 75 grain of FF, 60 cal card, .010 oxyoke lubed patch, set ball, smack with starter.

Now I forgot my range rod, the one with the big handle, but rather than go home for it I just used the one I custom fitted to the rifle, the really good looking dress rod.

Well where the devil did that go, not on the bench, not under the bench......

Palm meets head. Well now we know why the gun kicked so hard. That will happen WHEN YOU SHOOT YOUR RAMROD DOWN RANGE! :rotf:

Looked for that durn thing for 1/2 hour. Had to seat the last shot with the fiberglass range flag staff. :redface: If I had brought my range rod I would have noticed the big handles sticking up in my sight picture. Arrrgg.

Just went to ToTW and ordered a hickory rod and two iron thimbles. :surrender:

 

[pa woods roamer]

Yep, A hard slap on the Cheek followed by A " What the Heck !" Is A very good indication that You have just sent Your ramrod downrange !!!

 

[BrownBear]

Yup, my wife launched her rod on her third shot ever with a ML. The target was at 25 yards, and she managed to hit it fair and square, but the hole was about 10" long and bore-width.

Funny thing, it was an aluminum rod. When we recovered it, there were two 90 degree bends in it, looking for all the world like the crank on a compact car jack. I kept the rod for entertainment, but somehow it seems to have disappeared from my collection. Wonder how that happened..... :rotf:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Ye remind me of that guy what had soap suds coming out his touch hole after loading. :shocked2: Where do people like this come from ennyhow? :wink: :grin: :haha:

 

[F.G. Ford]

Well there are two things you can do!
Put a broad point on the ramrod, and shoot arrows, or put a big handle on it.
You are not the only one.
Shot my ramrod out of my underhammer .36 cal, about fifty years ago :redface:
Fred

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

The actor Charleton Heston supposedly launched his ram rod when he was training for the movie "The Mountainmen". So I would say you're in good company. :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

Still thinkin it involves beer!

have yet to shoot a ramrod but saw it once. The shooter really felt it

 

[bpd303]

I can honestly say that is one muzzleloading mistake I have never made. Saw a movie once where a mountain man shot an NDN with his ram rod. Last of the Mohicans I think (it was a long time ago).

 

[ncmtmike]

Charlton Heston: The Mountainmen

 

[LaBonte]

Heston's scene shooting the ramrod was "borrowed from"/inspired by a much earlier movie "Across the Wide Missouri" Clark Gable shot Ricardo Montalban who was the Indian attacking him - this is one of those almost forgotten mountain man movies and it's a good one.

Shot mine years ago and you could see it and hear it going sort of woof woof as it went down range...scored an eight at 50 yards and yep it did kick like a mule - 54 with 90 grains of 3F....

 

[mooman76]

That's one I haven't done yet. Surprising because I get side tracked easy, especially now adays. I dry balled a couple times though.

 

[Kai Benedict]

That's a bad thing to happen .That's good .no one was hurt.I haven't had that happen (yet). My Dad and and I have been shooting over 15 years together .I can happen though.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Well you just got a new camp name: Ma. Ramrod :idunno: :idunno:

 

[tenngun]

Burt Lancaster also shot Walter Mathhoe in The Kentucken. I understand military reenactors never use RR for the same reason, real wounds would scare the tourist :haha:

 

[Alden]

They (we?) only stopped after people had been speared.

Ricardo Montalban made the WORST lookin' Indian -- mighta been all that rich, Corinthian, leather.

 

[trent/OH]

The actor Charleton Heston supposedly launched his ram rod when he was training for the movie "The Mountainmen". So I would say you're in good company. :thumbsup:

Holy Moses!!!!!

 

[Artificer]

They (we?) only stopped after people had been speared.

I believe I remember reading one WBTS reenactor got speared with a steel rammer at the 100 year Anniversary Reenactment of 1st Manassas? He was at least a tiny bit fortunate it did not kill him or permanently cripple him.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

Burt Lancaster also shot Walter Mathhoe in The Kentucken. I understand military reenactors never use RR for the same reason, real wounds would scare the tourist :haha:

At the 125th Anniversary Reenactment of 1st Manassas, it was well over 90 degrees and the humidity was so high you could carve out a chunk of air and squeeze the water out of it.

The combination of Federal and Rebel Reenactors in authentic wool uniforms wound up almost exactly duplicating the original 28 percent casualties, though they were only from overheating and no one got heat stroke.

However, the Tourists attired in shorts, sleeveless shirts and tank tops and many were under umbrellas to shield them from the sun - had a 40 percent heat casualty rate. A few of them did get heat stroke.

Nice thing was there were no casualties from launching rammers or other things, though.

Gus

 

[dikman]

In one of the "Sharpe's Rifles" episodes, the sergeant was being charged by two naughty Frenchies on horses. He drops one of them and doesn't have time to completely reload his Baker rifle so leaves the ramrod in and fires. Result, one Frenchy with a ramrod protruding from him.

Ouch.

 

[grey8833]

Well you can all stop laughing now. Got my parts and refitted the ram rod to the gun. :v

Good reason for a range rod with a big handle. Took a couple of hours to refit the dress rod to the gun(iron fittings, tapered rod), .....well ... one of those things I won't do twice. :blah: