Ramrod question

[MountainRanger]

Twice over the past year or so, I've broken the ramrod for my rifle twice. Once down at the tip and once just a crack. Both times I've repaired it with epoxy and refinished it seemingly good as new. I am toying with the idea of trying to have a brass or iron rod made for it.

Now, before I get lots of shame for not being historically correct, let me say that I prefer that to possibly having a rod go through my hand.

My Rice barrel likes to be a little dirty, but after about 15 shots of 50 or 60 grains (depending on the range on our woods walks) it absolutely demands swabbing out, which requires going back to where I stow my cleaning supplies and the interrupts the woods walk.

Comments or suggestions?

 

[Claude Mathis]

What were you doing when it broke "at the tip"?

 

[MountainRanger]

I had reversed it to ram a ball. The builder formed what I refer to a the tip almost to a point. This end fit down into a bevel on the forward screw onthe lock. In order to use the ramrod to seat the ball, comfort dictates using my short starter to fully seat the ball. It was during a loadind sequence when I had fired about 10 shots that it snapped at the metal tip-wood location. A new rod, then a crack and another repair.

 

[Black Hand]

What caliber?

The junction between the tip and rod is usually thinned to fit and appears to be a natural weak point. The crack could be due to grain run-out. Failure could be due to sideways stress on the rammer, which I'm sad to say, is due to the operator

 

[MountainRanger]

.45 cal. And even tho I've been doing this since 1976, I'm perfectly willing to admit operator error for the second incident.

 

[Black Hand]

There is no shame - we've all done it. I've broken a rod at the exact same spot between the tip and the wood and cracked the cheap rammer that came with my Cabelas gun then glued it back together. I make a conscious effort not to grab the rammer too far up, which reduces the chance of bending the rod.

I'd suggest a good hickory rod, but check that it has minimal grain run-out. I make mine from a straight-grained board, so the majority of the grain runs from end to end on the rod. Unfortunately, this is difficult to achieve when one is ordering rod blanks.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Split hickory is the way to go - unfortunately, it's not always super easy to come by and certainly not as easy as dowels. I've had rods fail at the wood to tip juncture but none that were split hickory or straight-grained hickory dowels.

I certainly don't blame anyone for wanting to use a metal rod, however, when I use a good quality hickory rod, to me there's no other option.

 

[MountainRanger]

Both this last, and the original put on by the builder are hickory. Just curious if anyone ever considered and having a metal rod turned as a 'usin' rod' and kept the wood rod as spare or whatever rod

 

[Black Hand]

While it could be done, I've not considered it nor would I use a metal rod in my gun. I wood rod works well and is easy enough to replace if something does happen. Not to mention that a metal rod would be heavier that wood and would affect the balance.

 

[BrownBear]

Both this last, and the original put on by the builder are hickory. Just curious if anyone ever considered and having a metal rod turned as a 'usin' rod' and kept the wood rod as spare or whatever rod

At one time lotta guys were buying replacement brass rods and keeping their wood ones for decoration. As I recall October Country was a popular source. I never followed suit because I didn't want the extra weight out front. But that was in fact the reason lots of guys switched to brass.

Haven't heard much about it recently, but I assume it's still going on.

 

[tenngun]

Try swaying the bore more often. You said after fifteen or twenty shots you have trouble. Maybe every shot is a pain, try every third or fifth. At the end of the day it won't cost much time, unless you got a lot of frenchredcoatedyaneeindianglasseatinggrizzelbars in you neck of the woods.

 

[tecum-tha]

Try a virtually indestructible ramrod...and get the best of both worlds. www.periodramrod.com

 

[okawbow]

Have you tried a wet patch for woods walks?

With my .45 cal., I use a .451 size ball, and a 7 ounce denim patch.

With 2f old Eynesford, 60 grain load, and a patch wet with 6-1 balistol and water; I can shoot all day without cleaning, as long as I load within 15 minutes or so.

The load starts hard, but once pushed down with the short starter, it goes down ok with the ramrod. Very accurate load also.

 

[mooman76]

I keep my wood rods for decoration and most my working rods are synthetic. I also have one fiberglass and one metal for my 32.

 

[pab1]

For extended shooting at the range I use a brass rod with a bore guide. I still load with it the same way I do with my wood rods. I alternate hand over hand never more than about 6" over the muzzle. Don't want to develop a bad habit at the range and pay for it in the heat of the moment hunting.

I personally would not trust that repaired rod. Ramrods are cheap, hands aren't. I have bought several hickory rods with pinned tips from October Country and never had one with grain run-out. Not saying it wouldn't happen but all of them I've purchased have been very good. Just cut them to length, add a tip and pin it on the other end (unless you want to leave it without) seal it and you're good.

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I have one of those brass ramrods from October Country. It works great but is too heavy hanging below my long Pennsylvania rifle barrel. I've also tried one of those plastic delron rods and it's like trying to push a wet noodle down the barrel. Wood it is for me.

 

[Black Hand]

It takes about an hour to make a rammer with a rasp, plane, scraper and sandpaper. I don't know why anyone would willingly buy a rammer of questionable parentage...

 

[MountainRanger]

It was an idea born of aggravation. I've seen fellows trying to ram a ball with one of those black noodles and I've gotten a chuckle out of it. This is the first rod I've ever broken (and cracked). I am inclined to stick with either the wood under barrel rammer or my bench rod I guess.

I really appreciate the nice input :thumbsup:

 

[jethro224]

I had reversed it to ram a ball. The builder formed what I refer to a the tip almost to a point. This end fit down into a bevel on the forward screw onthe lock.

Use the big end to ram the ball! Several of my guns have tapered ramrods like you describe. The big end is used for ramming balls. The small end with the brass tip is only used for screwing in jags or other attachments.

Also, as jbwilliams said,

Split hickory is the way to go

. NO runout in a split. :thumbsup:

it absolutely demands swabbing out, which requires going back to where I stow my cleaning supplies and the interrupts the woods walk.

Why don't you just bring a jag and a couple of cleaning patches with you?

 

[Black Hand]

Try tying a string to the middle of a wad of tow. Run the damp wad down the barrel with the rammer and pull it back out with the string. This can be achieved without removing the rammer from the bore or even the rammer losing contact with the tow. This method doesn't require a jag...