Ramrod Question

[tenngun]

Although Delrin is flexible, if the right method of ramming a patched roundball or bullet is used, it will work OK.

The thing that some people do that is totally wrong is to follow the method that's used in the movies.
They see the hero grab the ramrod up at the top and in one mighty thrust, he rams the ball down the bore. This is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

To properly use the ramrod, after the ball or bullet is started in the bore locate the ramrod on top of the projectile. Move your hand up about 1 foot above the muzzle, grab the ramrod and push it down until your hand hits the muzzle. Then move your hand up a foot on the exposed rod and ram it down again.
Keep on doing this until the ball or bullet is tightly seated on the powder and your done.

Doing it this way with a good ramrod that doesn't have grain breakout is safe and effective. It won't break a good wooden ramrod or bend a Delrin rod.

Exactly right. A wooden rod used right won’t break. And delrin becomes unnecessary. Use knees to hold and both hands if needed for a short push. You shouldn’t be that tight, swab often, grasp close, push in short runs.

 

[Archer 756]

Has any one taken their wood rod and socked in coal oil to harden and make it able to flex with out braking All my wood rods have been done in coal oil for 30 day and really can flex without braking. This process is not new it goes back a ways

 

[brazosland]

Has any one taken their wood rod and socked in coal oil to harden and make it able to flex with out braking All my wood rods have been done in coal oil for 30 day and really can flex without braking. This process is not new it goes back a ways

All the rods I make get a month long soak. Made a pvc tube to do it in.

 

[Zonie]

Has any one taken their wood rod and socked in coal oil to harden and make it able to flex with out braking All my wood rods have been done in coal oil for 30 day and really can flex without braking. This process is not new it goes back a ways

IMO, soaking a wooden ramrod in coal oil or kerosene does little or nothing to make the rod harder or more flexible. About the only thing it does is to make the ramrod more stinky and keep wood eating bugs away.

 

[Prairieofthedog]

I soak all my brass rods in coal oil,and point them north on a full moon.

 

[Rifleman1776]

All good advice in posts so far. I made, sold and used Delrin for many years. Being too flexible was never a problem for me. In tiny calibers it might be a factor. My practice has always been to wipe my rod with a patch occasionally so I never experienced the Delrin picking up any dirt. My range rods are stainless steel, brass or Delrin. I used Delrin for hunting. It doesn't break and, to me, that is a huge safety factor, especially when one is out in the woods alone. To help them not look too much like plastic I sanded mine and took off the gloss. One time I forgot to put my wood rod back in before a ronny. Used and shot all week. No one noticed I wasn't using 'authentic' wood.

 

[Imacfrog]

Any thoughts on brass rods made to be an everyday ramrod? Some are “antiqued” to give them a wood like look in the same vein as a sanded Delrin rod.

 

[mooman76]

Kinda heavy compared to wood but doable if you don't mind the extra weight. My 32 came with an aluminum rod.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Any thoughts on brass rods made to be an everyday ramrod? Some are “antiqued” to give them a wood like look in the same vein as a sanded Delrin rod.

I think if you use a solid brass rod as an "everyday" ramrod, to be carried in the ramrod pipes, it will add considerable weight to your firearm. More weight to carry, and more weight to hold up if you are shooting offhand. It may also want to slide out if you should tip the muzzle down, due to its weight. Furthermore, the forward lock bolt on flintlock rifles sometimes impinges on the ramrod channel and the ramrod itself. The traditional "fix" for this problem is to taper the distal end of the rod. Putting that taper on a brass rod may be beyond the capabilities of many, including myself. With a wood rod, it's no problem.

If I were to use a brass rod, I think I would leave the surface smooth. You can always darken it with Brass Black, or just wipe it with dirty cleaning patches. The sulphur in black powder and black powder fouling reacts with brass and turns the surface black.

Delrin rods have been around for quite a while. Many people criticize them because of their flexibility, but they aren't going to flex inside the gun barrel, and it's good practice to ram your load with multiple short strokes rather than one long "swoop," anyway. The Delrin rods I have seen tend to be gently curved rather than straight, but they straighten out in the rifle bore and the curve in combination with the rod's natural springiness helps it stay in place, in the ramrod pipes.

Wood rods work fine, when used properly and made of the right type of wood with the right grain structure. Wood rods are traditional for most trade and sporting guns and rifles. Straight-grained hickory would be my choice for an everyday ramrod.

Please don't take any of this as criticism of your idea. Brass rods have their place, and they can work very well for their intended purpose. However, you requested our thoughts on the use of brass for an "everyday" ramrod, and those are mine.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[bradly_tx]

I think if you use a solid brass rod as an "everyday" ramrod, to be carried in the ramrod pipes, it will add considerable weight to your firearm. More weight to carry, and more weight to hold up if you are shooting offhand. It may also want to slide out if you should tip the muzzle down, due to its weight. Furthermore, the forward lock bolt on flintlock rifles sometimes impinges on the ramrod channel and the ramrod itself. The traditional "fix" for this problem is to taper the distal end of the rod. Putting that taper on a brass rod may be beyond the capabilities of many, including myself. With a wood rod, it's no problem.

If I were to use a brass rod, I think I would leave the surface smooth. You can always darken it with Brass Black, or just wipe it with dirty cleaning patches. The sulphur in black powder and black powder fouling reacts with brass and turns the surface black.

Delrin rods have been around for quite a while. Many people criticize them because of their flexibility, but they aren't going to flex inside the gun barrel, and it's good practice to ram your load with multiple short strokes rather than one long "swoop," anyway. The Delrin rods I have seen tend to be gently curved rather than straight, but they straighten out in the rifle bore and the curve in combination with the rod's natural springiness helps it stay in place, in the ramrod pipes.

Wood rods work fine, when used properly and made of the right type of wood with the right grain structure. Wood rods are traditional for most trade and sporting guns and rifles. Straight-grained hickory would be my choice for an everyday ramrod.

Please don't take any of this as criticism of your idea. Brass rods have their place, and they can work very well for their intended purpose. However, you requested our thoughts on the use of brass for an "everyday" ramrod, and those are mine.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

Well said Notchy!
I shoot .32cal exclusively And I make all my ramrods. No metal rod ends for me, I just carve a cleaning jag in the end of the rod. Works for me!

 

[Imacfrog]

I think if you use a solid brass rod as an "everyday" ramrod, to be carried in the ramrod pipes, it will add considerable weight to your firearm. More weight to carry, and more weight to hold up if you are shooting offhand. It may also want to slide out if you should tip the muzzle down, due to its weight. Furthermore, the forward lock bolt on flintlock rifles sometimes impinges on the ramrod channel and the ramrod itself. The traditional "fix" for this problem is to taper the distal end of the rod. Putting that taper on a brass rod may be beyond the capabilities of many, including myself. With a wood rod, it's no problem.

If I were to use a brass rod, I think I would leave the surface smooth. You can always darken it with Brass Black, or just wipe it with dirty cleaning patches. The sulphur in black powder and black powder fouling reacts with brass and turns the surface black.

Delrin rods have been around for quite a while. Many people criticize them because of their flexibility, but they aren't going to flex inside the gun barrel, and it's good practice to ram your load with multiple short strokes rather than one long "swoop," anyway. The Delrin rods I have seen tend to be gently curved rather than straight, but they straighten out in the rifle bore and the curve in combination with the rod's natural springiness helps it stay in place, in the ramrod pipes.

Wood rods work fine, when used properly and made of the right type of wood with the right grain structure. Wood rods are traditional for most trade and sporting guns and rifles. Straight-grained hickory would be my choice for an everyday ramrod.

Please don't take any of this as criticism of your idea. Brass rods have their place, and they can work very well for their intended purpose. However, you requested our thoughts on the use of brass for an "everyday" ramrod, and those are mine.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.

 

[Flinty Scot]

I like using a Delrin rod for cleaning. The flex allows me to keep the gun upright and warp the rod in and out of the long barrel w/out tapping the ceiling each time I withdraw it.
I tend to do my cleaning late in the day/evening, so it's a courtesy to my upstairs neighbor.

I use a brass range rod or the gun's hickory rod for loading, depending on my mood and where I'm shooting.

 

[flntlokr]

I use nothing but wood rods for loading. I have a sectional steel rod (with muzzle guide) that I can use for cleaning, if one of my fixed-length metal cleaning rods won't reach. The wood rods can also be used for cleaning. I buy my sticks at Home Depot; I check the bin every time I go by, and get the dowels with straight, no run-out grain. There is always one immersed in kerosene in a copper tube in my shop, so I have a blank whenever needed. (I give most of them away) I have never had one break while loading, but have worn a couple too thin to continue using safely. If your ball-patch combo is too tight to 'comfortably' load with a wood rod, it is too tight IMHO>

 

[user 36911]

I use a good hickory rod for everything and never broke one. They're made to use. Not for show.

 

[tnlonghunter]

I've broken 2 hickory rods. Both had grain runout, and in both cases I was at fault. He first, I didn't own a good range rod and actually reglued cracks a couple times before it failed. The second was pure laziness on my part - I just didn't pay enough attention to how I was grabbing the rod and that I had reached too high and bent it. Lessons learned. The time I really want a steel range rod is when I have to pull a ball. Having the extra weight and a handle helps screw the puller into the ball.

 

[smo]

I've know Guys who use brass rods and carry them in the rr pipes on the gun.

Yes it adds a little weight, but sometimes that not a bad thing... It'll sure help settle the wobble on a muzzle light smoothbore..

I think I remember someone posting that hollow brass rods were available as well.

 

[Billy Boy]

I have brass rods I use for loading and cleaning. The only time my wood rods are ever used is for a hunting reload in the field.

Lots of great info in the replies above.

Small cal are a problem, for my 32 buggy rifle (24” barrel) I finally settled on an Easton aluminum arrow. Belled the business end ( it is threaded 8-32), and epoxied a small knob on the top end. Snug fit in bore, plenty strong and think of all the deer that are alive since I took that arrow out of service..

 

[Heyyou48307]

Ive always used hickory soaked in linseed oil for a week or so. I use to keep several soaking in a pvc tube for when i needed one. Ive had several pedersolis, nice guns but really bad ramrods, get em at track of the wolf, dont trust hardware store dowel

 

[user 36911]

I've read they have to soak for a year to do it right.

 

[Imacfrog]

I’m just afraid of having the grain rise up and bite me! LOL I have shot cedar arrows off my hand that have given me enough pain to last a lifetime! LOL