Ramrod use

[larry wv]

I end up shooting a double ball load about every time I am playing with my guns. They do hit close together. I hunted for several weeks with two .530 balls in a Trade gun flinter 90 gr 3f. No nice Buck so no shot. I have a 15/16 barrel .58 cal but like it really well so won't try double with it. I have never had a ball move. But have never had a conical slide in the barrel either. Or a Deer fall in it's tracks after a shot (except head or spine). Edit I use a patch on each ball loaded one at a time.

Larry

 

[BrownBear]

I end up shooting a double ball load about every time I am playing with my guns.

Atsa way. Learn how to do what you're doin instead of pounding the keyboard claimin yer and ex-spurt.

Purty darned easy to mark your ramrod to indicate proper seating depth for that second ball, preventing any gaps. Heck, some of us even mark our ramrods for the first ball too, to prevent the same thing! :rotf:

 

[rf50cal]

My hunting rifle has a Getz .50 cal barrel. I use a .018 patch and my brass rod when I load at home in the morning. I use .015 patches in my ball block, so if I need to reload while hunting, I have a thinner patch to use with the wooden ramrod.

 

[pinemarten]

Hey rf50cal,

I see you have a Getz 50 cal barrel and that you like a .018 patch. What size ball works with the patch? I have a 42" 50 cal Getz new barrel and using .490 with .o22 lube was pretty tight. Just wondering what your experience has been with that barrel. I made a loading block from maple and have been using that with a short starter...that works pretty well. I have some bear grease I rendered and will try making up some patches of a thinner thickness with that. By the way, my mom's side of the families from Cedar Run up north of you in Lycoming County. My grandmother still has her grandfathers muzzleloader and I am hoping she will pass it down to me some day...

Daniel
Marquette Mich

 

[nhmoose]

Ever see a picture of a wooden rod through a palm?

Yes, several over the years. I believe one was even posted here. Ain't pretty. :shocked2:

Yes also performed first aid to one. Everyone wanted to pull it out but stopped that bad Idea. cut off 2 inches both sides [with pliers] after stabilizing it with bandages till the ambulance arrived.

My Hunting rods are Delrin or steel.

 

[Stumpkiller]

If you were the bear would you rather get hit with one round ball or two?

If it was my .54 with the same amount of powder for both choices - just the one.

You don't get something for nothing, and if double loads were an improvement they would have been the norm for rifles.

 

[rf50cal]

Daniel

Actually, 3 of my rifles have Getz .50 cal barrels. I use a .490 ball in all of them. For hunting I use 70 gr. 3f and TOW mink oil as my lube. My main interest is hunting. Mostly, my shooting consists of 15 to 20 shots at the series of 6 x 8 inch steel plates that I have hanging down through the hollow below my house. For that I use a .015 patch and spit for lube. If a ball seems a little tight, I just make sure the next patch is wetter. I use a wooden knob over the ramrod for the last few inches to seat the ball.

Good luck and I hope that family heirloom comes your way someday.

 

[pinemarten]

...thank you for your information!! Good stuff to know...

Daniel

 

[Rifleman1776]

Uh?????
Where did we lose the 'ram rod use' part of this thread???? :idunno:

 

[rushlake1]

Thank you for the helpful replies! Is there any significant loss of energy from the slightly smaller/less snug prb or is it more the difference in accuracy that is the trade off? If I want to kill a big ol' bar with my 50, will the tighter ball with more energy make a difference in getting the job done?

Daniel

-----------------------------------------------

This is where it started..just went a little sideways

 

[FPDoc]

I think a thinner patch like Walmart pillow ticking perhaps.. take your mic with you but IIRC it used to run about .017 or so.. search the forum "articles" for Stumpys Moose Juice and Moose Snot lube recipes (all the other suggestions are great as well). I haven't been able to find split hickory blanks for ramrods. I use 3/8 brass rod, it wont bend or break, taps easily for rod accessories and looks pretty good. I don't mind the extra weight.

 

[VTdeerhunter]

Hi Daniel...welcome to the club (or as my wife calls it an obsession that I spend all of our money on) :grin:
I use mink oil grease and a hickory rod on all my guns (a number I won't mention here in case the better half walks by) but I shoot hundreds and hundreds of round balls a year and have never broke a wood rod since my first shot back in 1979...short strokes and a final tap at the end, make sure you mark the rod so you know the ball is seated, you don't want to leave a gap between powder and ball.

 

[Shifty]

I can't buy split Hickory blanks either so i just split my own ,i make a Hickory Self Bow now and then and sometimes have some scraps left over that can be used to make a ram rod,there is a tutorial somewhere on the net about making Ram Rods this way,it's fun just another little thing you can add to your Hobby.

 

[pinemarten]

...thanks again everyone for interesting thoughts on the use of the ramrod. I am starting to use the wood rod a bit and so far so good. Being very very careful to develop good technique right off the bat. Very short strokes , marked rod, etc...

Daniel

 

[Twisted_1in66]

You can get straight-grain hickory rods from October Country Muzzleloading. I bought two of them about 7 years ago from them (shipping was the same for two as it was for one). I use one as a cleaning rod in camp at reenactments and the other I cut to size to replace a ramrod I had cracked (but not broken) from improper handling when charging my rifle. Have had no problems with them at all - great folks to deal with. Here's the link:
http://www.octobercountry.com/hickory-ramrod/

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan