Ramrod won't go all the way down the ramrod channel on the 1861 Springfield Rifle

[Wyatt Brock]

I have a 1861 Springfield Rifle. After I took it out to shoot I cleaned it. Now the ramrod won't go down all the way. I may have gotten something wet down the ramrod channel accidentally but I don't know. What's the best way to get to gondown again. I heard you can use emery cloth to sand the end of the ramrod a little bit so it slides down. Or you can try to sand the channel a little to get it to slide down in. What's the best way to get the ramrod back where it should be?

 

[Eterry]

First, howdy and welcome to the forum.
To prevent scammers and spammers new members aren't allowed to post pics until they have some time under their belt, or become a supporting member. So I'm forced to delete your pics.

But, my Zouave, my Mowrey, and others I've owned had the same problem.
I found if you turn the ramrod slowly while pushing it down it'll find the sweet spot and return to battery.
The more you use it the better it gets. I guess you could field strip it and find where it rubs, but I never did.

Good luck, welcome aboard and keep shooting.

 

[hawkeye2]

Eterry, I hadn't heard of that rule so I went looking. All I could find was the thread started by Zonie and didn't see it there. Is there another thread dealing with forum rules and if so where?

 

[hawkeye2]

Wyatt I wouldn't sand down a metal ramrod. It sounds like the wood has swollen either from the humidity or you got some water in the hole while cleaning. One fix is to find someone with a ramrod hole drill of the correct size and ream the hole. Original 61s have a metal stop at the bottom of the hole so you couldn't go too far but I don't know if repros have that feature. The 61 ramrod should slide down the hole easily and is retained by the swell in the rammer fitting into a corresponding spot in the channel just behind the nose cap. It's unlikely your problem is in the open channel but rather in the hole.

 

[TDM]

Doesn’t the 1861 have a steel/iron ram rod?

There’s a plate in the stock to hold tension on the ram rod. It could be canted from the pin or spring being loose.

Edit: as @hawkeye2 said, didn’t read it all first.

 

[hawkeye2]

Yes it does, specific to the 55 & 61 models and with threads on the end.

 

[hawkeye2]

The 55 & 61 ramrod stop is a metal piece at right angles to the ramrod and is fixed solidly in a mortise in the stock, like a brick wall. The 63 and the trapdoors used a spoon above the hole to put pressure on the ramrod holding it by friction. The spoon is held by a cross pin and is arranged so that it cannot come loose and bind or block things.

 

[wiscoaster]

Eterry, I hadn't heard of that rule so I went looking.

It's not a rule, it's a posting permission. These permissions are set behind the scenes in the forum software by moderators and administrators. Different numbers and degrees of permissions can be assigned depending on the member's group: new member, supporting member, forum staff, reaching certain post count, etc.