Seating the ball

[rrebuck]

I know many shooters have a mark on their ramrod to tell them when the ball is fully seated on the powder. I must load tightly b/c if I just push it down without the bounce test, the ramrod often won't bounce at the first attempt. I also like the bounce when I'm trying different charges, since the the mark on ramrod may not tell me I'm fully seated with a different amount of powder. I'm also a fairly cautious and would rather compress my charge than risk bulging my barrel. I'm also using the rod that is only slightly longer than the barrel. If I were loading with a T-handled metal rod at the range, then I probably wouldn't do the bounce.

 

[RHensley]

Wat JJ said is spot on. Seat firmly but bounce not necessary. In fact, the jag could mess up the ball and destroy accuracy.

I really can't say about round balls but My brother beat the conical bullit with the ram rod and at 50 yards it was off the center of the tartget and went through sideways. When I find the load I like I seat the ball and mark the ram rod at muzzles end. This way I know it's loaded proper at a glance.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Well, I have read through all of the comments and offer the following. The idea of bouncing the ramrod traces back to the loading of a muzzle loading shotgun. When I first got into muzzle loaders, back in the 60's, how to information was scarce and there was no internet to call upon for helpful guidance. At the time, my best source of information was my Grandfather who hunted with a ML shotgun when he was a boy. Granddad said it was common practice to throw the ramrod down the barrel until the "tunk", "tunk", "tunk" became "tink", "tink", "tink". This was how he knew he had achieved desired wad column compression and he believed it shot harder.

With round ball rifles however - only press firmly.

 

[sprucefly]

I got into the habit of bouncing the wooden ramrod decades ago. I do it with a quick flick of the wrist throwing the ramrod a few inches down the barrel, and quit when the ramrod bounces back in inch or so. Started doing it to make sure the ball was indeed seated on the powder. Several thousand rounds later, I have a good feel for just how well seated each shot will be by the bounce. Works for me. Almost 70 and can still usually hit briquettes, golf balls, pretzels, hanging from a string most of the time. Rifle groups better than I can hold. YMMV.

i was told years ago when I started shooting my BP rifle ,( and didn’t know that I didn’t know), to seat the ball untill the rod bounced back when thrown against it. Seemed reasonable, but I got to wondering if that deformed the ball enough that it affected accuracy. How do you guys do it?

I was taught many years ago by my father to bounce the ramrod. I noticed that after seating the ball I raise the ramrod up about 4 inches and drop it. I never throw it. I belive this process is easier on the ball than the short starter process. I intend to continue rod bouncing. Every time I do it I can see my father smiling. That's one of the reasons I enjoy muzzle loading. Now that I'm 73, reliving those old memories is more important than hitting the bullseye.

 

[Denny B]

I just marked my ram rod to a full compacted charge and always compress the load to the mark.

 

[Caliper]

I've always bounced the ramrod. I go until I get a certain amount of bounce out of it. It's wooden, so not that heavy and the tip is concave, so minimal ball deformation. However, I feel this gives consistent seating pressure. This article below suggests that bouncing the ramrod will result in more consistent muzzle velocity as well.

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/bpcompress/bpcompress.html

 

[Travler]

I like the article - Whang that sucker! LOL

 

[M. De Land]

Many ram rod tips and most cleaning jags are concave to match the surface of the ball. If you are loading soft lead cast balls with the sprue up, then the sprue is shaped to the approximate surface of the spherical ball. Even so the hard driven ramrod isn't any more effective than a firm push to about 40 pounds of pressure. No real need to load with the butt of the gun on a bathroom scale. Just be consistent. A firm push will allow you to feel the ball settling on the powder. A marked ramrod is a better gauge for knowing the ball position than trying to bounce the ramrod.

I've never liked the idea of marking a loading rod and feel it is actually a false indicator as to compression amount.
Powder brands as well as lots have differing balk up (density levels) and your powder measure along with the "feel" of loading rod presser is all the indicator one needs to load consistently and thus accurately as well as safely.
Also scoring a wooden or metal loading rod is a sure way to weaken it at that point, to bend or break.

 

[Travler]

Just want to add - I mark my ramrod; Only at the empty level. 1) I verify there is nothing in the barrel with simply dropping the ramrod in. 2) At a glance I can see the stackup of what is down there. Clearly tell if I dry-balled it - not that that ever happens, but I can quickly tell id the ball is where it should be with powder or not.

I have been told by some that you want to mark with a loaded gun, but what if I vary my load down from the original mark? Then the line disappears and I have no idea what is going on!

 

[cannonball1]

Say what you will. I have been shooting black powder a very long time and have always bounced the ramrod until the charge is shown to be sealed when shooting "a round ball". I have always used a cupped jag and found pretty fair accuracy only to be told by many "You shouldn't do that". They told me I would get better groups without bouncing the ramrod. I'm here to tell you it didn't make much difference. I researched the bouncing ramrod topic quite extensively on the internet for what you can believe and the only real definitive answer I could find was a person who tried three different methods of shooting a round ball. Snug the ball up on the powder with some compression, leave the ball barely on the powder and the last was to seat the ball with the ramrod bounce method. This was done with a dead-rest and many shots. It has been too long ago and I don't remember specifics, but I do remember the article said his groups were way better with the ramrod bounce method at 100 yards. It seems like it went from a 5" group down to a 2" or 2 1/2" group. Whatever it was, it was a significant reduction and enough shots so you were pretty sure it wasn't a fluke. He did not know why, but his conclusion was that he felt the combination of the wad and ball may have seated better into the riflings. This is a Believe it or Not moment in time.

 

[Grenadier1758]

With the cupped jag, you are effectively swaging the ball to having a round nose and, if cast, smoothing over the sprue. I can see a similar result by using a steady pressure of about 40 pounds to seat the ball. Benefits of both methods can be part of a consistent loading process that will overcome the crusty ring of fouling at the breech. The best shooters in my club use the consistent pressure method.

 

[Rudyard]

Well I don't bounce the rod I do use the finger index though I E if the normal load shows say three fingers muzzle to rod end its as it should be ( Typically )Any markedly lower or higher is this way noted .. Yet I observe' capandball' the noted Hungarian shooter with an impressive record at International level & many videos shooting .Does bounce his rods ..So I guess its a case of take your fancy .
Rudyard

 

[belld416]

I’ve always bounced mine. I think the gentleman that got me into muzzleloaders bounced his and I followed suit.

I’ve shot some good groups in my few years of shooting. I wouldn’t think it would hurt your accuracy unless you were beating the fire out of it. But that’s just my personal opinion.