troubleshooting for fowler loading

[hhughh]

I have a 12 ga fowler. 12 ga. OS cards are a snug-enough fit at the muzzle. As I run them down the barrel with my rod, they tend to give, running parallel down the barrel, and get "lost" on the side of my ramrod.

Are the cards too small, too large, or should the tip of the ramrod be larger? A little confused here, and in all the loading processes, no one addresses how to keep their cards/wads laying properly. So is there a way you keep this from happening, and not many have this problem?

Thanks,

Hugh

 

[tg]

A larger end on the rod would likley help.

 

[Rebel]

Is the end of the rod flared or are you just using a straight rod with no wad loading tip on it?

 

[roundball]

Agree with TG...definitely need a caliber size jag...AND...make sure its a shotgun jag which has a flat face

 

[bingo1952]

What everone else has said. Too small of a rod end.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Buy a bore diameter( a few thousandths less) cleaning jag, with a flat face. You want to support the edges of those wads as they go down the barrel, so they don't bend and turn out. That give you a proper seal against the gases when the wads are properly seated.

If you were using felt wads, oversized by one caliber or gauge, you can get away with using an undersized rammer, or jag. But, those felt wads present other problems in seating them consistently on the powder.

Have a gunsmith check your barrel to determine if it is choked, or you have this problem with the edges turning up.

With barrels that are choked, or have screw in chokes, you have to go to a thinner card( OS CARDS) turn them sideways and then fold them slightly to get through the choke area. Put a couple of thin cards down the barrel but introduce them so that they start into the muzzle at different points of the compass, or " clock". One aligned at 12-6; the second alighed 9-3 o'clock, etc. That way, any bending of the edges is compensated by another card that has a good solid edge that is not bent at the same place.

 

[10 gauge]

Go to Home Depot or your local hardware store and buy a 5/8" wood dowel rod and use it as your range rod. If it works for your cards then get the proper size jag for your field ram rod.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Be very careful with over the counter dowels. They are of poor quality as a rule and have grain run-out all along their length. They tend to break and the broken end usually gets driven into or through your hand. Get a proper jag from TOW or one of the other muzzleloading supply shops.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

If you break a 5/8" dowel you need a better lube! :haha:

 

[pichou]

You haven't bought any dowels recently! :haha:

They are all Made in China! :barf:

If you are a serious shotgunner, get a standard rod with a shotgun tip.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Yup! A dowel with run-out ain't hard to break. Proper equipment is the way to go.

 

[10 gauge]

A clear red oak dowel 5/8" O.D. at 36" long from Home Depot is pretty tuff to break. This will work for a test range rod, on a 28" long barrel 12ga ML. I don't recommend this dowel for you Arnold Schwarzenegger juice pumping moutain men.

 

[The Baron]

Buy a gauge-specific shotgun tip for your rod. And don't mess with hardware store dowels - buy an indestructable range rod. I bought a black synthetic one from TOTW and I love it.

When pushing o/s cards down, make a small cut in the edge with a knife or scissors first. This will help reduce trapped/compressed air and make the loading process a bit easier and faster.

 

[Deadeye]

I use a solid brass rod and the proper size jag but when I go to a muzzleloader trap shoot I find
about 99% of the shooters use dowels.

 

[hhughh]

Just to let anyone reading this---who may have the same problem--the Board was correct. Bought the tapered brass tip (Brown Bess style) from TOTW, fitted it onto my rod, and all loads smoothly now. Thanks so much for all the responses.

Hugh