What happens When You Accidentally Shoot a Ramrod out of your gun?

[Cvkotvkse]

There's been a lot of posting on this thread and another "conversation" somewhere else. I responded that I haven't shot a ramrod ever before and I've been muzzleloading for over 55 years.

Well, I should never have read any of the posts about it and now I have to "fess up". I think I launched mine last week, though I can't prove it. I generally load with the wood underbarrel ram rod at the range and of course I did so when hunting. I will now lay out the evidence I DO have and let everyone to decide YEA or NAY because I can't decide, myself.

I was shooting my .45 flintlock and I was alone at the range and I prefer this with no witnesses. I was loading & shooting, loading and shooting but when I started to load the next shot I could find no ramrod anywhere. That was the most critical evidence I could find, and I searched the entire empty firing shelter but found nothing. I then started walking downrange sweeping the ground with my eyes and thought if I did launch it I should be able to find it. I moved slowly down and back with with careful attention to anything remotely "stick like". Well nothing to do so I packed up and headed home. Fortunately I had a replacement rod so the rifle is complete once more. I've "dry balled" more times than I can count but never this!

Did I actually launch it???

I would think that the increased recoil would have been obvious to you if you had...?

 

[dave951]

There was a N-SSA team that purposely launched their ramrods at the pigeon board once. My dad launched his out of his '62 Colt. None of the muskets had any problems as a result.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

Back in the bicentennial days we had one member in our group hit the side of the stone courthouse, lucky he didn't put it thru a window!

 

[BillyC]

You get an award...
You put that award next to all your dry ball awards.

You get to pay $15 shipping for a $6 ramrod. Don’t ask me how I know. LOL

 

[BillyC]

There's been a lot of posting on this thread and another "conversation" somewhere else. I responded that I haven't shot a ramrod ever before and I've been muzzleloading for over 55 years.

Well, I should never have read any of the posts about it and now I have to "fess up". I think I launched mine last week, though I can't prove it. I generally load with the wood underbarrel ram rod at the range and of course I did so when hunting. I will now lay out the evidence I DO have and let everyone to decide YEA or NAY because I can't decide, myself.

I was shooting my .45 flintlock and I was alone at the range and I prefer this with no witnesses. I was loading & shooting, loading and shooting but when I started to load the next shot I could find no ramrod anywhere. That was the most critical evidence I could find, and I searched the entire empty firing shelter but found nothing. I then started walking downrange sweeping the ground with my eyes and thought if I did launch it I should be able to find it. I moved slowly down and back with with careful attention to anything remotely "stick like". Well nothing to do so I packed up and headed home. Fortunately I had a replacement rod so the rifle is complete once more. I've "dry balled" more times than I can count but never this!

Did I actually launch it???

Yep, you launched it!!
Mine was 75 yards down and twenty yards over. I did find a big splinter right at the target frame.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

WOW....as I read the posts from this thread and from FB, I realize this week's video experiment has been tried by lots of shooters ( accidentally ) over the years in this fascinating hobby. Some fellars has said they remember their friends shooting ramrods 10+ years ago. Seems like this is something that is never forgotten.
Below are a few examples:

****I had to look a little harder and found some comments from the other point of view:

I never dreamed this thread would create this much controversy. The gun was not hurt in this one...in fact, the same gun has been used in various videos since that one was put together. You'll see some of those soon.

The shooting video I plan on posting this Sunday will be a lot less controversial.
It even has at least 2 tidbits of useful information to the new shooters out there.
Even my critics should find little fault in it.

Its been a VERY interesting thread for sure.
Thanks to all that watched the video.

 

[The Armstrong's]

I’ve had 4 clients do it. Two one morning in the predawn firing a cap on an “empty chamber” to clean the nipple. One at the front door and the other at the back door. The ramrods made a beautiful whistling noise as they arced across the meadow. I was walking back and saw the one do it. He’d put the ramrod on his thigh and let her fly. I thought his heel was gonna hit the back of his head. The other fellow was gonna do it inside the cabin but I guide told him to take it outside. He opened the door and one handed his custom Hawken out the door. That beautiful rifle went skittering across the brick floor. He’d been stuck in a snowstorm for 3 days in Denver and not much sleep. He hollered “who the (bleep) loaded my rifle? Someone suggested he did. In his exhaustion he’d forget he did it that night. Ironically we had two fellows hunting together with no ramrods. The Cabelas’s ex’s were in camp and stopped by the hardware store and bought em a whole bouquet of ramrods. Six dowel rods.
The other two did it with inlines. One week apart at the range. Both shot at the same target. Both hit the target at 100 yds. Both a smidge high. Found both aluminum rods. Going through the target backer wasn’t good for them. One of the client got a detached retina from the incident and wrecked his encore. Guess I’ll pass on trying ramrod….I hope!

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

It usually runs your ramrod.

I have to wonder how many steel ram rods went down range in the Civil War.

There's been a lot of posting on this thread and another "conversation" somewhere else. I responded that I haven't shot a ramrod ever before and I've been muzzleloading for over 55 years.

Well, I should never have read any of the posts about it and now I have to "fess up". I think I launched mine last week, though I can't prove it. I generally load with the wood underbarrel ram rod at the range and of course I did so when hunting. I will now lay out the evidence I DO have and let everyone to decide YEA or NAY because I can't decide, myself.

I was shooting my .45 flintlock and I was alone at the range and I prefer this with no witnesses. I was loading & shooting, loading and shooting but when I started to load the next shot I could find no ramrod anywhere. That was the most critical evidence I could find, and I searched the entire empty firing shelter but found nothing. I then started walking downrange sweeping the ground with my eyes and thought if I did launch it I should be able to find it. I moved slowly down and back with with careful attention to anything remotely "stick like". Well nothing to do so I packed up and headed home. Fortunately I had a replacement rod so the rifle is complete once more. I've "dry balled" more times than I can count but never this!

Did I actually launch it???

It's probably in orbit as I type this.

 

[hanshi]

I would think that the increased recoil would have been obvious to you if you had...?

I forgot to mention it but I do recall that last shot kicking a bit. I was using squirrel loads at 25 yards, if that makes a difference.

 

[cynthialee]

mark me down in the 'this dude is a dumb ***' camp

I also couldn't get past the first video of his I came across

shoot a ramrod, ring your barrel, likely lose your rod and if it was the range rod instead of the wood one in the gun....you probably got a huge bruise

Pay attention! Don't be a dweeb about this stuff.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

After four pages of discussion, we have conclusively demonstrated that not every YouTube video is positively received by audience members

LD