Here is the latest article from Muzzle Blasts Online. I do not see that hickory is 'aways back'.
I am not a re-enactor but like thousands of others I use hickory...like hundreds of thousands of others that lived before us I use hickory. I think you would find that almost all of us would not 'drum you out of camp' for using fiberglass or brass. The use of hickory is not unsafe when used correctly as has been proven for hundreds of years.
One thing I would like to mention...I feel your post is the type that drives a wedge between those who prefer to use traditional accoutrements with traditional rifles and those who don't. It certainly isn't worded to heal wounds.
The three figures following the woods are 'crushing','shearing' & 'elasticity'.
Ash, black 5970 1570 1.60
Ash, white 7410 1910 1.74
Beech 7300 2010 1.72
Birch, yellow 8170 1880 2.01
Cherry, black 7110 1130 1.49
Elm, American 5520 1510 1.34
Elm, rock 7050 1920 1.54
Hickory, pignut 9190 1980 2.26
Hickory, shagbark9210 2430 2.16
Locust, black 10180 2480 2.05
Maple, red 6540 1850 1.64
Maple, sugar 7830 2330 1.83
Oak, southern red 6090 1390 1.49
Oak, white 7440 2000 1.78
Walnut, black 7580 1370 1.68
Softwoods
Cedar, Port Orford 6250 1370 1.70
Fir, Douglas*** 6230 1510 1.49
Hemlock, mountain 6440 1540 1.33
Pine, loblolly 7130 1390 1.79
Pine, longleaf 8470 1510 1.98
Pine, slash 8140 1680 1.98
"Some of the properties of native woods relative to their suitability for ramrods are shown in Table 1. (Reviewer's note: The reader is cautioned that test results may not always be applicable. This is particularly so when the test is done on a piece of wood much larger in cross section than that of a ramrod. Or, if a ramrod is smaller in diameter than the thickness of the annular rings of a specific species, the test results won't apply to the use of that species for a ramrod. Commercial tests often conclude that curly woods are just as strong as straight grain woods. This is true of large samples, but when the sample gets to be thinner than the amplitude of the curl, the results are completely wrong. This would apply to thin cross sections of forestocks as well as to small diameter ramrods.) It is no surprise that the hickories have high compression and shear strengths (although black locust beats hickories in both categories). However, one of the big surprises is that birch (the dowels you find in hardware stores are often made of birch) is close to the hickories in both categories. The elasticity of the wood is also important since you want a ramrod that will resist deflection and return to its original shape (one of my early attempts at using a synthetic polymer ramrod was like trying to push cooked spaghetti through a keyhole). According to the ``Wood Handbook,'' (Agricultural Handbook no. 72, 1987) which rates the modulus of elasticity calculated from a simply-supported center-loaded beam, birch is more elastic than many of the other hardwoods such as ash, beech, elm, and nearly equals hickory and locust. Although the common hardware store dowel has been dismissed by previous writers as unsuitable for ramrods, yellow birch dowels would probably make excellent ramrods if carefully selected for grain. Another surprise from Table 1 is that longleaf and slash pine rate right up there with most of the hardwoods and beat some of them in both compression strength and shearing strength. Furthermore, they are more elastic than all the hardwoods except birch, hickory, and locust. If the top ten woods were rated in decreasing order of combined strengths (compression and shear), we would have to put locust first (although I bet that osage orange would rival it for first place if comparable data were available), followed by shagbark hickory, pignut hickory, sugar maple, yellow birch, longleaf pine, slash pine, white oak, white ash, and beech.
Exotic woods such as ebony were used for ramrods on some of the more expensive European muzzleloading arms. Unfortunately, I could not find comparable data to compare the exotic woods to our native American woods. Using such exotic woods may seem snobbish and a bit overdone; however, I must admit, after viewing fine arms collections in Britain, Germany, Lichtenstein, and Austria, that ebony does make a statement in elegance. Ebony ramrod blanks have been available commercially from time to time; if not currently available, a reasonable facsimile (Fig. 2) can be made by staining a nice hickory ramrod with a water-soluble aniline stain. While exotic woods may be obtained from a variety of sources, be wary of those not cut specifically for ramrods, no matter how visually attractive they may be. Ask yourself (and the potential supplier!) if you can get a straight piece long enough without significant grain run-out. Heavy duty use of a ramrod with grain run-out like the one shown in Fig. 1 is a sure invitation to disaster. Stain acceptance (some close-grained woods resist taking much color whether you use water-, alcohol-, or oil-based stains) is also important. It would be nice if the wood used for the ramrod could be of the same species as that of the stock since it should take finish to a comparable degree. The three most popular stock woods, cherry, maple, and walnut, might all make decent ramrods if straight-grained and dense. However, they are considerably less elastic than birch, hickory, or locust. And remember, don't yield to the temptation of making a curly maple ramrod for anything but a wall hanger! However, I have made durable ramrods from curly hickory (which seems relatively rare)."
For those of you that would like to see the latest article from Muzzle Blasts Online about ramrods:http://ezines.firelands.net/muzzleblastsonline/vol2no1/articles/mboj1.htm
Voyageur
