best ramrod

Zonie said:

OMG! Not scar photos!

I learned long ago, while sitting in a bar, never show or talk about an old scar. If you do, within less than a few second, half a dozen men will be rolling up their pant's legs and their sleeves and they will all start telling anyone within earshot how they got it and how it took months for it to heal.
This can go on for hours and if you started it, you better not leave until they are done.
If you do leave and then venture back into the bar several months later, the same group of men will proceed to roll up their trousers and their sleeves and start telling you about it, all over again.

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Oh ya, I could tell scar stories For days on end. Like the time I poked a hole in my palm with an Enfield ramrod (steel not wood), wrapped a bandanna around it and kept on shooting. It didn't leave a scar but I do have a permanent carbon tattoo under the skin from it.. My heart goes out to those maimed by a wooden rod. (especially those crappy factory ones), but a little blood or scar doesn't deter me one bit. Especially considering the muzzle end is far more dangerous.

SDSmlf said:

Sorry to disappoint with no hand impalement and only a thumb impalement.

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You didn't, Thank you for sharing .

Zonie said:

OMG! Not scar photos!

I learned long ago, while sitting in a bar, never show or talk about an old scar. If you do, within less than a few second, half a dozen men will be rolling up their pant's legs and their sleeves and they will all start telling anyone within earshot how they got it and how it took months for it to heal.
This can go on for hours and if you started it, you better not leave until they are done.
If you do leave and then venture back into the bar several months later, the same group of men will proceed to roll up their trousers and their sleeves and start telling you about it, all over again.

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How about this one... courtesy of a 1950’s vitamin press machine.
Last photo could have been a ramrod if I was fibbing. No that was doc Frankensteins work.

SDSmlf said:

Quite the number of replacement ram rods made and sold. Wonder why there is a market for them?

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Because people use them wrong, don't swab, have loads that are too tight and gun factories generally skimp on quality ramrods.
And yes, a wooden ramrod will age and wear out eventually.
They are a consumable item IMO.

Half-Cocked said:

How about this one...

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No really, please, no photos. I'm too tempted to show my vasectomy scar that looks like the Big Dipper.

Now back to ramrods, hey where's the brass ramrod crowd ? And, oh I think the guy from period ramrods died.

Carbon 6 said:

No really, please, no photos. I'm too tempted to show my vasectomy scar that looks like the Big Dipper.

Now back to ramrods, hey where's the brass ramrod crowd ? And, oh I think the guy from period ramrods died.

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ok ok you win lol!

as you said back to ram rods! Plus one on the swabbing between shots. Much much easier that way.

I use the wooden ramrod that came with my GPR when hunting or in the field.

At the range I have a brass ramrod and a carbon fiber which I drilled and superglued a billiard ball to the top.

That may sound strange, but I use carbon fiber arrows and have seen how they can splinter, the billiard ball is safer in my mind.

@tenngun

I’ve got several extras, a whipping stick for each of my guns...........

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Why didn't I think of that? A "whipping stick". Might be the perfect solution making my guns shape up and shoot straight!

There's a 10-gallon bucket out in my "shop" (one corner of the garage) with long scraps, dowel rods, pieces of threaded steel rod, cut-off broom handles, and two or three Delrin/plastic/nylon/fiberglass ramrods that folks have given me. I use straight-grain hickory underbarrel rods and straight-grain hickory range/loading/cleaning rods, with the exceptions of some T-handle steel range/cleaning rods that a good friend made by welding 5-inch T-handles onto steel rods then drilling and tapping threads into the other ends many years ago - two for rifle/shotgun and two pistol. Those are especially useful for pulling stuck loads, dry balls, and/or lost jags and patch worms. Back in the day I used to do a lot of range work, testing different guns and loads and those indestructible T-handle rods saved me boocoo time and trouble more than once and saved me having to un-britch a rifle more than once too. That said, I prefer traditional hickory sticks for everything else, cured with oil or kerosene to give `em some flex. I use what fits the ramrod pipes for under-barrel rods and close-to-bore-size for range and loading rods. I can't join the "Look at this one" crowd because I've managed to avoid jamming a busted ramrod into my hand, arm, or other body parts, despite suggestions from some of my alleged friends. Got plenty scars and scuff marks, some caused by bad judgement, some by lack of attention, and some inflicted by others, but none of them are from broken ramrods.

excellent useful comments thanks to all

I have a very nice brass rod with a bore guide and a wood handle I got from October country years ago. I still find STRAIGHT-GRAINED hickory to be the absolute best for strength to weight ratio and the extra plus that it's a historical material for most of my muzzleloaders. I will add, however, that if the only wood rods available were the horrendous ramin wood rods that come with factory guns, or most of the dowels that come from suppliers, I wouldn't use or would only use for living history. Fortunately, though not nearly as common as rods with grain run out, it is possible to get a straight-grained hickory or ash ramrod. You've either got to split it yourself, have someone else do it for you, or look through a pile of hickory dowels before finding a good one. There was a gentleman (Steve Bailey, I believe was his name) who ran a side business from a saw mill selling first-rate hickory ramrods. No need to buy 5 and only choose one as is the case from some suppliers. If I find his name and number, I'll add it to this post.

longcruise said:

Why didn't I think of that? A "whipping stick". Might be the perfect solution making my guns shape up and shoot straight!.

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There might be other ways to interpret that.

The Pennsylvania Gazette
October 13, 1784
Philadelphia
No. 5. Appeared before me, John Seely, Esquire, one of the Justices of the Peace in and for the county of Northumberland, Obadiah Walker, who being duly sworn, doth depose and say, that on Tuesday, the 21st instant, being at the house of ----- Trux, in the township of Shawaney, John Swift, Elisha Slatalee, Waterman Baldwin and Phineas Stephens, came into the aforesaid house, and after boasting of having beaten Capt. Boyd, one of the Commissioners, John Swift drew the wiper from the rifle with which he was armed, and taking the smaller part into his hand, struck the deponent about fifty times with the larger with all his force, and then departed the house; further this deponent saith not. OBADIAH WALKER.

Sworn and subscribed before me, at
Wyoming, Sept. 22d, 1784.
JOHN SEELY.

[Wyoming valley of Pennsylvania]

Spence

Good find, Spence.

I've used a couple different kinds of wood, aluminum, brass, delrin, steel, and stainless steel rods. I have not got to try fiberglass, and don't have much desire to. I will say right off the bat that that I have only bought one gun I was happy with the ramrod, and that was on an unmentionable, with a nice aluminum ramrod. Every wood ramrod I got with a gun was either chincy or had bad ends, or both. One I had used was (unknown to me) a hardware store dowel with a brass end glued on.

By far the worst is Delrin. Whoever decided that this was "unbreakable"... well I suppose it wont break. It won't break in the same way a cooked noodle won't break. But at the end of the day, ramming a ball down a barrel with a cooked noodle sucks!

Brass is a less than desirable ramrod. It is not going to break, but it is not as strong as steel either. At the same time it is very heavy for its size.

Steel and stainless steel ramrods I do like, but with the caveat of a bore guide. I really love the stainless range rods from Track of the wolf that have a brass bore guide, and a nice wood handle. Pro tip- pin the handles by drilling through and using roll pins to pin them to the rod. If you don't, one day you will pull the handle off when swabbing, and have to call it a day.

Aluminum is a modern standard. There isn't much to say, they work. Actually I will separate into hollow and solid aluminum. I prefer hollow aluminum, as it it far lighter, but still plenty strong. I've never broke one anyway. The hollow ones use push in ends. Do like with wood, both epoxy and pin the ends, or they will pull out. Solid aluminum works fine too, and is not overly heavy.

Now in the past I was more in the aluminum camp for the carried rod (on the gun). Over time I am drifting more and more to a well built hickory rod. By well built, I mean built by me. I've never found one sold I like. I buy hickory dowel from Track of the Wolf, the good stuff that is hand selected for ramrods, which doesn't have any runout. I then attach whatever ends I like by grinding down the wood ends to barely fit inside the metal ends (aka tips), and then a few slight grooves in the wood to help the epoxy get a real good grip. Inside the rod ends I take the roughest sandpaper I have, about 80 grit, and scuff the insides of them. I then epoxy the ends on with something good like Devcon or JB weld. After dried, I find a decent sized copper wire, which I have plenty of solid wire, and 10 gauge works good. I then drill a hole just a little bigger than the wire through the rod end, and slightly chamfer the hole on each side. I cut the wire just a little longer than the rod is wide, set it on a vice, and lightly peen the wire ends to essentially make a copper rivet. To finish, file the ends flush, sand the rod, and coat (I like linseed oil).

I find a hickory rod put together like this is extremely strong and stiff, yet is about the lightest option out there. It looks good to boot. I use the stainless steel range rod for most things, but the carried rod gets used as well.

This is what I use and I have never broken one yet. Extremely durable and light. I wipe the labeling off with lacquer thinner and it looks like a real wood grain finish.

If you're going to the range for many shots , make a wooden range rod w/pinned tip to save your gun r/r for hunting or offhand matches when only one rod can be used. Use the gun rod for wiping and the wooden range rod for seating balls. Always use a short starter , and it doesn't have to have a tip on it. Shot for years and never have used a tip on short starters. It is one of those items easily forgotten on the loading bench anyway.........oldwood

Boomerang said:

This is what I use and I have never broken one yet. Extremely durable and light. I wipe the labeling off with lacquer thinner and it looks like a real wood grain finish.
View attachment 41053

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So what is it?

Fiberglass driveway marker?

Boomerang said:

This is what I use and I have never broken one yet. Extremely durable and light. I wipe the labeling off with lacquer thinner and it looks like a real wood grain finish.
View attachment 41053

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mooman76 said:

So what is it?

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Guessing it’s an arrow (likely carbon) with a wood grain finish. Have seen them used for ramrods by folks. Limited to about 31” in length.

Or I could be completely wrong about what @Boomerang is referring to. Hard to read someone’s mind or figure something out from a blurry partial photograph.

mooman76 said:

So what is it?

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Its a carbon fiber arrow shaft with the wood grain finish. The 340 spine is the stiffest one and they are around 5/16" diameter. With a jag on the end it is 33-1/2 inches long. If you need a longer one just splice two together with an insert and cut to length. The finish is very smooth and won't pick up dirt and cause barrel erosion.