I'm an idjit-Stuck ramrod

I searched for a solution but didn't find this covered.

OK, so I was cleaning the barrel on a Zouave type rifle with the supplied steel ramrod and patches (no brushes) and everything went great through the hot water swabbing BUT when I ran an oiled patch down the bore after wards it stuck tight. I'm guessing I put more than one patch on the rod maybe.

Anyway I can't budge the rod more than about an inch which leaves very little to hold on to. This is the first time I've stuck a ram rod this bad. So,can someone help a idjit out with a method for gettin' this darn thing out? :surrender:

Happened to me once just recently. My solution was to wrap a rag around the end of the ramrod as a cusion, grab the ramrod with a pair of vicegrips(not too tight as to damage the rod just enough to grip it good)then use the visegrips as a "T" handle to pull the ramrod out twisting GENTLY with the twist of the rifling. Hope this helps.

If your ramrod is threaded at the exposed end then find a T-handle at your muzzleloader supply store; http://www.octobercountry.com/products3.php?productid=1013
If not, then use the vice-grip method. Pull on your rifle, not the ramrod, you get more leverage that way. Don't ask me how I know that.... :redface:

With the muzzle pointed straight up pour either quite a bit of oil or some water down the bore and let it soak for a while so that the stuck patch becomes thoroughly wet.

Grab the end of the metal ramrod with some Vise Grips and give it a pull. It should come out (he says with fingers crossed).

Thanks for the help everyone! :bow:

Thanks to everyone's good advice I got the ramrod out this morning along with the TWO patches I'd put on it.

Just a thought, if it is threaded on Both ends, the make RR extensions you can screw into it to make it longer. They make T handles to screw into them. And you could screw a long cleaning Jag into the exposed end & get a grip on it possibly.

Keith Lisle

Bezon all,
Something to keep a thought on... I have a slide hammer, The kind that you pull dents with. An old drill chuck on the end of the shaft and you can pull just about any stuck rod with no effort at all.
I have used it for really jammed ball as well. :wink:

I'm curious. Did you have a worm on the rod or did you have the patches on the tulip end?

KanawhaRanger said:

I'm curious. Did you have a worm on the rod or did you have the patches on the tulip end?

Click to expand...

I had patches on the tulip. One too many apparently. :redface:

It's not threaded on both ends...now. That may very well change though.

Shawnee Mike said:

Bezon all,
Something to keep a thought on... I have a slide hammer, The kind that you pull dents with. An old drill chuck on the end of the shaft and you can pull just about any stuck rod with no effort at all.
I have used it for really jammed ball as well. :wink:

Click to expand...

Ok, now that's just brilliant right there! :hatsoff: Thanks for that tip Shawnee Mike!

I would pore some vegetable oil down the barrel, don't be shy. Use allot :grin: Any type you have under the sink. Let it soak all night. Then take a pair of vice-grips or pliers and just pull. The rod will come right out o;
been there done that.

SmokeEater2 said:

KanawhaRanger said:

I'm curious. Did you have a worm on the rod or did you have the patches on the tulip end?

Click to expand...

I had patches on the tulip. One too many apparently. :redface:

Click to expand...

There's your problem. The tulip shaped heads on those ramrods are not designed to hold a patch, just for seating the bullet. You need to get a worm to screw onto the threaded end of the rod. Or better yet, get a jag that will thread on. You may have to make one or modify one since most factory jags have a threaded shank to thread into a standard rod. The big end of the ramrod used on Enfield and some other European rifles and muskets are slotted so that you can use a patch on the rod, but the early American military ramrods were not. The way they're shaped, you'll either lose a patch or it will jam when you pull it back. Those rods were designed to use a corkscrew shaped worm wrapped in tow. If you can find a jag with a hole threaded to fit your rod, that would be great. If you have a jag of the right caliber with a brass shank, you could cut it off and drill and tap your jag for your rod threads. If you have access to a lathe, it's a real easy job. For shooting at the range I would go ahead and get a range rod all fitted up and use it. And whenever you dryball or get a patch stuck (don't worry, you will) it'll be easier to get out than using the rifle rod. One little tip about pulling out a stuck rifle rod (if you're using a worm or jag): If you're at a reenactment or military style match you can lock two bayonets together on either side of the ramrod head and use it like a giant T-handle to pull it with. Put the tip of each bayonet through the socket of the other with the blades on either side of the ramrod. Squeeze tightly and pull.

Oh, and another thing. Don't feel bad about using the head for holding patches. I did the same thing more times than I want to admit. Sometimes you have to work with what you have. But if you get the tools you need as soon as you can, it will relieve you of a lot of frustration down the road. And believe me, you will want to make or buy duplicate tools if possible. Take my word for it.

:thumbsup:

Little is difficult if you have the right tools . . . . AND know how to use them.
TC

Yep,I agree about using the proper tools for the job. I ordered the correct sized jag,patch puller and scraper from Dixie and got it yesterday,much better.

Even though you've already removed the stuck ramrod here's another tool to add to your bag. Track of the Wolf carries a tool called a "Ramrod Puller", for $19.35. I've seen the tool in action and it works great even with just an inch or so of rod to grab hold of, it fits over the rr and then you press the two handles down and it grabs the rr by friction and pulls it up... the pictures in TOW says it better and I do...... check it out. My hunting pard carries one and has had occasion to use and but now I think it's time for me to spring for one of those................ just in case.

Those are good to have. I won one in a blanket match a couple of years ago but haven't had to use it...yet. We've used them years ago and they do a good job. We have two fork shaped brackets bolted to the shed at our range so one man can hook the handle of a range rod onto them and pull down to get the rod out. But we all use range rods when shooting there. Not much good for a rifle rod. That's where this type of puller really shines. And as I mentioned before, two bayonets work when pulling a steel military rod, if you have them.

SmokeEater2 said:

Yep,I agree about using the proper tools for the job. I ordered the correct sized jag,patch puller and scraper from Dixie and got it yesterday,much better.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear it. It'll be a lot more enjoyable now.

I have to agree with kanawha. When I'm cleaning my rifle-musket, I use a .58 caliber range wad I got at Lodgewood Manufacturing for piece meal. Best investment I ever made. It has grooves in the jag that use the suction of a wet patch (suitably sized) to keep the patch in place. I haven't lost one yet. The rod can also take a breech scraper, worm/patch puller, and a bore brush.
Also, be VERY CAREFUL with the ramrods on the Italian guns, like the Zouave- The ramrods are not one piece, like the original, but TWO. The tulip head of the ramrod is actually brazed on about an inch up (or so) from the base of the tulip. With a little too much force, these can give out. Then, you have a ramrod head stuck in the bore...ouch.

Glad to hear you got it out okay, though! :grin:

-Chris