.50 loading jag that scribes RB the least?

[tonykarter]

I have three .50 loading jags and I pressed them on three RBs. Each scribed the ball, all differently. Two left rings of different depth. The third, the one with the widest front radius flattened the ball on top, to the point that when it rolls and the flat spot ends up somewhere near bottom it will stop and sit on the flat spot. Who might make a more precision jag that might scribe the ball less during loading? Obviously need 10/32 threads to put it on the end of my ramrod.

 

[necchi]

I like the flat ones.
But I found out it's not that big a deal.
When hand cast ball are made there's a "spru" on the ball, the spru is always loaded facing forward,, just to have consistency,,
My point is this spru forward issue leave a the spru as a deformity on the front of the ball,, it's a non issue for accuracy.
But if the mark does bother ya,(understandable), you could take one of the jags that scribes a line and run a little sandpaper on it,, cut down the sharp edge that's leaving the scribe,,
Take a ball and wrap some sand paper around it,, rub it into the jag,, know what I mean?

 

[Tom Compton]

:thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[tonykarter]

But I found out it's not that big a deal.

Best news today. I'd like to get a .50 loading jag that would be able to go through the thimbles on my Hawken. I hunt with a TC ramrod with the folding t-bar on the end, so I can't put that end down the thimbles and leave the loading jag pointing forward as would be with the hickory loading ramrod that came with the gun. Is there a loading jag out there that is less than the ~.390 ID of the thimbles? Would rather not have to carry the loading jag in my pocket and screw it on when reloading. Knowing me I will eventually drop it out of the tree. I have dropped most everything else at least once in the last 35 years.

 

[mooman76]

How much smaller do you want it? You can chuck it on a drill and use sand paper to turn it down some.

 

[tonykarter]

I considered that but with limited free time I thought I would see if one was already available. If not I'll chuck it up Christmas afternoon and get started. Thanks! Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[necchi]

Maybe a 36 or 38 caliber found here; http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/582/1

 

[smoothshooter]

I don't think it makes any difference.

But if you want a cheap and easy way to get a perfect contour match between ball and the end of the jag

degrease the end of the jag first.
Then put a small amount of metal set epoxy, or something similar on the end of the jag.
Wet the ball with saliva or light oil for a release agent, and press and rotate it firmly against the epoxy until you get a good squeeze-out of the excess epoxy.
Clean off the excess squeeze-out, and set the rod aside for half a day or more for the epoxy to dry before using.

This would work best when the concavity of the jag is deeper than the contour of the ball.

 

[Grenadier1758]

A jag small enough to fit the ram rod thimbles won't be an effective cleaning jag. Why not use your standard ramrod tip?

You can use a 1/2" grinding ball to match the cavity in the present tip and finish the job by wrapping a strip of sandpaper around the ball. Or do the same thing to a 36 caliber jag.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Late to the dance here. Others have already given good advice. :thumbsup: Do it yerself. Part of the ml game.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I sent you a PT. about ones for either .490 or .495 balls. :idunno:

 

[Gene L]

Or a 1/2" round head screw with lapping compound...in a drill chuck of course.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Make a rammer with one end left bare wood. No marring of barrel or ball.

 

[necchi]

I was thinking he could just dump the T handle rod and be good with what ever he put's on there.
What does a feller do with a T handle? :idunno:

Another thought came to mind today,
I stated earlier that a scratch or marr on the front of the ball matters not.
But if the rammer is too small wouldn't/couldn't it possibly push on just one side or the other instead of the center of the ball and cause a funny situation? Like forcing a patch to one side or the other,, Ya know(?) lop-sided? An un-even seating pressure?

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I'm wondering if perhaps you are just pushing too hard on the ball if your loading jag is scribing it. You don't want to pound the ball down, you just need to seat it securely. I push the ball down until I feel a slight crunch. I don't hammer on it with the ramrod nor do I put all of my substantial weight on the ramrod to compact it any further.

AND THEN, how in the world do you know if you are scribing the ball unless you load it and then remove it (Co2 it out) without using a ball puller. If you shoot it out, the ball won't be in any shape to check for scribing because it will become deformed on impact.

I also think you may perhaps be searching for a solution to a non-existent problem. The remainder of a sprue on a ball would be a much larger deformation of a perfectly round ball than an inscribed circle is. I also use my own cast balls and as necchi said, as long as I put the sprue up, it makes no difference in the accuracy at all. And, of course, with your loading jag, the inscribed circle is always going to be on the top of the lead ball.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[Rifleman1776]

Fact is: None of us shoot round balls.
What we load may be somewhat round at the start but with slamming, jamming, forcing into rifling and blasting out and (possibly) obturating, wat comes out is not wat we put in and certainly is not a pefect smooth sphere. Don't sweat the small stuff, jest count yer 'X's.

 

[WKD]

Really?

 

[floyd1350]

are you sure that the rod that came with the gun is hickory? my experience has been otherwise.

 

[AZbpBurner]

So, when you load your rifle & seat your ball, how do you know about that scribing, flattening and deforming? I figger that whatever I use to load will perform the same every time & if there's a problem with accuracy, it's likely the shooter & not the materials at fault.

You're not poking your eyeball over the muzzle to look at the loaded ball, are you?? :idunno: