I like the ramrod sticking out a couple of inches or less beyond the muzzle. Why, I don't know...I guess it's from watching the movie "Sergeant York."
I stabbed my hand with my .32 Pedersoli ramrod.
I've made ramrods from ramin dowels you get at the hardware store. You've got to flex them to see if they'll break. I've made arrows out of ramin and an arrow flexes way more than a ramrod with a lot of force applied to it. But you gotta flex it in all directions to see if it will break.
I don't know for sure but I seriously doubt hickory ramrods are hand-split to follow the grain (not sure hickory has that kind of grain, can't remember). Lots of hickory around here, and it makes a great selfbow.
Poplar, dogwood, Osage should make great ramrods. You have to steam and straighten them out after cutting them down and most of these woods don't have much length to them without lots of branches coming off.