Is This Possible?

[Melchi577]

regarding the use of arrows i have read of Sir Francis Drake having sprites made for his musketeers these were small iron darts used to penetrate the heavy wooden crows nests of the Spanish ships and thus stop the Spanish shooting down from them.

 

[Newtire]

Did that by accident one time myself. Wondered why that load kicked so much! 50 yds. down range, I found a charred piece of my ramrod. I’m sure it would have put the hurts to anyone standing in its way.

 

[toot]

One of the things stressed when shooting blanks during a re-enactment if your use the rod to tamp a paper wad make sure and remove it. I've even seen some where they collect all the rods from the participants and only shoot loose powder.

a CIVIL WARREINACTOR was killed in VT. about 20+yrs ago. the person was shot through the through, and died.

 

[coachk64]

I remember that in the 90s, a reenactor was accidentally shot with a ramrod during a film shoot. If I remember correctly they were filming a battle scene and the director wanted to make it look more realistic by having everyone go through the motions of ramming their load. One guy forgot to return it to the thimbles and accidentally shot another reenactor in the chest. He was seriously injured but I believe he survived. Reinforced the reason why we never rammed our cartridges

 

[PathfinderNC]

I have heard the distinctive sounds of a ramrods being fired down range, The metal one made an odd whipping sound and was bent when found. The wood ones seemed to whoosh and then disintegrate in to splinted and sharps when it hit against the metal target frame,

Must be a pretty wild range with all that going on

 

[Snydly]

Had it happen to a fellow shooter at a monthly shoot. Ramrod was broke and half of it was stuck on the burm,,so yes it is possible.

 

[Livbucks]

I dont get how one forgets to remove a ramrod.

 

[sportster73hp]

I dont get how one forgets to remove a ramrod.

Usually happens when distracted or in a hurry.

 

[Bob McBride]

I dont get how one forgets to remove a ramrod.

It's the 'distracted' equivalent of dry balling or running your car out of gas or biting your tongue.....

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

years ago, a friend of mine bought a new home where he had made a dandy little 50 yd shooting range. He invited me and the wife over to shoot. We shot handguns and .22s and then got out the muzzleloaders. We took turns he and I, and about the 5th shot, he was shooting and I was loading. BOOOM! and he goes OWW!! That one really kicked hard! I said I wonder why? It did not occur to me until we checked the gun over. No ramrod. Not sure what led up to the incident but it reinforced the fact you must remain vigilant when shooting!

 

[Auldjin]

A quote from Rifleman Green:

"Three of these big ugly fellows came within ten yards of me and my front-rank man; I had got my ball in my rifle, but had not time to return the ramrod, so both ball and ramrod went through one of them. My comrade fired, and the ball struck another in the breast. I threw my rifle down, as it was no use to me without a ramrod, and retired about 20 yards. A sergeant of ours lay on his back, a musket ball having passed through his belly, I said 'Sergeant Bradley,' are you wounded?' He was groaning, poor fellow; and I said 'Lend me your rifle I have fired my ramrod away with the ball! I had not time to return it, as the Frenchman had his firelock at his shoulder, and probably in another moment I might have been killed or wounded!' The sergeant bid me take his rifle, and said 'It is of no use to me, they have done me, I am dying!'"

From: A Brief Outline of the Travels and Adventures of William Green, (late Rifle Brigade) During a Period of 10 Years in Denmark, Germany, and in the Peninsular War. I don't think you can apply "brief" to the title.

 

[Cvkotvkse]

Clark Gable does that with a Native attacker at the end of "Across the Wide Missouri."

 

[griffiga]

I saw an accidental ramrod shot down range many years ago. I’d say if someone was in its path then yes it would poke a hole through ya.

That actually happened to me. I was talking to the guy next to me while loading and accidentally shot my ramrod. Upon further inspection, a foot section of it actually went through the target (including 3/8 in particle board) sideways. The reason reinactors have to leave their ramrods back in the tent during live blank firing was because someone forgot to remove it and there was a serious accident.

 

[springfield art]

Back in the 50’s I saw a movie where a good guy, in a cabin, was frantically loading his muzzleloader as fast as he could because a bad guy was breaking in the door. I don’t remember if it was a smooth bore or rifle. The bad guy broke in just as the good guy was ramming the ball down the barrel. Without removing the ramrod from the barrel, the good guy pointed the weapon, ramrod and all, at the bad guy and puller the trigger. The ramrod impaled the bad guy and he died.

Is this scenario possible? Just wondering.

I certainly think it possible. I saw back then a similar program, where the frontiersman was out in the woods, being stalked by a lone Indian. He set himself up behind a log, and fired, knowing the Indian would then charge. He loaded powder, then placed the rammer in as the projectile. Upon firing at the nearing Indian, he impaled him, just as you saw in the cabin scene. Certainly would slow an attacker down to where you could finish him off.

 

[springfield art]

A friend has the dubious honor of shooting not one, but two ramrods downrange. He never found the first rod but he did recover the second ramrod. It was so badly bent that it was unusable.

Yup! I admit that I fired a steel ramrod downrange with a '64 Springfield musket repro. Bent up it was, and I was shocked at how I could have done that!

 

[Artificer]

In Civ War reenacting back east we stopped using ramrods at least 25 years ago for that reason exactly. No one collected them you just didn't use em, pour the powder dowen the barrel and tamp the rifle butt on the ground to settle the powder.

Actually in all the battle reenactments and "tacticals" from 1980 onwards, no one was allowed to have a rammer in their muskets, so it wouldn't happen.

In the 1960's when they did the Centennial Reenactments, one guy was speared through the shoulder with a rammer at about 50 yards and that was only a blank load behind the rammer. That happened at a 1st Manassas reenactment. The rammer went all the way through his shoulder, though was stuck in his body.

Gus

 

[springfield art]

Actually in all the battle reenactments and "tacticals" from 1980 onwards, no one was allowed to have a rammer in their muskets, so it wouldn't happen.

In the 1960's when they did the Centennial Reenactments, one guy was speared through the shoulder with a rammer at about 50 yards and that was only a blank load behind the rammer. That happened at a 1st Manassas reenactment. The rammer went all the way through his shoulder, though was stuck in his body.

Gus

There were a lot of raw, untrained, undisciplined yahoos back in those days. I did Rev War enactments quite a bit during the Bi-Cen; we kept the ramrods but never used them. They were left untouched so no one had any reason to be handling one during the "action". Did the guy survive?

 

[kje54]

Actually in all the battle reenactments and "tacticals" from 1980 onwards, no one was allowed to have a rammer in their muskets, so it wouldn't happen.

In the 1960's when they did the Centennial Reenactments, one guy was speared through the shoulder with a rammer at about 50 yards and that was only a blank load behind the rammer. That happened at a 1st Manassas reenactment. The rammer went all the way through his shoulder, though was stuck in his body.

Gus

I lived in NoVA for 35 years, got into Civ War in the 1980s, we always had our rammers in just never pulled them out unless we were doing a loading demonstration.

 

[Artificer]

I lived in NoVA for 35 years, got into Civ War in the 1980s, we always had our rammers in just never pulled them out unless we were doing a loading demonstration.

You know, thinking back, you are correct. We did leave rammers in our muskets, though it was VERBOTEN to pull them out during a reenactment or tactical event. Sorry about that.

What unit were you with?

Gus

 

[Artificer]

There were a lot of raw, untrained, undisciplined yahoos back in those days. I did Rev War enactments quite a bit during the Bi-Cen; we kept the ramrods but never used them. They were left untouched so no one had any reason to be handling one during the "action". Did the guy survive?

Yes, the guy was very lucky the rammer did not hit anything vital and survived.

Gus