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Ram Rod Issues

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I agree with most of the above posts. I mostly use a ss range rod (with muzzle protector) at the range but hickory rods elsewhere. One of my rifles (an M1841) has the standard military steel rod of that era and I have another .32 caplock that carries a much modified fiberglass rod. All woods are not created equal; get hickory.
 
Most hickory ram rods are very straight grained. However, every once and a while one can come across a rod with the grain going at somewhat of an angle. That's the one that can break. One can soak their ram rod in kerosene. It will make the fibers flex a little more and help prevent it from breaking.

Track of the Wolf sells an imported ram rod wood they claim is superior to hickory.
 
I think the run-out is the deciding factor. Hickory rods are or should be split so there is no run-out and the ramrod is as strong as possible. I've used Ramin (an imported wood and likely the standard "imported wood") and it can be a good wood for arrows or ramrods. Dowels are saw-cut and "doweled" (rounded). This allows the run-out problem to exist. An arrow or ramrod made from a sapling or split from a block has no run-out. The grain runs unimpeded from one end to the other like a bundle of intact fibers and is very strong. If the individual fibers run-out to the side of the cut dowel, it will fail. If an arrow it will go into your forearm, if a ramrod into your hand. I use 3/8" solid brass for a range rod, some use brakeline with an end flared, some use brass tubing.
 
Just some random thoughts...In over 40 years of shooting BP rifles I have only broken 1 ramrod and that was when I was an over zealous teenager.
...I recall an article in Muzzle Blasts, many years ago, where the author placed a new hickory rod into a 48" pipe filled with coal oil and left it there for a week. The end result was a very strong ,resiliant ramrod that is nearly unbreakable. I still do this...I own a range rod built by a, now deceased gentleman, made from split bamboo, much like a custom flyrod is { or was } built. Very strong and has lasted over 35 years. I wonder does anyone still do this kind of work?

John
 
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Your idea of replacing your ramrod with a new wooden one and then buying a range rod is a good one. That is the way I'd do it.

I have never used one of the TOW unbreakable rods but I have tried another one from Dixie and did not like it. It was too flexable to suit me. It will not break but I want something stiffer for a ram rod. Besides, a synthetic rod in your thimbles just doesn't look right. Keep a wooden rod in your thimbles but use your range rod. Just be sure that your range rod has a muzzle protector. You do not want your metal rod rubbing on your muzzle. Also be sure that your range rod has either a "T" handle or some kind of large handle for those times when you have a stubborn ball that needs a bit of force to seat on the powder. At those times, a small handle will be pretty rough on your hands. All of my range rods are brass and I searched through all of the antique shops around here until I found a pair of plain brass door knobs. I put one on each of my range rods. They look nice and provide a large surface for my hand when I need to apply a bit of force to a ball.

Just a thought for your consideration. :hmm: It's something that works quite well for me. :thumbsup:
 
When I first joined my gun club, back in 1976, and didn't know anything about MLers to speak of, several of the members were interested in testing this idea of soaking ramrods in kerosene( coal oil). So at a Fall shoot at Friendship, several hickory sticks were purchased. A pipe, two end caps, and some kerosene completed the deal. A few of the sticks were set aside so that the flexibility could be compared. The Kerosene soaking took place over an entire winter. The next summer, the sticks were removed from the pipe, and allowed to air out- it took weeks to get rid of the kerosene! Then the stick- before and after, were tested.

Result: No difference in flexibility. Those men who swore that soaking would improve the quality and flexibility of the sticks were shocked. But, the results spoke for themselves.

Spend the time looking for SPLIT hickory sticks, without run-out of the grain, and save the coal oil for your fires, or cleaning needs.

BTW, I was a " Watcher " from the sidelines during all this " testing"- not a participant. I really didn't know anything about what kerosene would do to hickory ramrods, so had no dog in the race. When I finally bought a rifle a couple of years later, I went over to Friendship and bought several hickory rods I picked out myself, without run out, and that were pretty straight. I bought extras, because I had learned that we seemed to have a couple of ramrods broken at the club range every year. I bought the most popular sizes, and a couple of extras for myself( just in case). :wink:

Because an older member was kind enough to show me how to load my gun, I have never broken a ramrod, and use the hand-over-hand technique when pushing a rod down the barrel. I sold most of those spare rods to other club members. :thumbsup:
 
paulvallandigham said:
No difference in flexibility.

Interesting. That always did seem like something of a wives’ tale. I always wonder why people would go through so much effort to improve a material that already works near perfectly on its own.
 
First, my ramrod didn't snap, it developed a small crack along the grain. To avoid getting a splinter I remove the cracked peice. From what I've seen and read on the web, the wood used in my rod could have been better.

As for a Range rod it seems that everyone favors Brass or stainless. I have found a ton on the web. What are you thoughts on GI Loading Rod and the Durango Rod, both made by Treso (http://possibleshop.com/g-c-cleaning-rod.html)
? The GI rod handle can swivle...is that a good feature for a loading Rod??? Does anyone use any of these one peice rods? I'm leaning toward the GI rod due to its lower cost.
 
Osayo All,
There is a guy out there that makes what he calls "the virtually unbreakable Ramrod" It is a wooden rod with a steel core that the ferrals are screwed onto on both ends.
It looks JUST like a regular wooden rod but with the steel core it will not break. It is slightly heavier than a full wood rod but not bad. They look good a friend has one.
If anyone is interested here is a website. http://www.periodramrod.com/
 
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I have a Stainless Steel Treso Range rod I picked up from a dealer on Commercial Row at Friendship years ago. It came with a thin, wooden disc for a handle. I had a machinist make a heavier, "door knob" shaped" brash handle for me. If you can find a handle that swivels, and the rod and swivel assembly are well made, then buy it. It can be handy to have.

However, when I load PRBs down the barrel, I use the Hand-over-hand method, grabbing the rod no more than 6 inches above my lower hand with the free hand, and then switching hands as the Ball goes down the barrel. I then wipe my hands, and the rod with a clean rag, or cleaning patch, to remove any residue that gets on the rod going down and coming out the barrel. I use a nylon muzzle protector on my Range rod, ( a brass muzzle protector on my short starter) to both protect the muzzle from wear, AND to center the rod in the barrel so that it does not touch the lands as its pushed down the barrel.

The only problem I see using that swivel handle is believing you can just grab onto it, and push the rod down the barrel in one big stroke. NO-NO! :shake: :nono: YOu can bend the metal rods, with enough pressure, and you can break the wood, and synthetic rods( I have seen them)grabbing the rods at the back ends, and trying to shove them down the bore of a gun as fast as you can lean on them.

Use the Hand=over-Hand method when loading. The Swivel allows the rod and jag to turn or "spin" as the rod is pulled out of the barrel. This is particularly useful when using a bore brush in the barrel, or when pulling a "dry-ball" from the gun with your ball-pulling jag. With the swivel handle, you are less likely to unscrew the jag from the rod by rotating the rod too much with your hands. :shocked2: :hmm: :thumbsup:
 
Tsegoweleh said:
Osayo All,
There is a guy out there that makes what he calls "the virtually unbreakable Ramrod" It is a wooden rod with a steel core that the ferrals are screwed onto on both ends.
It looks JUST like a regular wooden rod but with the steel core it will not break. It is slightly heavier than a full wood rod but not bad. They look good a friend has one.
If anyone is interested here is a website. http://www.periodramrod.com/[/quote]

Tsegoweleh, you beat me to it. I have 2 of his rods, custom measured to my specifications. I no longer carry a separate range rod. With both ends threaded, I carry a t-handle and all the fittings in my pouch.

Not sure if he still advertises here on the forum, it's where I found him when I broke my rod.
 
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I recall the topic of ramrods before but could not locate the thread. Fiberglass is supposed to be the worst thing to wear out rifling. I agree that the synthetic rods are like wet noodles. I still have one somewhere. It's too bad I couldn't locate that thread, it was very informative. Black Locust and Osage Orange are mentioned here even if they are not the traditional choice. Hickory will splinter badly when broken. Persimmon wood is something else to consider. The heartwood is known as the American Ebony. I have made a ramrod with a carefully selected yellow birch dowel before as mentioned here. This article could have been researched better. I think there was disagreement about it in the thread I could not find. I like the idea of Osage Orange wood because it is tough as nails. Always thought a ebony handled pistol and ramrod would be really nice especially with a black barrel or armory bright barrel and hardware.

Link
 
I bought a smoothbore barrel from GM, that came with a synthetic rod. "The dreaded wet noodle"

I started to toss it, but I didn't have a rod long enough for the barrel, so I started using it.Since I choke up on the rod while loading anyway, I don't have a problem with it being limber.

I know it's not period, but my jeans and T shirt at the range would make that a mute point. :grin:
 
paulvallandigham said:
The Swivel allows the rod and jag to turn or "spin" as the rod is pulled out of the barrel. This is particularly useful when using a bore brush in the barrel, or when pulling a "dry-ball" from the gun with your ball-pulling jag. With the swivel handle, you are less likely to unscrew the jag from the rod by rotating the rod too much with your hands. :shocked2: :hmm: :thumbsup:

But with a swivel how do you thread the jag into the lead ball in order to pull it in the first place? :hmm:
 
I always use a range rod, which is long enough to have about one foot of rod extending beyond the muzzle . To screw in a ball pulling jag, I grab the rod itself, not the handle. If you use leather gloves, or even a dampened piece of leather around the steel rod, you can get a good grip on it- enough to be able to turn it down into the lead ball.

This is also an operation that calls for the assistance of a good friend, sometimes, either to get the jag into the ball, or to help hold the gun or rod while it and the ball are pulled out of the barrel. I have been that " good 'Friend" to other shooters at my gun club countless times over the years. And we have used my Range rod to and ball pulling jag to remove their stuck balls when they had no range rod, and no ball pulling jag.

I have also used MY nipple wrench to remove their nipples, and then poured my 4Fg powder down into the flash channel under the nipple, to shoot the "dry ball" out. When it works, its a lot faster method to use. in doing these things for club members, I have convinced them of their need for a good range rod, a good ball pulling jag, and the need to have their nipple wrench with them whenever they are shooting. It doesn't have to be in their hunting pouch, but it should be back at their truck or car with the Range Rod. It saves a long drive home, if they don't happen to be shooting with someone like me who always takes his range BOX, loaded with tools, with him to the range, and when I hunt. :surrender: :thumbsup:
 
If I use a range rod with a muzzle protector what difference would it make whether I used a stainless steel rod or a brass rod? And if I just use wood or one of the plastic/synthetic rods without a muzzle protector just what kind of problems can I cause at the muzzle? Can I really wear out the muzzle, and if I did just how much does it really affect accuracy? Can I mess up a muzzle with a few hundred wipings with a rod without a muzzle protector or are we talking about a few thousand wipings? What would be the difference between a worn out muzzle and one that was coned? Thanks.
 
With a modern, STEEL, barrel wearing the muzzle will probably required thousands of rubbings. But, the reason we use SS rods over Brass, or wood, or synthetics, is because the softer materials can hold microscopic residue, including silicates. These can be abrasives even on a steel barrel. The wear is going to first appear on the Lands, and only later in the grooves, at the muzzle. But, when the lands are worn, they let gas blow by and cut your patch, and even the lead ball itself, reducing accuracy. The softer the material the rod is made from, the easier it is to pick up GRIT, and turn it into an abrasive.

The habit of using a muzzle protector dates back more than 120 years when Post Civil War Target matches with MLers were still held, but the barrels were still being made of softer IRON- not Steel. Even the few steel barrels made back then were softer, and not made of the alloys we have today. The industry did not yet know how to make the alloys or control the mix of metals that made up the alloys. Most of those problems were not solved by the industry until after WWII, and grew out of the Auto industry, not the gun industry.

Coning a barrel is for the purpose of centering and easing a PRB down into the barrel, with the least distortion, and limits the possible tearing of a fabric patch, or to a Paper Patched bullet. Its not to protect the muzzle from poor handling techniques during cleaning and loading.

As for choosing one metal Range rod over another, that is really a personal choice. I happen to like my Stainless Steel rod, but I also have a hickory rod I made for my DB 12 ga. and an Aircraft aluminum alloy rod for my 20 ga. fowler. A Range Rod is a tool. Nothing more. Buy the best tool you can afford, and you will have no regrets. I personally don't have a lot of faith in either brass rods, or brass tubing for this kind of tool. But I know others who swear by them, and wouldn't have anything else. Its your choice.

A worn muzzle is always worn unevenly- mostly because of the habit of resting the barrel itself against a bench or table, so that the same flat of the barrel faces the handler. He strokes the rod in and out of the barrel with the same hand, time after time, wearing the same side. By contrast a coned barrel is done so with a cutter, or controlled abrasive rod, so that the coning, or bevel is even all around the mouth of the barrel. The lands are reduced by the coning to groove diameter for enough distance behind the muzzle, to allow a PRB to be seated with only thumb pressure in the barrel, and the fabric trimmed off at the muzzle with a patch knife. The bevel of the cone is long enough that when a ramrod is pushed against the PRB, it slowly Grabs the patch on the lands, until the Patch and ball are starting down the full diameter of the bore to the bottom of the barrel, where it can be seated on top of the powder charge..... You did remember to pour powder down the barrel FIRST, before you began pushing that PRB down it???

:thumbsup
 
I have a couple of those synthetic rods and they are very flexible and don't like them at all. I also have some black aluminium rods that I like. I don't use the wooden rods but they do look alot nicer on the rifle. I would not use a wooden rod for fear of injury; a hickory rod would probably be ok but I am sticking with the more solid metal rod.
 
You can use a hickory rod safely, but there is a Technique to doing it correctly. Use your thumb and forefinger, to keep the rod away from the muzzle, and centered in it. Stroke the rod down the barrel( Pushing the PRB) in short strokes of 6 inches or so.

You can't bend the rod enough in such a short stroke that you hazard any breaking. The thumb and forefinger protect the hickory from rubbing against the harder steel barrel, so that the wood is not abraded and weakened.

I find that most shooters who don't want to use the technique don't want to get their "hands dirty". They never think to take a towel or rag, or even paper towels with them to use in grabbing the rod, or cleaning their hands, and the rod after they finish loading. I wish I had a dollar for every time One of them comments about my towel that I take even on Woods Walks. Or the sheets of paper towels I have in my pockets to clean the rod before putting it back in my stock. :hmm:
 
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