Ramrod Tips

[Dave Marsh]

Hopefully this is an easy question. I like ramrods without the tips and probably a more accurate description would be a wiping stick. Kind of a small bulb or taper on the end in the ramrod wood itself. I am not a picky PC/HC person but was curious as to what types of guns would have had no tips and which would have come with a brass or iron.

In looking at pictures of original guns and new contemporaries it appears to me that guns like NE fowlers, southern mountain rifles etc....have the wiping stick ramrod. Guns with a lot of decoration and patchboxes seem to lean more towards a brass / steel tip. :idunno:

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[rafterob]

I think you have answered your own question. I like a rod with only one tip so at least you can screw a cleaning jag on. The end that goes into the ramrod hole I leave rounded over and slightly tapered.

 

[Rod Lassey]

I'd add NW guns and any of the "trade" rifles, too. Just a simple stick for a rammer. If a wiping stick is wanted, there is plenty of evidence of a stouter stick, possibly with pinned ends for tools, which was carried in the bore of the gun. Of course, one can clean their rifle or gun just fine with the spiral wire type of gunworms, which need no special threaded fitting on the rod.

Rod

 

[Stophel]

Whenever someone had a rod break and had to replace it with a hickory sapling, they'd have a rod with no threaded tip. :wink:

I like the threaded tip, myself, but a gun can be cleaned without a worm, with a hunk of tow tied to the end of a string. Push the tow down the bore with the plain rod, and pull it back out using the string. Easy peasy. :wink:

Jag tips are easily carved/filed into the end of a rod too. Of course, these only work if the bore size is not greatly larger than the rod diameter.

The best thing about a threaded rod tip is that it can give you some much needed extra length. Hard to pull a rod back out of the bore when it's no longer than the barrel... Nothin' to hang onto!

 

[coloradoclyde]

gun can be cleaned without a worm, with a hunk of tow tied to the end of a string. Push the tow down the bore with the plain rod, and pull it back out using the string. Easy peasy. :wink:

I just tried that and it worked great!! did not know that one.

Thank you for teaching me something. :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :bow: :bow:

 

[Brokennock]

My Fusil's rod is shorter than the barrel. Tapered to clear the lock bolts with a brass bulb at the other for seating o.s. cards and round ball. Can't do the string method that I used to, can't do the tornado spring on the tapered end cause the rod is too short. :cursing:
I imagine situations like this is where the second wiping stick came from.

 

[Stophel]

I always drill my ramrod holes as deep as i possibly can (generally with the rod bumping the triggerguard tenon) so as to get as much length as possible for the ramrod.

 

[Patocazador]

They make extension jags that screw into the rod. I have one that goes to an inline CVA gun. It's close to 3" long.

 

[George]

I sometimes want to do my thing in a more primitive way, so I've made a ramrod for my .62 flintlock smoothbore with no fittings. The ramming end was left at 1/2", the smaller end has a screw thread whittled into it to accept a corkscrew worm. I can ram anything with the big end. Since I use tow for wadding when I'm going primitive, I use tow for cleaning, and the worm works very well.







Some of my guns have ramrods a bit short for comfort when cleaning, so I made an extension to fit any of them with tips. It's about 9" long and really is comfortable during the cleaning.



Spence