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Steel tipped ramrods and bore wear

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Grizzly Adams

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Greetings all!

I recently picked up a new ramrod, having broken my other one in the middle of a shoot, and picked up a rod with a steel tip. It looks nice on my iron mounted gun, but it got me to wondering, will the harder-than-brass tip cause undue wear to my bore? Thanks for the insight.
 
The tip is threaded isn't it?
Just screw a brass jag on there and the steel will never come in contact with the bore. I wouldn't get too concerned about the rare times you may do a quick reload while hunting.
 
If it does you're probably doing something wrong....
But if it does....be sure to document the number of strokes etc.....so that you can definitively end all arguments..... :haha:
 
Thank you for the replies, gents. I figure if I am really that concerned about wear, I can load with the bare wood end of the rod. I was most concerned with the pins of the tip scratching the bore and have since dressed those flush.
 
I doubt that the rod/tip is harder than the barrel steel.

My ramrods are all steel (1803 Harper's Ferry).

Best to use a bore protector when swabbing, regardless.
 
By bore protector, do you mean a muzzle protector? I am unsure of the alloy of steel the tip is made of, though it is hard to believe it is softer than the dead soft 12L14 steel in my colerian barrel.
 
???? Do you not use a cleaning patch on your jag to clean your rifle? As for ramming down the ball the jag should be smaller than the bore and not contact the inside of the bore. Steel ram rods have been used in the past with little harm to the bore. It's the steel shaft that's the problem and that's where a muzzle protector comes into play.
 
Yah, a steel tip can cause some wear but looking at it from the "how much" point of view, it won't damage much.

Think of it this way.

If you really wanted to wear some material away in your bore and all you had to work with is a smooth steel rod, how many strokes would it take to make a worn spot in the bore just rubbing steel against steel?

I'm betting things like your arm will just about fall off long before any real wear in the bore could be seen or measured.

We muzzleloaders are protective of our bores and rightfully so but at times I think we worry about them way more than is really needed.
 
You might try applying a thick coat of epoxy paint ( after thoroughly degreasing ) around the circumference of the tip that might come into contact with the bore. Reapply as necessary as it wears off.

Cheap,fast,and easy.
 
My concern is what about the steel on steel contact making a spark and igniting a bore charge? May be a very rare occurrence, but is it a possibility? :hmm:
 
I wouldn't worry about striking a spark from a steel tipped ramrod in a dead soft steel barrel. You need hardened components to strike a spark. That's why case hardened flintlocks wear out and you can't strike a spark from them.
 
This is being way over thought....creating problems where there aren't any.....Fred
 
On my Enfield the entire rod is steel and thick too. It makes a sound like drawing a sword from a scabbard. I try not let it rub the muzzle too much when seating a minie.
 
flehto said:
This is being way over thought....creating problems where there aren't any.....Fred

Absolutely! In the N-SSA all the rammers are steel from one end to the other and wear down in the bore is not an issue nor are sparks from steel on steel. The problem is wear at the end of the muzzle from loading and that is addressed in the rules. A competitor is allowed to start with a barrel that is 1/2" over stock length and must replace it or lengthen it when it as been recrowned often enough that it is 1/2" under stock length. In the case of a '61 Springfield rifle-musket the original length is 40" and a new barrel can be 40.5" and can be recrowned till it reaches 39.5" at which point it is no longer a legal barrel.
 
Even brass ,being much softer than barrel steel, can turn a land edge/corner on a muzzle crown.
Tap on a 90 degree corner of barrel steel with a brass hammer and watch it peen out/over.
The trick is to keep the jag or loading rod off the barrel with the patch cloth or muzzle protector.
Crown peening happens first on the land corner right at the muzzle and a good share of it happens when loading not just cleaning as usually gets the blame.
 
Have been using my .45 flint LR for squirrels since 1978 and it has killed 100s of squirrels and has been wire brushed and cleaned a whole lot and the accuracy and tight groups haven't changed at all since then.

Always used a wooden RR w/ brass tips and no muzzle protector.....must just be lucky or voodoo is helping out. We all know that brass and wood embed w/ grit but I must have had a few unique RRs that didn't do that.....Fred
 
That is about all the proof I need, Fred. I am overthinking this, I am sure. What barrel is on that particular gun, and what alloy is it, per chance?
 
It proves that Fred loads correctly and hasn't banged up his crown while loading or cleaning.
Also, game shooting is not good proof of wither or not a rifle has lost some of it's accuracy.
Ten shot groups before and after on paper are.
Wibbles compensating for wobbles happens all the time wither shooting squirrel heads or caribou at 300 plus yards but target paper shot from a bench sorts chance out ever so well.
We see this all the time in silhouette shooting where and ear hit will knock the steel over for a point hit but will score "0" on a ring target.
 
I would say that 95% of the squirrels were head hits....that speaks well for accuracy and groups.

Mountain Dewd...

The bbl is a Douglas and I don't know the steel it's made of.

Never took any precautions asre the loading or cleaning. When hunting, the LR is loaded quickly w/o any special consideration asre possible bore damage.....Fred
 
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