ram rod size . . . factors in determing?

[bedbugbilly]

I've done a search but didn't come up with anything - if I've missed it I apologize.

My question is on determining what size to use / designing / making the rifle for.

I've always used 5/16" as an example for a .36

Obviously, on rifles such as Vincents, smaller rods were used for larger calibers - i.e. 5/16 for calibers above .36, etc.

Obviously, a 3/8 will work on a .40 but is it the best choice?  I have had rifles with a tight ball/patch that weren't the easiest to ram home.  At the range, I usually carry a range rod but historically, how was the size determined?  Did they go on the largest that would fit or keep the diameter smaller for making the appearance more pleasing?  I'm and experienced shooter (50 years) and realize it is all in how and where you grasp when ramming to make a smaller rod work.  I'm just curious if there was a "rule of thumb" that was followed or was it just up to the builder?

I always use straight grained hickory to make the rods.  I'm thinking that out in the woods or on a trek, a larger diameter may perhaps have been a safer choice in regards to breaking and being stuck without a ram rod.  But then I'm wondering how much the aesthetics of the rifle played in this decision - as an example, a 5/16 for a .40 because it looked better instead of upping the size to 3/8.

Your thoughts please . . . .   many thanks.

[Mark Elliott]

I always make my ramrod thimbles the same size.    I taper from 3/8" at the front thimble to 5/16 at the rear entry.   The only thing that changes from ramrod to ramrod is the the size of the head in front of the front thimble.    The head I make just a little smaller than the bore.    Obviously,  I scrape away most of the ramrod blank just like the stock blank.   Usually it only takes 30-60 minuted to scrape down a ramrod.   You would only use the ramrod for hunting and that should be a relatively loose load.   So the thin rod shouldn't make much difference.   I have only actually used the ramrod on one of my rifles once and I used it at the range for a target load.    It didn't break so I consider that good enough.      I have a steel range rod with a big brass door knob on it as a handle.   

[Herb]

I always use a 3/8" rod for my .40's.  Maybe a dozen or 15 built by now?  Jim Bridger's Hawken has a 1/2" rod, no taper to it.  It is about .52 caliber, maybe .53.  I use 7/16" for my .54 and .58 builds.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Well since my preference is for slender guns I prefer to bore a 5/16" RR hole and use a rod tapered from 5/16" at the tip to 3/8" or more at the muzzle end of the rod. Using straight grained  hickory I have never had one break even pulling balls ( although I will admit that fear of such has now led me to purchase a CO2 ball remover  )

My range rod is similarly tapered unfinished hickory 46" long It has several hundred loads and 4 pulled balls in its history as well as being used as a cleaning rod for all my guns.

For my .58 rifle I did make a just under bore sized flared horn tip for the rod... more for looks and historical accuracy than for utility.

RR are fun and if you aren't a metal bender and soldering whiz, Darrin McDonal has some nice 3"long tapered tips with threaded ends that are a little more historically accurate that the tings you can buy at most of the big suppliers

[smylee grouch]

Those slim ram rods can make the gun look nice and sleek but when you hunt in sub zero temps, as I some times do, I prefer a little more in a straight grained hickory rod. I know some who hunt and shoot further north than me that get by with the slim rods but I seem to break things on a more than frequent basis so I like the extra wood in the rod.  Cluck cluck I'm kind of a chicken I supose but I havent broken one out hunting yet.

[Acer Saccharum]

When I was a kid, I broke a ramrod trying to clean my gun(didn't know much about it) and broke the rod, got an awful splinter that I had to pull out with Pliers.

At the range, I always use a steel rod. Always. With a muzzle protector. Rod never touches the rifling.


Those @!*% fiberglas rods, work just like a bore hone.

[eddillon]

Dr. Tim,
You mentioned taper in your post.  Any suggestions for an efficient way to do this?  I have made a few tapered ones and found that they take as much time to do as scraping in a buttplate!

[Acer Saccharum]

A plug here for my ramrod scraper: http://thosmachine.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/ramrod-scraper/

Or make something like it. The cat's meow for tapering, forming the tulip on the end of the rod. A round scraper maintains the roundness of the rod.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Acer's scraper works very well!! I also have a Mike Lea Ramrod plane that does a great job.  Takes me about 30 minutes to make one including the first coat of sealer. Sanding takes the most time, so scraping the finish saves a lot of time.

[bedbugbilly]

Thanks for your replies.  In the rifles I've made in the past, I've always used straight ramrods . . . I like the idea of the tapered rod . . . . Acer - your scraper looks like it would work well and be a nifty tool to have on the bench.

The few original longrifles that I've had the opportunity to look at either were lacking their original rods or they had been replaced with straight rods.  I never thought to look at the thimbles to see if they were of different sizes to accommodate a tapered rod.  On original long rifles, were tapered rods commonly used or straight rods?  Or were they common to specific areas of origin?

The only tapered rods I've ever used were on a couple of S X S percussion shotguns that I once had a number of years ago.  They were pretty hefty to begin with as well as being shorter than a longrifle rod.  I've learned over the years to choke up on a 5/16 rod so that my hand is nearer the muzzle to keep from flexing the rod and possibly breaking it.  When I was a kid, I did break a rod on a .32 rifle that I had and like some one mentioned, ended up with a nasty splinter - and a lesson I've never forgotten!    

[hortonstn]

not to interrupt but after tapering the head what was done on the other end to hold patches,just groves?
paul

[cunninmp]

Acer,
Will your scraper do a 5/16" ramrod?
What about a 3/8"?
If so I'll order one.
Thanks in advance,
Mike C.

[JDK]

Tom's scraper will work on any rod from 1/2" down.  I clamp mine in my bench vise and go to town.  It will make as nice a taper as you wish, just watch which way your grain runs to avoid tearout, which will happen with any scraper if used the wrong way.  Plan on having a couple of hickory blanks around to play with/practice on.

I really enjoy using mine and can recommend it highly.  I just wish he would drill a hole in 'em for hanging.

 Enjoy, J.D.