Metal Ramrod

[Cory Joe Stewart]

A few years ago I was looking at a rifle that Wallace Gussler had at the Harrsionburg CLA show.  It had been fitted with a metal ramrod and he was showing me where and how the spring to hold it in place as attached and smaller pipes.  One question that I did not think of at the time is whether or not other special considerations needed to be made for a metal ramrod. 

Can a metal ramrod harm the rifling??  I know later rifled muskets had them and seem to work fine.

Coryjoe

[Majorjoel]

I have a 32 cal longrifle that I kept breaking the wooden ramrods. After the second break I decided to replace it with a brass rod. I had picked up several long brass rods at a rondy several years ago for a reasonable price and have made a couple of loading rods and finally a ramrod for the 32 out of them. I drilled and tapped it for 8\32 threads on one end and 10\32 threads on the other. It has worked out very well without any noticeable damage to the rifling on this rifle. The only downside that I have noticed is the added weight the rod has put on the muzzle end of a fairly heavy barrel to begin with.

[Dennis Glazener]

A few years ago I was looking at a rifle that Wallace Gussler had at the Harrsionburg CLA show.  It had been fitted with a metal ramrod and he was showing me where and how the spring to hold it in place as attached and smaller pipes.  One question that I did not think of at the time is whether or not other special considerations needed to be made for a metal ramrod.

Can a metal ramrod harm the rifling??  I know later rifled muskets had them and seem to work fine.

Coryjoe

Coryjoe,
Back in my benchrest shooting days I talked to Clyde Hart, well known barrel maker, about this and he told me to only use a hard steel cleaning rods and to keep it wiped free of powder residue. He told me that brass or other soft metal rods would become embedded with residue and would act as a lap wiping out rifling. He said that all ram rods flexed and where they touch the rifling they would, over time, wipe them out in that area. He said that a hard steel rod would at least not allow residue to embed in the rod making it easier to wipe off.

Now we shot smaller bores but I have seen numerous bores through high power bore scopes that proved he knew what he was talking about. So in my opinion hard steel would be better than a wood or brass ram rod.
Dennis

[Cory Joe Stewart]

Steel is what I was wondering about. The rifle I saw had been outfitted with a steel military style rod.

Coryjoe

[Acer Saccharum]

In the woods, you gotta use the rod that's in the gun.

At the range, I use a muzzle protector cone that fits in the crown of the muzzle. The rod is steel, polished. Hardly ever touches the sides of the bore.

You could make up a steel rod from thin-wall tube, so weight would not be such an issue.  Braze solid plugs in the ends. One end could be 8-32 or whatever thread you like.

Example: from McMaster-Carr
9220K331
Smooth-Bore Seamless Steel Tubing, 3/8" OD, .305" ID, .035" Wall

[FDR]

Now that is a great idea!  Stiffness of a solid rod without the weight.

[Bible Totin Gun Slinger]

Some years ago I made a Kentucky Pistol. It was a make the parts out of anything I could find deal.
The Ram Rod is a Chevy 454 Push Rod, with a Brass end. Everybody warned me about my hard metal Ram Rod.
Well been shooting and cleaning it for years with this very hard metal Ram Rod with no signs of damage to my little 10 inch barrel.

I give the idea a thumbs up. In fact the stuff written here has me thinking about making one my self.
How about a 10-32 female sleeve silver soldered in one end, make it long so its real square?
It would out weigh your wood or poly rod, but that makes for nicer loading. Thanks Acer