Puller

[Daryl Pelfrey]

Do any of you keep a ramrod puller with You when out hunting

[hanshi]

I don't.  I just never had one get stuck while in the bush.

[Mauser06]

Absolutely and I've used it numerous times.   


Same reason I put threaded caps on both ends of my rods.  One end for a ball pulled.  The other I screw in a T handle to pull the ball.   



Why do I do it in the field???  I just all conditions.  I don't wanna wonder if my $#*& will fire.  It's cheap insurance to dump the pan powder frequently and if things do look bad, pull the ball and charge. 


Traditional? Period correct? I don't know.  Probably not.... probably not necessary most the time either...again..cheap insurance IMO.  Takes a minute and the charge is the only "waste". Recast the ball and use the patch with the new ball if you wish.



I've also had to pull my buddies balls from dry balling on a reload.  Actually seems to happen a bit often during a hunting reload with some friends of mine lol

[Daryl]

No, I don't.  There is a ball puller in my ML shooting box in my truck, though.
I suspect you mean, "do you carry a ball puller with you when hunting?"
All kinds of 'stuff' in the 'shooting box".

[MuskratMike]

Yes! It's one of the items you may never use but will be darn glad you have when the time comes you need it. Remember: "it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it".

[rfd]

absolutely.  have a ball screw worm, drill bit for the ramrod "T" handle, and some 'chute cord - all in the shootin' bag.  having the tools is one thing but equally important is testing it all out before needing it for the first time when afield.

[Daryl Pelfrey]

Nice shootin box Daryl.

[Jerry]

I’m with others. I carry a ball puller in a tool pouch inside my bag. Would rather it be there and not need it than to need it and it not be there.

[davec2]

From an old post of mine.......

When out on a ramble, there are a few items that I feel are prudent to carry in a shot pouch but that are only needed once in a while, if at all.  Most of the time I only need round ball and patches.  Nonetheless, at least in my pouch, everything else I am carrying ends up in a jumble in the bottom of the bag or at the bottom of the extra interior pocket.  This inevitably leads to a lot of fumbling for whatever I need next.  So, I made this leather wallet to hold all those "I might need" items.  Easy to get to if I need a worm or a jag or a sewing kit, but not in my way when I am just fishing for patches and shot.  The wallet holds, from left to right,  a sewing kit in a brass tube, a "Gunner's Mate" shooting tool of my design (sort of a "Swiss Army Knife" for muzzle loading shooters), a vent pick / awl with a brass scabbard, a very small oil bottle, a pan brush, and some spare jags for other calibers.  There are small pockets for 4 spare flints.  The wallet is also very convenient if I do not take a pouch along for a short walk and just slip this into a coat pocket along with a loading block and a very small day horn. 

I don't do much leather work and I didn't want this wallet to fall apart too soon, so I made it out of kangaroo leather which is several times stronger than either cow or goat hide.  It is a beautiful supple leather to work and it is often used for high quality bull whips due to its very high strength.

[bob in the woods]

I carry a worm and a "screw"type puller for the end of the rod. These can be threaded on the small end of the tapered rod. I also carry a length of 1/8th in rope which when wrapped around the end of the rod and then tied to a tree, allows me to pull a load/ ball safely, since I can exert a lot of force on the rod without being anywhere near the muzzle. On the few occasions I've needed to use it, it's worked well.

[Eric Krewson]

I have told this story before;

On one of those magic mornings I had bucks chasing does around my stand to a degree I have never seen before or since. The problem was they went by a full speed, grunting and bellowing and never seemed to catch their intended.

After the fireworks ended without a shot, I noticed a nice 8 point sauntering down the ridge in my direction. He was out of his mind with lust, swinging his head from side to side, his eyes were bulged out and he was slobbering like a baby.

He stopped at 5 yards broadside, I set my trigger and started to lower the sights on him, BOOM, my cold finger touched the trigger before I felt it, the shot was over his back. He slowly turned, walked about 10 yards and started horning a bush.

I reloaded but pushed the ball too far into the bore before I cut the patch leaving the tag ends of material. The buck was still rubbing the bush as I rammed the ball home. I tried to extract my ramrod and the dang thing was stuck in the bore by the tag ends of material. The buck was still rubbing the bush.

I pulled and twisted on the ramrod, even thought about shooting the buck with the ramrod, the ramrod was STUCK! The buck was still rubbing on the bush.

After 3 or 4 minutes of pulling I felt the ramrod start to come out but it pulled the patch and ball out with it. The buck was still rubbing on the bush.

About the time I got the extra fabric folded over the ball, rammed it home and primed my lock the buck started a lazy walk toward the pine thicket on the hill. When I finally got the sights on the buck at 25 yards the only shot I had was a texas heart shot, I let him go.

I couldn't pull the ramrod with my cold, patch lube greasy fingers.

I carry one of these now, just in case.

 

[bob in the woods]

I know this may be out of place, but the last post clearly outlines the reason why none of my hunting rifles has a set trigger....except my .40 , which is usually not used for big game.  Cold, mittens /gloves and set triggers can be a problem .Adding to the mix is the often crowded trigger bow , ie less room for a gloved finger because of the double triggers. Perhaps something to think about before building.

[Daryl]

Nice shootin box Daryl.

TKs, Daryl - it was made by a BP shooter from down South and put up as a blanket prize. I "won" it. Made of
blue-stained pine beetle wood.

I should have mentioned, Davec2's tools are superb- a Must have. That one goes with me, but is kept safely in a pocket.

[alacran]

When hunting in the west I always have my day pack.  I do not carry a horn or shot bag. I have a leather cartridge style box, that also holds my short starter. I have speed loaders I made out of paper, which I sealed with spar urethane. I have a shot block around my neck, which I keep under my outer layer. I carry a very small priming horn in a pocket. I start out with a loaded gun. with a new flint if hunting with a flintlock. In my day pack I carry an extra priming horn and a flint walletthat has a turnscrew.  No I do not carry a rod puller.  My set up allows me for a total of six shots should I need them(never have). I spend lots of time shooting the rifle I will be hunting with. I do all my practice offhand out to 100 yards. Before any hunt commences I go over all the gear like if I was going to war.  I have full confidence in my kit and my ability to use it. Do I screw up? You bet, I mess up stalks I get tunnel vision when I should be adjusting to the circumstances.  I have missed shots. But my gear hasn't let me down since my first muzzleloader back in the 70's, when basically I knew nothing.

[Marcruger]

I agree with Daryl.  Dave Crisalli's Gunner's Mate tool is a must-have.  It turns your ramrod into a Swiss Army Knife for longrifles.  It does include parts for pulling the ball and having a T-handle to grip.  At the range I use a steel range rod with guide, but the Gunner's Mate comes along no matter what.  Well worth having for those who do not yet own one. 





Daryl, I too have a shooting box for range time.  My range is 40 minutes north of me, so I have to bring what I need to shoot and clean.  Mine looks as packed as yours.  Sort of a "better safe than sorry" collection of items. 

God Bless,   Marc

[Eric Krewson]

A little more info on the set trigger that went off so easily;

A dying friend gave me all his stuff before he died. His rifle was steered me away from my TC stuff instantly. It has a Bill Large barrel and a Bob roller lock and goes off so quickly I didn't have time to flinch like I did with my TC stuff.

My friend was a master of this gun and told me he shot a pound of powder a week through it for years, he was big into buckskinning and rondovous. He also had the trigger set where a light touch to the side would fire the gun.

I was determined not to alter his rifle in any way so I kept the trigger as light as he had it set. After the eight point episode I adjusted the trigger to where I actually had to pull it to set it off.

Many deer have died in front of this rifle since the aforementioned debacle, I have never set the trigger off by accident since I readjusted it.

[hanshi]

Interesting story, Eric.  I don't know if I'm out of line with trigger adjustments but I've worked muzzleloader and modern triggers to where they are wonderful.  What I'm getting at is that when set, most of my ML triggers are from about 9oz to 13oz.  I've got one that's way too light so that trigger is never set when the rifle is fired.  I've also got a couple of rifles that have nice triggers unset, and that's how I shoot them.  Back in my native Georgia where it was often anywhere from 60 degrees to 80 degrees during hunting season, numb fingers were very rare.

[alacran]

Took photo of the things I actually carry on my body while hunting.out west. The only time I carry a pouch and horn is in Kentucky for the first muzzleloading season. My friends and I do a primitive hunt.All other times this is what I carry on me.

[Hungry Horse]

Heck no, I don’t even carry a shooting bag when I hunt. The coastal mountains of California are too rough, steep, dry, and brushy, to carry anything that is not absolutely necessary. In fact my best buddy, and I, quit hunting with another buck skinner that couldn’t leave anything behind. Our hunting camp started to look like a traveling circus, and when it came time to pack a buck out he was too worried about losing some of his precious stuff.

  Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

I agree with Daryl.  Dave Crisalli's Gunner's Mate tool is a must-have.  It turns your ramrod into a Swiss Army Knife for longrifles.  It does include parts for pulling the ball and having a T-handle to grip.  At the range I use a steel range rod with guide, but the Gunner's Mate comes along no matter what.  Well worth having for those who do not yet own one. 





Daryl, I too have a shooting box for range time.  My range is 40 minutes north of me, so I have to bring what I need to shoot and clean.  Mine looks as packed as yours.  Sort of a "better safe than sorry" collection of items. 

God Bless,   Marc

Note the red plastic package of Swiss Needle Files- always there.

[Turtle]

 I drill a small (1/8") hole through the ferrel on the ramrod and bring a short rod to put through the hole and a length of cord to loop around it and  pull on, or better, to loop around a branch so I can pull on  the gun and extract the ball.