Stripes on Ramrods?

[Luke MacGillie]

I just burnt stripes on the ramrod for my new Southern Mountain Rifle.  Way back when it was the thing that you just had to have......

But does the practice date from the 1930's or is it something historical?

[oldarcher]

I believe that ramrod stripes have historical precedent but I really don't know when they first appeared. I don't care, I like them and I stripe all the ramrods that I make, correct or not. I use a heat gun with bands of alum foil wrapped where I don't want stripes and the stripes come out sharp. I also believe that you should build what you like historically correct or not.

[Luke MacGillie]

Old Archer,

I have a foot in both the skinning world and the museum world, so I stitch count for some events and just shoot, drink apple pie and sing rocky top at others

I was taught two ways to do it, one using masking tape, and the other with damp close line cord, but both with the judicious use of a map gas torch.  I had not done one of these for many years, but knocked this out this afternoon

[Jim Kibler]

I think the consensus is that when striped ramrods were originally produced, the effect was created by staining rather than burning.

[JTR]

I don't think I've ever seen an original rifle with a striped rod that I could with any degree of assurance conclude the rod was original to the gun.
Or even original to the time of use of the gun.
And like a lot of guys here, I've seen a huge number of Kentucky's over the years, but that doesn't mean I don't like striped rods!
A few of my rifles that were missing rods when I got them have nicely striped rods now, and I enjoy the look.

I use tape to define the stripe, (I like the long slow twist thin stripe style) then color it in with India ink. Once the ink has soaked in a bit and fully dried, I pull off the tape and buff off the ink until it gets the look I need for the gun.

If striped rods weren't original, they should have been! 

John



   

[Majorjoel]

I also like striped ramrods and have used a couple of methods to make them. My first few were striped using a propane torch. It was OK, but the best rods have been made by staining with a dark color LMF stain over a prestained ramrod with a lighter color that matches the stock of the rifle stain. I cut a roll of black plastic electric tape down the middle to get a narrow stripe. I try to match the light and dark colors of a curly maple stock.

[oldarcher]

Hey Luke...Nice job on the ramrod!

[Luke MacGillie]

Hey Luke...Nice job on the ramrod!

Thanks! 

Now Im just trying to decide what patchbox I want to put on the rifle, or just go with a greasehole

[Birddog6]

I have done them, stripped them & later on reworked them back to plain RR. Just not my cup of tea.
I am sure they could exist, but I have never seen an old original with a original striped ramrod. Some like them, some don't.  It is however a good way to draw attention away from the rifle, if that be your quest.  I prefer to see the rifle as a whole, not have the RR be the focus point of the build.

Keith Lisle

[little joe]

Many years ago Luke I read of striped rods being striped at a slower twist however I don,t know if that was 1830 or 1930 custom.

[Acer Saccharum]

Historic precedent or not, the stripes make the rod easy to find on the forest floor.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

The problem is that the stripes scare the fish when using the ramrod as a fishing pole...............
Striped poles always seemed to fit the Art Nouveaux period..... Rifles by Gustav Klimt.      1890-1910 and a little later in the backwoods......  not saying its fact...just my opinion 

[Canute Rex]

I would think that a Klimt rifle would be too reflective for hunting - or maybe that's a safety factor.

But my real question is, what if the twist of your ramrod is faster than the twist of your rifling? Do you have to adjust your loading technique to accommodate that? 

[Ken G]

So long as you rotate the rod in the appropriate direction (depending on +- rate of twist) when ramming the ball down the bore you should be OK.  At least my testing has indicated no change in POI.

[J.Cundiff]

But my real question is, what if the twist of your ramrod is faster than the twist of your rifling? Do you have to adjust your loading technique to accommodate that? 

So long as you rotate the rod in the appropriate direction (depending on +- rate of twist) when ramming the ball down the bore you should be OK.  At least my testing has indicated no change in POI.

I literally laughed out loud when I read this. Thank you!   

[Jim Kibler]

To the point of whether striped rods were originally used...  In JHAT volume 5 the great Sheets rifle in the CW collection is examined and the author (Wallace Gusler) concludes the striped rod is original to the gun.  He mentions another Lauck in a British collection having a very similar rod.  It's worth reading this section if this subject is of interest.

[magyar]

I am not sure if it was common practice in the past or not but i, on a few occasions, have spiral-wrapped biscuit dough around my ramrod and cooked it over an open fire. After about the 3rd time I ended up with a spiral pattern forming on the rod that is pretty cool actually and not unlike what some of the folks here are creating on theirs now. Not even a clue as to whether or not this could have been common practice in the past but if it was, it could have resulted in the striping.

[Glenn Hurley Jr.]

I'm not sure when they were used but to my eye, I like them on occasion.  Therefore, on the rifles I have built, I make two ramrods, one striped and one not.  To paraphrase, " Sometimes you feel like a stripe, sometimes you don't!"