Ram Rods

[Not English]

I notice that Ron T is the only one who mentions pinning the rod ends. He is spot on with that. I can't tell you how many times I've seen some one trying to take care of a dry ball and leave the ramrod end in the barrel still attached to the ball puller.

[Rich]

You might consider a Delrin rod. Track of the Wolf sells them. One good thing about them is that you can use a scraper to taper the rod if that's what you need. I used one hunting in winter. I was concerned about a wood rod expanding and getting stuck in the rifle due to moisture. Delrin is waterproof.

[OldMtnMan]

I just use a good straight grained hickory rod for everything. I've never owned a range rod. I try to keep everything as it was done back in the day. So, cleaning, practice, woods walk, and hunting are all done with the ramrod on the gun.

However, to answer the OP's question. Spin Jag company will custom make a solid aluminum rod for you.

[Daryl]

Rod tips are cross pinned on all my rods. I cannot imagine not doing that.

[OldMtnMan]

Me either.

[Daryl]

 ;)Actually, I even did that with my TC, back in 1973, after losing the tip on the second or third time I used/cleaned the rifle.

[WadePatton]

Not reaching way up the stick is important for the longevity of a rod and the safety of your hands. Shorter grabs allows the rod to flex less.

I broke one once, but I think it had a lot to do with the ball and charge pushing it. Hit the target too, but no score. 

[Marcruger]

My thought on hunting is this - load your first shot tight, and using a range rod.  If there is a follow-up shot or another shot that day, load it with a looser patch/ball combination.  That will go down easier using the wood rod.  It'll be less accurate, but it won't be hard to load with the wooden rod. 

I have to say I like the idea of the wooden rod with the hidden steel rod inside.  Have your cake and traditionally eat it too. 

Just my 2 cents worth.  God Bless,   Marc

[OldMtnMan]

My thought on hunting is this - load your first shot tight, and using a range rod.  If there is a follow-up shot or another shot that day, load it with a looser patch/ball combination.  That will go down easier using the wood rod.  It'll be less accurate, but it won't be hard to load with the wooden rod. 

I have to say I like the idea of the wooden rod with the hidden steel rod inside.  Have your cake and traditionally eat it too. 

Just my 2 cents worth.  God Bless,   Marc

Except you add weight out on the barrel where I wouldn't want it but i'm sure that wouldn't bother others.

[Daryl]

My thought on hunting is this - load your first shot tight, and using a range rod.  If there is a follow-up shot or another shot that day, load it with a looser patch/ball combination.  That will go down easier using the wood rod.  It'll be less accurate, but it won't be hard to load with the wooden rod. 

I have to say I like the idea of the wooden rod with the hidden steel rod inside.  Have your cake and traditionally eat it too. 

Just my 2 cents worth.  God Bless,   Marc

The wooden rods work fine for me with my loads.  I do use a "range rod" when on the range testing, however that's about it.

[MuskratMike]

Just a thought. If you load a very tight load for your first shot then use a looser combination for any follow up shots will in all probability have different points of impact. For me my hunting loads can easily be loaded with my wood ramrod and have excellent accuracy for a huntin rifle. I am not claiming if it were a bench rifle my groups would be smaller but not what I need in a hunting rifle.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

[Thlayli]

When shopping for a range rod, if it says "44, does that include the handle, or does  44 indicate the length of barrel the rod will accommodate?  I suspect the latter, but I'd like to be sure. 

[OldMtnMan]

If it says it's 44" it's 44" long.

[Daryl]

When shopping for a range rod, if it says "44, does that include the handle, or does  44 indicate the length of barrel the rod will accommodate?  I suspect the latter, but I'd like to be sure.

I didn't know there was such a thing for sale called a range rod.
For me, a range rod is one I made from 5/16" stainless or 3/8" steel drill rod and put and handle
 on one end and drilled and tapped the other end for jags or ball screws.

[Thlayli]

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/566/1/RAMROD-C-44-10

That's the one I was referring to.  Think I've got my answer.  Rod length, sans handle is "44.

[Panzerschwein]

I like to use a hickory rod for loading in the field and brass for cleaning.

[OldMtnMan]

A lot of what you use for a rod depends on how you clean. My hickory ramrod only has a brass tip on one end. It's cupped and threaded. The wood end is at the muzzle when the rod is in the thimbles. I think a gun looks better that way but that's personal. For cleaning, I screw on a worm to the wood end and use tow to clean the bore. Tow doesn't get stuck in the bore like patches. I'm also not flushing water in the bore, so the wood rod is not subject to be soaked in water all the time. I'll dip the tow in water to scrub the bore and then follow with dry tow. Not much water is involved but enough to get the bore spotless due to the scrubbing gives. I have a wooden ball with a threaded stud in it so I can screw the ball on the brass end of the rod. I'll use that to turn the tow at the breech face to scrub it clean.

I forgot to mention I do pour in a little water down the bore with a plugged touchhole to soak the breech channel while I clean the lock. I don't fill the bore like some do.
Then I pour it out before starting to clean the bore with tow.

It's a simple system and puts no strain on a wood ramrod. I don't own a range rod. I doubt they used one back in the day. My method can also be done anywhere. All I need is a little water. Most of the time I do it in the field and when I get home my gun is clean and needs no attention.

Right or wrong. It's my way and I enjoy doing it this way. My gun is always clean and rust free.

[Darkhorse]

I use a .018 tightly woven pillow ticking patch for my first shot. I've got several yards of it. For my second shot if I'm rushed I use a .015 tightly woven patch. These patches have been soaked in Canola oil but I spritz a little LeHigh valley or Mr. Flintlocks lube on the side that touches steel, this is to help cut the fouling on the way down and be certain it's seated properly. I haven't always done it like this but I learned my lesson a decade or so ago.
The first patch is pre-lubed with Canola oil also. 30 or so years ago a good man gave me a piece of hickory to make a ramrod out of, this was at a Rondy in Atlanta. I eventually made a RR out of this hickory to use in both my .54 and .40 and it works great. I always pin my rod tips on, it keeps the rod tip from being pulled off.
As for the question of my second shot missing the mark the answer is simple. If loaded exactly the same it would miss. But when working up a hunting load I spend a lot of time on this follow up shot until it shoots almost exactly where the tighter lube shoots. Part of this was reducing the charge by 5 grains or so.

[Jerry]

For a range rod with my 20 ga fowler I have used, for years, a 5/16” round aluminum rod with a brass muzzle protector and for a handle, I use an Ace Hardware Oregon chain saw file handle. Jerry

[Panzerschwein]

I have seen some demonstrate loading and they claim you are supposed to grip the ramrod way up high and SLAM the ball down the barrel in “one smooth motion”.

In truth, nothing could be futher from the truth. I think many stories of people impaling their hands with broken ramrods could have been avoided with good technique. I use straight grain hickory and short strokes maybe 6” in length. Have yet to snap a rod.

[Daryl]

Exactly.  The only rod I've snapped was one made of ramin.  There is very poor longitudinal strength in ramin and the rod broke straight across
virtually flat-topped. That left sharp little spikes about 1/16" long across the flat surface, but no long knife blade as with hickory.
Short strokes does the job much more safely.

[OldMtnMan]

I have seen some demonstrate loading and they claim you are supposed to grip the ramrod way up high and SLAM the ball down the barrel in “one smooth motion”.

In truth, nothing could be futher from the truth. I think many stories of people impaling their hands with broken ramrods could have been avoided with good technique. I use straight grain hickory and short strokes maybe 6” in length. Have yet to snap a rod.

You'd need a loose load for that one push all the way down. Otherwise, you better wear some real thick gloves.

[Daryl]

I did that with the right barrel on my .58 Kodiak, then noted choking up on the rod for the second, left hand barrel, in the video.
I think that's one of the videos I sent to you Pete.
It was a relatively loose load of .0215" ticking patch and .562" RB. That's totaling .605" numerically. In the .580" bore, that's only .0125" compression per side.
Shoots cleanly, but the gun shot better with the same patch and a .574" ball. That one needed the rod choked up a bit.

[S-SFlint]

I have seen some demonstrate loading and they claim you are supposed to grip the ramrod way up high and SLAM the ball down the barrel in “one smooth motion”

This sounds like military speed loading from the percussion era, Civil War and after, using paper cartridges, minie balls and metal ramrods. If there are people out there attempting this with prb and wooden rods they will sooner or later learn a painful lesson.  It doesn't really surprise me though, so often only bits and pieces of technique survive from any given period and then get jumbled together during later revivals-- I see this often in traditional archery where the differences between Medieval and Victorian longbow, for example, are completely misunderstood by a certain percentage of archers.   

[john bohan]

pignut hickory would be the best for ramrods, my bow building books have pics. of this wood bending 180degrees without breaking. My experience with it in bows was none ever broke. Harvest it and strip the bark and you'll have one grain running the length of the piece.