3/8 or 7/16 ramrod hole?

[bnewberry]

For a 3/8 ramrod, do you prefer to drill your ramrod hole with the 3/8 drill, or go with the slightly larger 7/16 to make the ramrod fit a bit more easily?

[Cory Joe Stewart]

I do the opposite and go to a 5/16 and then the ramrod is tapered to fit and this allows the overall rifle to be as thin as possible.  This has also helped me avoid issues with the ramrod engaging the front lock bolt which plagued my first couple of builds.

Cory Joe Stewart

[bnewberry]

That is a good idea, unless the ramrod is too weak at the smaller dimension. Seems like the ramrods I am getting are not great quality, judging by the grain runout.

[BOB HILL]

As Cory Joe stated.
Bob

[Cory Joe Stewart]

That is a good idea, unless the ramrod is too weak at the smaller dimension. Seems like the ramrods I am getting are not great quality, judging by the grain runout.

That is something to keep in mind when choosing a ramrod.  Personally I have never broken a ramrod while loading a rifle.  I broke one once trying to pull a stuck jag.  The hickory ramrod should flex quite a bit before you should have to worry about it breaking. 

Cory Joe Stewart

[bnewberry]

I haven’t broken one yet, but I did crack one.  I use good technique, but the problem seems to be my habit of scoring the ramrod at the point that indicates my load depth.. Thanks!

[smallpatch]

If you taper a ⅜” rod to 5/16, you get a sturdy rod at the front part when starting the ball, after that, the ball should slide down easily.
In a slender fore stock, the smaller channel is important.
Your load mark should be VERY close to the end. Don’t see why it would break under normal seating pressure.

[Not English]

I drill my ramrod hole the same size as the ramrod channel and then taper the end of the ramrod that goers in the hole as Smallpatch does. I have troubles conceiving of drilling a 7/16" ramrod hole unless on a wall gun. A tapered 3/8" hickory ramrod will take care of anything that's 40 cal and larger, although I'd probably go with a 5/16"ramrod on a 40 just to keep it slender.

[bnewberry]

If you taper a ⅜” rod to 5/16, you get a sturdy rod at the front part when starting the ball, after that, the ball should slide down easily.
In a slender fore stock, the smaller channel is important.
Your load mark should be VERY close to the end. Don’t see why it would break under normal seating pressure.

This was my “range rod” which I use on both a 42 inch and a 28 inch barrel. It cracked at the short barrel load mark while I was loading a tight patch/ball in the longer gun.

No more scoring a rod, I must find a period correct sharpie.

[Mark Elliott]

I drill all my ramrod holes 11/32" and taper my ramrod to 5/16".   Usually,  I start with a 7/16" rod and taper the whole thing.  My ramrod channel is cut 11/32".   The thimbles range from 13/32" to 11/32" inside diameter.   I should mention that I have never built a rifle larger than 54 caliber. 

   

[P.W.Berkuta]

90% of my ram rods are 3/8" diameter to start. Some stay that diameter, some are tapered from the entry pipe down to 5/16". It depends on the rifle.

[Stophel]

I made myself a square tapered reamer so that I can drill the ramrod hole 5/16", and ream it out so that it's 3/8" at the entry, and 5/16" at the bottom. 

7/16" would be an enormous hole.  Draw out your design on paper, lock, stock, barrel, ramrod, etc, and you'll see how incredibly thick the gun would have to be to accommodate that 7/16" ramrod hole.

[bnewberry]

I made myself a square tapered reamer so that I can drill the ramrod hole 5/16", and ream it out so that it's 3/8" at the entry, and 5/16" at the bottom. 

7/16" would be an enormous hole.  Draw out your design on paper, lock, stock, barrel, ramrod, etc, and you'll see how incredibly thick the gun would have to be to accommodate that 7/16" ramrod hole.

Is this a fluted reamer? I would love to see a picture!

[scottmc]

How about on an earlier gun with .60 caliber barrel?  7/16 tapered to 3/8"?

[Stophel]

I made myself a square tapered reamer so that I can drill the ramrod hole 5/16", and ream it out so that it's 3/8" at the entry, and 5/16" at the bottom. 

7/16" would be an enormous hole.  Draw out your design on paper, lock, stock, barrel, ramrod, etc, and you'll see how incredibly thick the gun would have to be to accommodate that 7/16" ramrod hole.

Is this a fluted reamer? I would love to see a picture!

No, it's square.  I don't have a picture of it.  I made it from plain 3/8" round rod stock, and painstakingly ground four tapered flats on a section probably 12 or 13", long enough to reach the bottom of the drilled hole.   It's just four sharp square corners, scraping away.   It was a ridiculous amount of work, and probably not worth the trouble, but the thing works amazingly well.  I was quite surprised.  I figured I wouldn't be able to do squat with it!

[Stophel]

My belief is that people are trying to drive MUCH tighter balls and patches down today than they were doing 250 years ago, hence the desire for massive unbreakable ramrods now, and 250 years ago, they were dainty little twigs.

[Craig Wilcox]

bnew, try a goose quill dipped in India ink.  About as PC as you can get.

[bnewberry]

bnew, try a goose quill dipped in India ink.  About as PC as you can get.

You know, I actually have some goose quills I got to fletch some arrows. If I can’t find any ink I know I can make some by boiling sweet gum seed pods. Great idea!

[flehto]

Seeing the Bucks County LRs I build are .50 cal, I always use a slightly less  than .375 dia RR and  cut the groove the same as the RR and the hole is also drilled 3/8 dia. The 46" bbls are "B" weight swamped.

To achieve the petite look of a BC, the web at the breech is 1/16" or slightly less and the  web at the muzzle is 5/32"....I do this in lieu of a smaller dia RR. These size  webs allow a slight taper towards the muzzle  of the bottom of both the lower and upper forestocks for a slim look.....Fred

 

[alacran]

Well it does really matter what kind of gun you are building. If you are building a full stock Hawken in the larger calibers a 7/16 rod would be appropriate. Same said for the half stock Hawkens.

[hanshi]

There have been two rods I've broken while seating a prb, one that twisted in two trying to retrieve a dryball and one other broken when my dog bumped the rod extended a couple inches past the muzzle.  Thing is they were all the pitiful ramrods that usually come with the gun.  For a long time now I've made my own rods from a supply of hickory blanks I bought years ago.  I cut them to length and taper them to fit the hole and still withdraw fairly easily.  I stain them but hickory doesn't stain the same a maple.  Any tips I install are both glued and pinned.

[Dphariss]

I use 3/8" rod drill for Kentuckies if the bore size will allow it. I make the drill from 3/8" mild steel rod and I bur the cutting edge to give a little clearance for the drill rod. Case harden the end, or not.

I use 7/16 for Hawken.
English Sporting rifles of larger bore may have even larger rods and usually not tapered much.
Making sure the drill is pointed to the right spot is more important than the rod size in keeping a rifle slim. After all the difference is a 5/16 vs is 3/8 is not very much.
And I taper the rods a little and usually make my own rod tips to match the needed diameter.
If nothing else this aids in the rod entering the entry pipe when replaced.
Dan