1/7/2020 Traditional Muzzle Loader - Ramrods for Muzzle loaders

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RAMRODS FOR MUZZLE LOADERS

It has been said that there are only two types of muzzleloaders; those who have broken a ramrod and those who are
going to break one.  Because wooden ramrods can and will break, safety should be the rst concern.  Forcing a tight
load down the barrel is usually the moment when a weak or damaged wooden ramrod breaks.  To avoid this,

grasp the ramrod no more than 6 inches above the muzzle when loading the gun.

The main reason wooden ramrods break is because of the type of wood used and the way they are made.  A proper
ramrod is constructed from a hard straight grained wood such as hickory.  The grain in the wood should be straight
over the entire length of the rod with no areas where the grain runs to the outside. 

A run out of the grain creates a weak spot in the rod where it will eventually crack and break o .  Ramrods supplied
with most production guns and pre-assembled replacement rods are simply sawed and cut in the same manner as
dowel rods.  The odds of getting a rod made this way with no grain run out are very slim to none. 

 The best ramrods are made of split hickory, have no grain run out, are scraped to size, and seasoned by soaking them
in kerosene over a period of time.  Soaking the rod in kerosene or Old English Lemon Oil makes the rod more pliable
and less likely to break.  This can be easily accomplished with a section of PVC pluming pipe.  Cut it long enough to
contain one or more wooden rods, glue a cap on one end and a screw o cap on the other.  If you want to stain the
rod do that before soaking because it won’t take the stain very well afterwards. 

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 When your rods have soaked for two or more weeks, cut them to length and install the brass tips.  I do not like the
end of my ramrod to extend past the muzzle when it is stored in the thimbles of the gun.  I understand that the
ramrod hole drilled in some gun stocks end even with or just slightly past the breach and this doesn’t leave much to
get a hold on when the rod is fully inside the barrel.  If that is an issue you can carry a brass, T shaped, threaded
handle, or a wooden ball with a properly threaded screw in the shooting bag for those instances when it is necessary
to pull a stuck ball or one loaded without powder.  When the end of the ramrod sticks out past the muzzle it tends to
snag on every bit of brush and tree limbs.  That is not only a nuisance it can also break the rod. When attaching the
brass tips I prefer to use epoxy and pins.  Install the pins across the grain and they will not pull out so easily if you
have to pull a stuck ball. 

 A ramrod is more than a simple stick used to load the ri e.  With threaded metal tips installed on both ends the
ramrod becomes a multipurpose tool used to load, clean, and maintain the gun.  Attachments often carried in the
shooting bag include a “T” shape extension handle, cleaning patch jag, patch worm, ball pulling screw, breach face
scraper, and a bore brush.  All these tools attach to the rod using a 10/32 or 8/32 threaded screw.  This type of set up
works very well in the eld, when hunting or during rendezvous shoots.  Those who shoot in organized competitions
where the ri es are loaded at loading benches will use a metal range rod of brass or steel paired with a brass muzzle
guide/protector and save the wooden ramrods for use in the eld.  This is a common practice today which serves very
well. 

This range rod is avaliable from Track of the Wolf

 Is this the historically correct way to set up a ramrod?  The answer would depend upon who, where, and when in
history we are considering.  Because wooden ramrods are easily lost and broken very few originals have survived.  No
doubt the ramrods found with original ri es are very old, but they are not likely the one originally supplied with the
gun.  When a wilderness hunter, trapper, or farm boy lost or broke a ramrod the most expedient way to replace it
would be to cut a sapling and whittle it to t the thimbles of the ri e.  Lacking access to iron or brass tips, or the tools
to make them, it is reasonable that a simple bare stick would su ce.

 Military arms were equipped with metal ramrods and at least a few Hawken pistols were known to have attached
metal loading rods.  On the other hand ri es and smoothbores for civilian use would have had wooden ramrods. 
Whether those ramrods were always equipped with metal tips threaded for attachments or not can be di cult to
determine. Descriptions of gun worms available during the rendezvous period of the fur trade are of a spiral shaped
wire that would twist onto a bare stick.  Flax bers (tow) were then wound into the worm and used to wipe the ri e
bore.  This type of gun worm would work very well on a bare stick and lists of trade goods show these were
abundant. 

 If one chooses to hang a bare stick in the thimbles of his intlock because he feels it is more authentic who is to say
he shouldn’t?  However, I am unable to nd enough documentation to say with any authority that original wooden
ramrods were never equipped with threaded metal tips.  Neither have I been able to distinguish the di erence if any,
between the ramrod and the wiping stick often referred to in descriptions of the Rocky Mountain fur trappers. 

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Nevertheless I am certain that synthetic ramrods have no place at a historical reenactment and half stocked plains
ri es should not have metal ramrods hanging under the barrel. 

Discussing the issue of replacement ramrods over many camp res with experienced buck skinners, I’ve encountered
a few old timers who proudly boast of having shot these muzzle loaders for fty plus years and never broken a
ramrod.  Typically these fellows are shooting custom built ri es and the rod that came with it is a proper split hickory
rod.

 Those of us who use production built guns are not so fortunate.  My rst ri e was a CVA kit.  There was no internet in
those days and information on muzzle loaders was di cult to nd. When that rod broke during a hunt, I cut and
whittled a sapling to make do.  Unable to nd a source for a replacement rod I wound up searching through a lot of
oak dowels at a home improvement store until I found one reasonably straight with no knots and little run out.  None
of the rods I made from oak dowels lasted long. 

 Eventually I found a berglass range rod at a gun shop and thought that would be the answer.  It had a brass tip
cleaning jag that screwed o to reveal a ball pulling screw.  That rod never broke but I got berglass splinters in my
hands every time I used it.  Fortunately I didn’t use it long enough to damage the crown on my ri e.  Soon after, the
“unbreakable” ramrods appeared on the market.  These things were advertised as being able to withstand bending
them into a horse shoe without breaking.  They are made of a dark brown synthetic material and not as heavy as a
metal rod.  It looked like a good rod for the little Frontier ri e I had for the kids to shoot.  It broke during the rst
event. 

 It was about this time when I rst started seeing brass rods in the thimbles of half stock ri es at rendezvous.  It
seemed a lot of folks were frustrated with the poor quality of the wooden ramrods available.  And the problem isn’t
limited to production guns.  I own a semi-custom trade gun and the hickory rod supplied with it had so much grain
run out that I never tried to use it.  

 In an ideal world we would be able to purchase well made, split hickory ramrods.  But unless you have access to good
hickory logs, the necessary wood working tools to make a ramrod, or a good friend who does, that world no longer
exists.  Thanks to the internet it isn’t as di cult to locate suppliers and products for muzzleloaders today.  Premade
wooden ramrods can be purchased to t the more popular production guns but there is no guarantee these will be
free of run out. 

 The best way I know to get a decent ramrod is to buy a half dozen or so full length hickory rods from one of the
muzzleloader suppliers.  Select one where any runout is near the ends and can be cut o while leaving the needed
length to t the gun.  It isn’t necessary for the rod to be perfectly straight.  A slight bend in the rod helps hold it snug i
the thimbles.  Any short pieces left can be used for pistols or to make short starters.

 Some guns need a tapered ramrod. This is usually because the ramrod hole in the stock has to be small in order for
the rod to pass lock bolts or allow the rod to be made long enough for the barrel length.  It is easy to make a scraper
from a worn out reciprocating saw blade by drilling a hole near the edge, cutting a “V” shaped notch from the edge to
the hole, and ling a sharp, single bevel edge with a round le.  Mount the scraper in a bench vise and you can easily
pull the rod over it removing curls of wood until the desired dimensions are reached.  There is no good reason for
having a ramrod stuck in the thimbles because humidity caused the wood to swell.  Simply scrape or sand it down to
proper size.

 When selecting brass tips for your rod be sure one is small enough to pass through the thimbles and reach the
bottom of the ramrod hole in the stock.  The tip on the other end doesn’t have to be the same size, my smoothbore
guns have small tips on the bottom end and larger tips at the muzzle end which are closer in size to the bore
diameter.  Of course those rods are tapered and the wood is ush with the edge of the brass tips at both ends.

 The book Recreating the American Long Ri e by Buchele and Shumway includes a chapter on ramrods.  Shumway
recommends that the brass tip on the rod be constructed to match the length of the brass nose cap.  I cannot say if
this is historically correct for original ri es, but I agree with Shumway that it is more appealing to the eye.  The brass
nose cap on my Lancaster ri e is two inches long and the rod supplied with the ri e had no metal tip on the muzzle
end.  When I made a new ramrod for this ri e the only brass tips to be found are an inch and a half long and it just
didn’t look right.  Not having access to a milling machine or a lathe, I was unable to make a suitable one and the cost
of outsourcing a custom made tip seemed cost prohibitive.  What I ended up doing was cutting a half inch o of
another brass tip and installing that on the rod below the threaded tip.  The brass tip now matches the length of the
brass nose cap and is much more pleasing to the eyes.  This may not seem like an important issue but this is a
particularly beautiful ri e with relief carvings and extra fancy wood and the mismatched brass at the muzzle was a
visual distraction. 

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A beautiful ramrod tip matching the length and style of the nose cap.

 In summary, what most shooters I observe are doing is using a one piece metal range rod with a brass muzzle
protector whenever possible and leaving the wooden ramrods in the thimbles for use in the eld and historical
events.  Synthetic ramrods are simply inferior to the one piece range rod of brass or stainless steel and neither have
any place at an historic event.  Civilian guns should have wooden ramrods and Military guns should have metal rods
according to their place in time and location. 

 I make my ramrods from the best hickory rods I can purchase from muzzle loading suppliers such as Track of the
Wolf, or Dixie Gun Works.  These are stained then soaked in Old English Lemon Oil before cutting to length and
installing threaded brass tips.  I typically make up two rods to t each gun because it is only a matter of time before a
wooden rod breaks and it usually happens in the middle of a match.  Having a spare ramrod available at camp or in
your vehicle can save a lot of frustration.

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