Ramrod size chart

[Ohio Joe]

That's a good idea Rondo... In the past teaching my wife, kids and grandson, (my grand daughter in a few more years) I've always used a .433 ball with a .018 patch so they could push the load down with ease using a wood ramrod. With the lite loads I start them out on (25 grains 3fg) they've not had a problem loading. Lucas is now up to 40 grains in his .45 caliber, and Cindy is still hovering around 45 grains of 3fg (when she shoots her .45... Matthew and Brianna haven't shot in years so Brianna never really worked up to a "full" load,,, and the last time Matthew shot (3 - 4 years ago) he was at full loads with his .45... We've never experienced a broken wood ramrod, but there can always be a first time.

[Bigsmoke]

Short strokes on the wooden ramrods, kids.  Short strokes don't break ram rods.

My favorite though, is to use a brass range rod.  Go ahead , try to break that.  I dare you, I double dog dare you.  Can't be done.  Might bend it a little bit, but you are not gonna break it.  But, use a rod thimble when you use the brass rod.

[Uncle Russ]

I might add one more note here, and perhaps someone with a better memory then I have can throw in here;

There was a formula for soaking a new ramrod in (coal oil, and something else) and I just can't remember the something else)? What ever it was I did try it probably 30+ years ago and it did work - you could bend your ramrod probably close to a 22 to 30 degree angle (perhaps more) and it simply would show no signs of breakage at all... I still have some old rods in rifles that were soaked in that formula.

Anyone remember the "what else" ? (Maybe it was the Watco oil)

Yep,.... ramrods can be soaked in coal oil/lamp oil/kerosene (all pretty much the same and all are petroleum based), or bear oil, coon oil, or even vegetable oil.
Bear oil or raccoon oil are probably two most "old school" ways to go, and the quickest with the least amount of time needed to soak in good.
Bear oil is so "fine" it'll even soak through a cork if you have a bottle of it laying on it's side for a length of time. Don't ask me how I found that out

WOW! I didn't know that.

Transmission Fluid will also work, or so I'm told. But I never tried that.

Tried Kerosene in a PVC tube once, found it hard to keep the rod submerged, I had to cap both ends and turn it every few days, but we got 'er done.
Suspect, I had the "stinkiest" ramrod/wiping stick in the country for a short while....manage to talk my Grandson into taking it by telling him there was a good chance it would mask his scent when hunting.
I'm not so sure he was ever convinced of that Fairy Tale, but he took it off my hands....I've always wished I hadn't told him that.
Personally, I like Hickory. Just plain Hickory stained then varnished, seem to works okay.

Russ...

Like Joe said, pay attention to the grain and you'll find there's a lot of Wiping Rods out there, at very reasonable prices.