Ever Get A Ram Rod Stuck With No Way To Pull It?

[Ohio Joe]

I've gotten Ram Rods stuck during Range outings, during loading from the pouch at shoots, and during Rendezvous where after so many shots I eventually have to swab. Eventually I get the stuck Ram Rod out of the bore but usually not before pulling out a small pair of pliers I carry in my shooting bag, and after marring my Ram Rod end a bit (nothing sand paper doesn't take care of when I get home),,, but in my mind I'm always thinking,,, how do I pull a stuck Ram Rod without buying a bulky Ram Rod puller???

Well, today I solved that problem. Not that I had a stuck Ram Rod today - this is just something I've been bouncing around in my feeble little brain for some time now, and just got around to solving the problem. (See Pictures Below)



I drilled a 5/32" hole in the "seating end" of my rifle's Ram Rod, 1/4" ahead of the muzzle. I marked the spot before drilling my Ram Rod, and with my jag on and seated down to the face of the breech plug... After this I cleaned that little hole up and put some Watco Walnut stain in the hole,,, found a small finish nail that fit the hole and smoothed out the pointed end,,, got a piece of good leather (about 3/8" wide and 5+ inches long, poked a hole through each end about 1/4" in from the ends. (See next picture) 



This picture above shows the setup, and how the little leather & nail is used to pull a stubborn Ram Rod...  This will become a standard piece of equipment now for all my rifle's Ram Rod's, shooting bags, and shooting boxes.

99% of the time all a stuck/stubborn Ram Rod needs is a little tug to get it moving and you're out of the woods and back into the shooting game in no time... Best of all, no carrying around a bulky Ram Rod puller... You can make one of these little simplistic tools yourself and have it handy if you ever need it. 

[rollingb]

That's a dandy idea Joe. 

[Hank in WV]

Pretty clever Joe. Sometimes they can be extra stubborn to remove. Try pouring just a little water or liquid lube down the barrel. Often helps.

[Uncle Russ]

Really neat Joe! 
Since seeing that picture earlier, I have been saying to myself, "now why didn't this old fool think of that years ago???"

Great idea, I'll get to work on one as soon as I can, in fact, I just may make one for each bag so I'm never without one......

 

Uncle Russ...

[Ohio Joe]

Well Russ, it took me over 40 years to come up with this idea... At this rate, I doubt I'll have another...

I hope it helps and hope we never have to use it, but if we do, we got it. 

[RobD]

good stuff, joe.   

i make all my rods with a brass ferrule cap at each end, both 10-32 threads.  the ferrules are epoxied on and then brass riveted as well.  one naked ferrule is used for patched ball ramming whilst the other end is brass jagged for fouling control. 

i keep a .62 brass long neck jag in the shooting bag and when the patched/jag end gets "stuck" down in the chamber i'll screw in the .62 jag and use it to easily pull out the rod.  it adds both length and finger/pliers purchase to get the rod out.

that big button of a .62 jag also allows me to add a loop of para cord and use it as a puller (looped around a tree branch, etc) if i need some added leverage/muscle to jerk out a patched dry ball. 

[Ohio Joe]

I'm not sure when it was I started going with just one 10/32nd brass ferrule at the end of my rods? It's been some years back for sure. In the pictures below I use to go this route and would just slobber up a wiping patch to run down my barrel when the loading seemed to get a bit difficult in the hot/dry weather. It worked, and never had to worry about getting your Ram Rod stuck, but I was a bit concerned that the wood on the sides of the hole was a bit to thin... Never had one split out - but I was still concerned about it.

http://imgur.com/M5pOP48

[Winter Hawk]

That's a peachy-keen idea, the nail with leather to pull the RR.  I'm off to make one of those myself!

Later!   
~WH~

[RobD]

joe, after you drill the rod puller hole, you can wick in quality water thin CYA (hobby shop: "hot stuff", "zap", etc) and that will harden and bond the grain of the wood to absolutely insure the wood fibers between the hole and the end of the rod won't get compromised.  if the fit of that end isn't too tight in the stock's rod hole, a 1/4" or so of whipped very fine sewing thread before saturating the wood will really super strengthen it.

[Ohio Joe]

joe, after you drill the rod puller hole, you can wick in quality water thin CYA (hobby shop: "hot stuff", "zap", etc) and that will harden and bond the grain of the wood to absolutely insure the wood fibers between the hole and the end of the rod won't get compromised.  if the fit of that end isn't too tight in the stock's rod hole, a 1/4" or so of whipped very fine sewing thread before saturating the wood will really super strengthen it.

That's a good tip (no pun intended) Rob. I will do that. Thanks! 

[Ohio Joe]

That's a peachy-keen idea, the nail with leather to pull the RR.  I'm off to make one of those myself!

Later!   
~WH~

[greyhunter]

I use a piece of deer antler with a 3/8 hole drilled in thick end, place over ramrod and lever it out. But your idea is nifty.

[Eric Krewson]

I use a tricorner file to cut grooves in my ramrods at an angle that gives me a sound grip for pulling one out, I am pulling against a sharp edge. I just changed the image from PB to Imgur

[Ohio Joe]

Not a bad idea, Eric. 

[waksupi]

If you have around 3/4" sticking out, you can take a leather thong, old boot laces work fine. Put a knot in one end. Make as many half hitches as you can on the rod end, and pull away. Use enough half hitches, and you can pull the very devil out of his hole.