Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Craftsmanship => Accoutrements => Topic started by: BlackPowderManiacShooter on March 25, 2026, 12:01:28 AM
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"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" is discussed using the wooden ramrod, Delrin ramrod and Fiberglass ramrod.
You also can use those ramrods to clean your guns.
Wooden Rod discussion: @1:31
Delrin Rod discussion: @4:10
Fiberglass Rod discussion: @5:23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZSKzjScLu8
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Another good video. Thanks for posting it.
I think on the subject of the fiberglass ramrods, the problem wasn't about the tip wearing the rifling, it was that the fiberglass being somewhat abrasive, it would wear the crown of the barrel.
Long ago and far away, when we owned October Country, we started making brass ramrods. First we made rods with both wooden and antler handles. Then we started getting calls for brass undergun rods so we started making those. We even made 23/64" diameter rods for CVA and Traditions guns. Then people started complaining about the weight of them so we found a source of hollow brass rod, both 3/8" and 23/64". I kinda liked making the brass rods. It made me timagine I was a machinist.
Personally, I am more of a range and trailwalk shooter than a hunter so I always use a brass range rod for my loading and cleaning. The undergun rod is more of a decoration than a functional item.
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John, I've discovered those wooden rods don't normally survive being shot out of a gun. Do you think the survival rate of the brass ones would be better? :Doh! Maybe that could be a topic for one of Marks videos.
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I went to a rendezvous years ago in Washington state.
They had this "fun" event where you placed a regular 100 yard target at 25 yards and came back to the firing line.
At that point, someone distributed 3/8" x 36" dowels that had been donated by a hardware store in a local town.
The object was to try to hit the target with the dowel. Probably 30 shooters sent rods flying down range, some hit the target, most didn't. Mine didn't, not enough powder.
Anyway, out of all that, I didn't see any broken rods IIRC.
I think the worst that could happen to a brass rod being shot out of a rifle would be it could be bent. And the recoil would be somewhat more significant. After all, the rod would weigh about 1.2 pounds.
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That would kick like a mule. But with your background, I'm sure it wouldn't bother you a bit.
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John, I've discovered those wooden rods don't normally survive being shot out of a gun. Do you think the survival rate of the brass ones would be better? :Doh! Maybe that could be a topic for one of Marks videos.
I haven't tried metal rods before. I did have a fiberglass rod shot out of my gun by a friend & it survived.
I tried this topic a few years ago using wooden rods. Yes, they suffered terribly...! LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYQyV-hd7YI
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It looks as though you're one step ahead of me Mark.