Solid brass ramrod

[ncboman]

I recently saw what I thought looked like a deal and bought one.

The seller said the extra weight will make a rifle more accurate but tends to move the poi lower because it reduces the 'recoil arc'.

He advised checking the zero with the new ramrod in place. He also suggested I get a muzzle guide for it.

Is a muzzleguide useful or needed? :rolleyes:

[Bill Gunn]

Is a muzzleguide useful or needed? :rolleyes:

I use one on the range, and when I load in the morning on a hunting day, but not while hunting.

I would think it's a good idea anytime you run a cleaning rod, or loading rod from the muzzle to help keep down wear to the rifling at the muzzle.

[Rattus58]

I recently saw what I thought looked like a deal and bought one.

The seller said the extra weight will make a rifle more accurate but tends to move the poi lower because it reduces the 'recoil arc'.

He advised checking the zero with the new ramrod in place. He also suggested I get a muzzle guide for it.

Is a muzzleguide useful or needed? :rolleyes:

Ok.... think about this a minute. Yes, probably will weigh the barrel down. Heavier to walk and hunt with. Make the gone more accurate? How will it do that? A barrel ring has been proven to harness the vibration to tame barrel whip, but with a muzzleloader? Possibly the savage, with the 2900 fps and stuff possibly, but, 1400 to 1800? Even if so, buy the barrel ring, not a ramrod. A ramrod is meant for the ramming a bullet down the barrel...

Lowering the poi... I can see that... that doesn't improve accuracy.

So... lets discuss this.... I think that for the reasons you print, a waste of money.

Aloha.... :cool:

[Bill Gunn]

Another thought...

It may make reloading faster ;)

The weight of it, and the inertia wanting it to sit still when the gun is moving backward quite rapidly, I would think it would be already at least 1/2 way out of the rod holder when you go to grab it :p

[captchee]

Lets see, to date , I believe have 3 brass RR. . Each rifle has a wood or ebony rod and two of my rifles have synthetic hunting rods . I don’t use the Brass rods for my hunting rods . they are just to heavy . I do however take one and leave it in the truck, just in case in do something stupid and need the wieght for pulling or loading a ball


The seller said the extra weight will make a rifle more accurate but tends to move the poi lower because it reduces the 'recoil arc'.

He advised checking the zero with the new ramrod in place. He also suggested I get a muzzle guide for it.

Is a muzzleguide useful or needed?

Lets take the first part of this IE making the rifle more accurate
There is IMO only two ways this could hold true
1) reduced barrel harmonicas.
YES even at lower pressures you have barrel harmonics . However changing a RR is not going to change or stiffen the barrel any . Well it could if you soldered it into place or it was very ,VERY tight in the thimbles I guess . But either way would make the RR un usable . Now a RR could act as a dampener but I seriously doubt without the RR being in solid contact you would notice anything .

2) forward weight

This is where if your using open sights you will see and improvement and possibly see a drop in POI .
The reason for that is called “ Hang “ . see basically you have 3 balance concerns . All there do different things
Muzzle heavy :
the more muzzle heavy a rifle the steadier it is in the hang . However it also makes for a shorter hang and slower pull .. Basically the rifle is slow to the shoulder because the muzzle will lag behind the butt . However ones on target , there is very little walking . Because of this , the rifle also has less desire to buck the muzzle .This is often desirable for target rifles . but the time you can spend on target is leas when shooting off hand becouse it takes more to keep the rifle up and hold it on target
It also takes some getting used to when hunting because its poor in the carry .
,

Balanced :
IE neither muzzle or butt heavy.: this is kind of the middle ground . Its less steady in the hold , tends to wander alittle in the hold . But comes to the shoulder much better and very nice in the carry . Normally when building a custom rifle the balance even for a rifle with a very long barrel “40, 44, 56 or 60 inches “ , would be just in front of the lock mortise . Then you fudge the balance just a tad so as to give just a tad muzzle drop . IE balance just a little muzzle heavy

Butt heavy .
This is fast in the pull . Fast in the swing poor in the hold and poor in the carry . It also increases barrel buck . This balance takes longer to settle on the target .
Its also poor in the rest . The reason is because the barrel has a tendency to lift on recoil “Barrel Buck “


When a rifle is properly balanced though , the rifle can be shot just like a recoilless rifle IE not gripping , but just resting the forestock . The recoil should be strait back not up as with a center fire .
So if your rifle is butt heavy now you just might see some improvement with a heavy RR

Now as to the barrel guide .
I don’t use one , even on my long rifle which has a forged Iron barrel .
The brass is softer then iron and does not cut or damage the rifling . Now if it dirty . Then the dirt will wear the muzzle . .
So as to the need for such a thing , ?? I would say it depends on what alloy of brass the guy that sold you the rod is using . Remember just because its yellow , doesn’t mean it a softer brass . You can actually use brass alloy to make muzzleloading .barrels , very good barrels mind you .
so if the rod is a very hard brass a muzzle protector might be a good idea .
its alwasy a good idea on steel loading rods or fiberglass


Now as to loading. Brass rods make for very good loading rods . They are heavy and the added weight helps a lot with a tight load . However one must use caution because the added weight can also easily deform the projectile . Be that soft lead or modern core locks .. So depending on what projectile you using , its best to either fit the end of the rod with a proper tip or go lightly when loading .

Now where they really shin is when you get a stubborn load that simply will not go down . IE like a Dry patched RB load . The weight of the rod if you thump it . Will drive even the most stubborn load down to the powder

[ncboman]

I bought it just to 'have it'. I doubt I'll use it for hunting but I might.

It seems long for my Knight rifles and I doan want to cut it in case I go to a real muzzleloader in the future. :D

[Twanger]

I use a 3-piece brass ramrod on the range, but stick to aluminum in the field.
As far as a tip on the ramrod that positions the tip of the bullet in the center of the bore... it's a grand idea! Good for accuracy.