The Ramrod of Doom

[Cosmoline]

I've been very much unsatisfied with the commercial ramrods and cleaning rods around. They're either nice wood that I don't want to mangle in rough cleaning or they're flippy floppy things that bend all over the place. The solution was to be found at the hardware store--a rigid fiberglass snow marker. These are very cheap and are used to stake out the boundaries of roads and as a quick reference for snow depth. I grabbed one, filed one tip and hammered a piece of brass tube down tight over it. Then I put a standard ramrod tip with a threaded hole on top of that and pinned the whole assembly together. Not only is it strong enough to be hammered, I attached it to my portable drill and used it to polish the inside of my smooth rifle's barrel at high speed. Try that with a normal ramrod. As an added bonus, it doesn't go all weak and gooey when you pour near boiling water on it, so you can use it as a cleaning aid.

 

[sharps59]

northeast trader co makes very nice rods.

 

[Wolfebyte]

question...


what is "snow"?

Sounds like a great substitute!!

 

[Ginormous]

The solution was to be found at the hardware store--a rigid fiberglass snow marker.

That is probably the ONE thing Ace hardware doesn't carry in Georgia.

Edit: What Wolfbyte said!

 

[mykeal]

October Country solved that problem for me with solid brass rods; they've been mentioned here many times.

I've used those fiberglass rods many times as driveway markers; I had not considered them for use as a range rod. Frankly, I've stayed away from fiberglass as rod material as it is not sufficiently rigid and it's quite abrasive; it can pick up residue that accentuates the abrasion problem.

 

[Das Jaeger]

well

thats good and dandy , just remember to use a guide when cleaning , the fibreglass rods are the WORST offenders at attracting particles inbedded into themselves and ruining lands and crowning . Yes, 100 times worse than wood . There is little wonder you don't see them on but some of the crappiest guns sold ..But as long as your not scrapin the edges , you'll be good to go I guess .

Cheers, Das Jaeger

 

[BCRider]

I was going to suggest carbon tubing as it is far stiffer and would not tend to bend or corkscrew itself against the sides as readily and with less contact force if it does touch. But I'm guessing it would have much the same issues as the fiberglass in terms of picking up grit. Carbon rod and tube is easily 4 times more stiff than the same size in fiberglass. Cost is more but if you think a composite ram or cleaning rod is what you need it's worth it in the long term.

It just points out that one will want to pay particular attention to keeping one's ramrod clean as a whistle regardless of the material.

Brass is nice but I'm finding that other than for handgun length rods ALL my metal rods seem to be picking up bends. That's why I'm seriously looking at making up my own carbon tube or rod cleaning rods.

You can get carbon rod and tube at the more serious kite making hobby shops or mail order from a few places online. One of them is http://www.acp-composites.com/home.php .

 

[JamesKelly]

I've been happy enough with hickory since before Sputnik.
Blanks available from Track of the Wolf cheaply enough.

 

[Cosmoline]

You obviously don't want it touching the barrel walls, but that applies to any rod esp. if you're rotating it at high speed. This one, because it's nice and stiff, is also very easy to stabilize in the middle of the barrel. Bendy rods drive me nuts.

Of course this isn't your dress clothes ramrod. It's ugly as sin. But it would skewer a wild boar in a pinch. It's the one I'm using for the nasty jobs.

 

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I got 4 extra ramrods when I bought my rifle. Guy said the extra's he used
for driveway markers in the winter time.