250savage Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 I have a Lyman Trade Rifle and in the frantic attempts to bring down my wounded doe (which I did finally do) I cracked my ram-rod. Its still "usable" but i'm afraid it will break off down in the barrel when I clean it. Plus the two brass ends came off but thats an easy fix with some glue. Its the ram-rod that came with my ML and I wasn't sure if I should stick with the wooden ones or go for a stainless steel or something. Just need some opinions I guess.Here's the doe: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 I would go with a fiberglass rod. Stronger than wood, as strong as steel and quieter when carrying. Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_Spike_King Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Yep, I'm with Lynn on this one. My Lyman deerstalker has the fiberglass rod and would not use anything different in the field. But shooting at the bench my dad and I use the aluminum one that we have. I have an old invest arms flintlock with the old wooden rod but I think I may change to the fiberglass one someday. And congrats on the muzzy doe also. Nothing like shooting a deer with a flintlock is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 I have had a fear of wooden ramrods ever since a friend of mine had one break while loading a patched ball. The rod broke and his hand slid down onto the splintered rod and he received a real nasty puncture wound requiring several stitches. Wooden ramrods dry out over time making this more apt to happen as the rod gets older. Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnatecsteve Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 PLEASE dont put a fiberglass ramrod on a gun like that!! The factory ramrods are hands down very poor that come with most guns. Get yourself a hickory ramrod with straight grain. Im sure the one you have has a section of grain that was cross grained where it broke. Fit the new rod and use some TC Bore Butter or like neatsfoot oil, put it on a cloth, and vigorously rub the ramrod like a college kid until the wood gets very hot. That will soak the oils into it and make it very flexible and strong. I like hickory the best, mine is so well oiled that I can bend it more than I care to without any pops or cracks.:smoke: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_RIDGE_RUNNER Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 You can keep the wood one for looks but there is nothing wrong with going hunting with a ramrod that you have full confidence in. No matter what you get as a replacement be sure that the metal ends are pinned to the rod shaft. the ones that are only glued on can and will come loose. Especially if you use it for cleaning and it gets hot from the water and the glue softens of course you will not know it is loose till you push a patch all the way down and try to pull it back out and all that comes out is the ramrod. It is a real mess trying to get that out. I speak from experience on that one. I pinned all my rods just after that. It is easy to do be sure the end is all the way on the shaft and drill a very small hole all the way through find a nail or brad that will fit the hole and cut off the head then cut the other end so just a little extends from the hole. Take a hammer and place the nail on a piece of metal and tap it till it is flat to the hole and do the same on the other side. You should also have a range rod. This one should be a solid rod. By that I mean it should not be hollow it can be taken down for storage but all the pieces are solid metal. Use this rod at the range and to clean the rifle and save the guns rod for the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250savage Posted January 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 alright thanks for the tips everyone. I'll take all of the advice into consideration. i think i'm going to two ram-rods. one wooden one (probably the straight grain hickory) and also a fiberglass one.. i really like the looks of the wooden rod with the rifle but don't want it to break again. I do like the idea of pinning the ends to the rod shaft. excellent idea. Thanks again everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 I have a ram rod I bought specificley for cleaning. I call it my range rod. It is a Traditions A1227 PCV Power Ram Rod. At 37 3/4" and with standard 10x32 threads it is capable of cleaning any muzzleloader you will ever have. It can be cut down to carry in your MZ but I leave it as is with my cleaning kit to use just for that. The extra length is really helpful when cleaning. Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnatecsteve Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Yeah, score the wood and roughen the brass tip before you glue and pin. I always use a two part epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 One other case for Using fiberglass ramrods is they are much more accurate than wood or steel. Don't tell us you haven't done this. I have loaded my MZ and shot it without removing the ramrod. Once while hunting, and once while sighting in a new MZ. At 25 yards to get a 7 ring shot wasn't bad IMHO. The incident while hunting will remain a corporate secret! LOL. Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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