New Ramrod - Materiel?

[randyh]

Gettting ramrod made locally - have choice of aluminum or stainless steel - any thoughts on one over the other? Whatever I pick would be uncoated.

[cayugad]

I like the stainless steel only because they are easy to wipe the fowling off of. But I really do not think it would matter. I have a custom made stainless steel range rod and it is my favorite...

[Tahquamenon]

I would go witha hard aluminum or brass.A stainless steel rodis going to cause more wear to the muzzle and within the bore.

M2C

Tahquamenon

[lemoyne]

First off, if you are going to use a metal hard material ram rod then do use a bushing, most muzzleloaders that lose the ability to group good lose it because of ramrod wear at the end of the barrel, I lost count years ago of how many I have cut off and rebuttoned.
Second, it may depend on what you are using it for a bushing with a stainless rod is excellant for the range but an alumium will work out better for hunting[lighter and will stay in the gun better and less chance of barrel damage when in a hurry reloading. Lee

[Tahquamenon]

Great point Lee on the bore guide! An invaluable little gizmo the save the muzzle.

[falcon]

Do notget a hollow aluminum rod. They do not hold up well.

[Underclocked]

Solid aluminum or solid Delrin. Both work well. My stainless range rods (Woodgoat made) both have built on bore guides of either Delrin or nylon.

Aluminum rods work well but can be noisy if that is a concern. Delrin works just as well, does not damage the metal, and is much quieter. The Hunter Super Rods from Cain's are my favorite ramrod to replace most factory trash rods.

[randyh]

I will be leaving a spinjag (which has a bore guide) on the rod permanently so I don't think bore wear from the rod material will be an issue. Thanks to those who replied.

[sabotloader]

randyh

I use the spin jag also on my range rod, but that will not prevent the metal rod from rubbing the crown on your muzzle and eventually it will wear the crown unevenly - which will cause you problems. I do not use metal rods for that reason without a sliding bore guide.... For hunting it really is not that big of a deal for the most part but for range work or cleaning it will... For that reason I do not use metal rods... I use a Tipton carbon fiber rod









http://www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/tipton.html

[randyh]

Aren't the vast majority , if not all, muzzleloaders sold with a metal ramrod, normally aluminum? If bore wear at the muzzle is an issue, why are they not sold with a ramrod made of composite material?