How do you gauge ramrod pressure accurately from load to load? Do you just estimate or is there a better way to get a consitent powder/bullet pack?

A good way to do it is by first figuring out the load and bullet you and your gun likes the best, then you can score the ramrod even with the muzzle after you fully seat the bullet. This way you can always see if the bullet is fully seated, and it' s also a good way to check if the rifle is loaded. The bullet should be seated with enough pressure to ensure there is no airspace between the bullet and powder, but not so hard that you damage the bullet. The mark on the ramrod allows you to see when the bullet is seated because the actual pressure required may change depending on how fouled the bore is. After you seat enough bullets you' ll eventually get a feel for when the bullet is seated right and when it' s not.

One other thing...there are those who like to pound the bullet down the bore, but I strongly recommend against it. Not only does repeated pounding increase the likelyhood that the bullet will be deformed and accuracy destroyed, but it' s also dangerous. Black powder and subs are IMPACT SENSITIVE and can detonate with a sudden shock. How likely is it to detonate from the forces applied when pounding down a bullets? Well, probably less likely than jogging with a canteen full of nitroglycerine but more likely than if you just ram it with a smooth steady pressure. I tend to give " pounders" a wide berth when I see them at the range. I don' t want to see them blow their hand off (but I wouldn' t want to miss it either[>:])

Mike

When I started shooting ML' s, I took a bathroom scale to the range wioth me, put the rifle butt on it, then applied 40 pounds of pressure on the ramrod withthe ball on the powder charge. After a while, I got to where I could do this pretty accurately without the scale, as shown by velocity variation and grouip size....