Accoutrement Upgrades - Wipe Sticks

In every black powder shooter's life there comes a day of reckoning. You've acquired your first muzzle loader, and you're anxious to take it out and fire it. You've watched countless YouTube videos about loading and shooting, and searched high and low to find the accessories one needs to "burn powder". Hopefully you've had an opportunity to practice at the range with your new "smoke pole" and establish a reasonably close zero. You've heard about a local "rendezvous", and after taking a metaphorical deep breath, decide to attend.

I guarantee that when you show up, you'll meet some of the friendliest, most helpful shooters you could ever hope to meet. At our last rendezvous, I overheard a new shooter ask, "Is everybody this friendly"? As a matter of fact, we are. We love the sport, the challenge, and the comradery, and are anxious to share this with new shooters.

I will be submitting a series of posts on my observations and recommendations on the bits of equipment,(accoutrements) that shooters have always carried on their treks into the high country. I base many of my choices on the teachings of Mark A. Baker, who for years was a contributor to Muzzle Loading Magazine and a proponent of Experimental Archeology, a practice where research into eighteenth century life on the frontier is conducted by actually living "on location", using items known to have been available. He was also a technical advisor to Daniel Day Lewis on the movie "The Last Of The Mohicans". 

Mr. Baker appears in several DVDs on the Long Hunter period on the American Frontier, portraying a hunter who might be hired to provide meat for the surveying teams who began mapping the frontier for future land speculators. Of the series, Volume 2 will provide you with a wealth of information on preparing for a sustained excursion into the woods, while Volume 1 provides more general information about shooting and period correct dress. Shop around for the best prices. Yes, I know DVDs are an outdated technology, but we shoot flintlocks, don't we?

The Wipestick: We all call it a ram rod, but historically it has been called a wipestick, since it can also serve as a cleaning rod. Originally made from straight-grained hickory, they were carefully hand-planed to a slight taper, and soaked in linseed oil for several days before use. Most did not have a threaded metal tip. Today, nearly every traditional muzzle loader is shipped with an inexpensive wooden ramrod, which can  splinter if improperly used.  Impaling one's own hand is not the sort of period correct injury I wish to experience again. Luckily for me, a quick wash and a band aid took care of it. From that point forward, the first thing I replaced was the ramrod.

Ramrod Qualities: By all accounts, Delrin makes the superior ramrod, so remember that when shopping for a replacement. Ramrods come in three diameters: 5/16 for calibers smaller than .45, 3/8" for .45 through .58, and 7/16 for trade guns and shotguns. If you own one of the more popular traditional muzzle loaders you can go to Track Of The Wolf and order a replacement ramrod by your rifle's make and model number. If your exact length can't be found, just buy a longer one and cut it. If you so inclined, get a really long one, cut it to the desired length, and make a short starter from the remainder.

Tip Types: Typically the replacement ramrods will have brass tips at each end, and they are shaped and threaded differently. A typical replacement rod will have one tip that is has a concaved contour to match the rounded surface of your lead ball. The other end will have a recessed portioned behind the tip, as shown in this photo on the right. This is the end that is usually inserted first into the metal tubes (thimbles) on the underside of the barrel. It also provides some clearance if you use a small button-type cleaning jag. I have found that the  unique shape allows for a more secure grip when you need to pull on the ramrod, as you would if you were using a ball puller.

Threads: Now the following is important to remember: One of the tips will be threaded for 8/32 (standard thread size for modern firearms .22 and larger) accessories, while the other tip is for the larger 10/32 thread (often found on muzzle loaders). From what I've seen in my own ramrods, the recessed tip is threaded for 10/32, and the other end (cylindrical and sometimes flared) will have the 8/32 threads.

Cleaning Jags: When buying accessories, it is important to consider which threaded end you plan on using. For example, I have 8/32 accessories (cleaning patch jags, ball pullers, etc.) so that I can use the tapered end to get a better grip. There is one additional consideration for those who shoot .45 guns and have a 3/8 ramrod. The tapered end gives you a little more clearance if you're cleaning with an oversized cleaning patch when using a button jag as shown on the right. The taper gives some extra clearance in case the patch starts to bunch up and bind in the bore.

I usually carry an assortment of button jags since my pistol and rifle will often be of different calibers. They are a little cheaper. If you're a real fanatic, find a piece of scrap plastic and drill and tap holes that match the jag threads. Keep them in a tin Altoid box and keep it in your possibles bag.

Another solution is to buy a long shank cleaning patch jags like this one on the left. Its reduced diameter tapered shaft ensures that you'll have sufficient clearance to prevent binding if your cleaning patch is too large.

One last thing. Most jags are machined from solid brass with a steel extension threaded into the base. Occasionally the steel threaded portion will unscrew and stay with your ramrod. When this happens you'll wonder why your ramrod suddenly has a protruding threaded tip.  Now you know where it came from. Some Loctite in the threaded hole of the jag will help  secure the steel threaded shank in its proper place.  

My next post will discuss short starters. Warning: There are many people in the black powder shooting community that claim that there is no evidence that short starters were actually used on the frontier. More on that later.