Custom or well made cleaning rods?

[Rickt300]

Sounds old fashioned but I would like to have a good solid fiberglass cleaning rod cut to the length I want, say 4 inches longer than stock. I don't care if it sticks out a bit I want to be able to swab with it. Is there a website I could visit?

 

[edmehlig]

Track of the Wolf or Buffalo Arms

 

[Matthew323]

You don't want a cleaning rod made from fiberglass, as fiberglass is so abrasive that it will quickly end up damaging the crown of your barrel.

Almost everyone now making synthetic ramrods/cleaning rods is using Delrin plastic, a much more forgiving material.

 

[ourway77]

Fiber glass will tend to bend in the middle I know I had one. For it not to bend it would have to be very thick A friend of mine worked at a factory where they had all sorts if aluminum round stock He got me a couple 5/8" rods I had them drilled and tapped and had handles made for them. A while back I bought a brass 3 piece rod when put together it is very strong Do a search on the internet and put in range rods I would stick with aluminum or brass anything else may damage your crown Good Luck

 

[Rickt300]

I have an excellent range rod I made from a piece of drill rod, and brass for both the handle and the jag. I would like to have a rod that can be used to clean my muzzleloader and be carried on the rifle.

 

[Matthew323]

Rice Muzzleloading Barrel Company sells very nice range rods made from 3/8" diameter stainless steel with 10-32 female threads drilled and tapped in the working end of the rod. Handles are nice, but I don't recall if they rotate, or are fixed.

 

[ENCORE50A]

Friend makes these. All spin.

 

[bstorric]

Friend makes these. All spin.

View attachment 16757

Nice, I bet the added weight of the billiard ball is nice. I have a 3 piece brass rod I broke the handle off of. I then tapped the end where the original handle broke off. Then took a section of broom handle. Partially drilled down through it. Stuck a bolt down through the handle and into the female threads I tapped into the rod. Then epoxied it all together with a stainless washer on the shoulder of the handle. Works good, the washer is so if I get the rod stuck in the barrel (happens from time to time with my .45) I can hook the washer on the end of the shooting bench and pull the rod back out (that’s how I broke the rod to begin with). It’s crude but it works great

 

[davek42]

Look at Dewy cleaning rods. Very strong many lengths and dia

 

[Idaholewis]

You don't want a cleaning rod made from fiberglass, as fiberglass is so abrasive that it will quickly end up damaging the crown of your barrel.

Almost everyone now making synthetic ramrods/cleaning rods is using Delrin plastic, a much more forgiving material.

I have been using Slick Fiberglass Treso Rods in my Muzzleloaders forever and have yet to hurt a Crown, as much as i shoot I should have Damaged every Crown i own, But not 1 Pretty safe to say that i shoot more in a Month than the vast majority of people on here will in their Lifetime in short, Treso Fiberglass Rods are VERY Safe with your Muzzleloaders

 

[dbowling]

try Spin Jag nice solid aluminum custom made to your length, dia.

 

[Rickt300]

How long do the Treso rods come? 36"?

I have been using Slick Fiberglass Treso Rods in my Muzzleloaders forever and have yet to hurt a Crown, as much as i shoot I should have Damaged every Crown i own, But not 1 Pretty safe to say that i shoot more in a Month than the vast majority of people on here will in their Lifetime in short, Treso Fiberglass Rods are VERY Safe with your Muzzleloaders

 

[Idaholewis]

How long do the Treso rods come? 36"?

They are 48” inches long, i cut mine down to 36” inches

https://www.buffaloarms.com/treso-3-8-diameter-flexible-f-tre1191610.html

 

[Rickt300]

Just what I wanted, too bad shipping is $21. and the rods are $14.!

 

[Idaholewis]

Just what I wanted, too bad shipping is $21. and the rods are $14.!

Yea that’s a Bummer! Shipping on something like that (length) can be a Joke

 

[Matthew323]

I stand by my above statement regarding fiberglass ramrods causing premature wear to a rifle's crown.

I have not personally experienced this, but have read dozens of accounts where a shooter damaged the crown of a traditional sidelock muzzleloading rifle by replacing the onboard wood ramrod with a new fangled, unbreakable, fiberglass ramrod.

I have also watched a couple of different YouTube videos where someone demonstrated how abrasive a normal 3/8" diameter fiberglass ramrod can be.They clamped a modern octagonal muzzleloading rifle barrel in a machinists vise. Then, applying firm downwards pressure with the ramrod held in two hands, they stroked the ramrod across the corner of two barrel flats just as if the fiberglass ramrod was a file.

In a short amount of time, usually less than a minute, it was possible to see a definite groove being worn into the steel.

Which, if one takes the time to think about it, makes a lot of sense.

Fiberglass is nothing but an altered form of silica rock, and is easily as hard as any steel commonly used to make muzzleoading rifle barrels.

I also have no reason to doubt what Idaholewis stated in his above post. He is a careful, meticulous shooter that, if I had to make a guess, has always used a muzzle protecting bore guide of some sort when he loads his various rifles when he shoots.

If someone is always going to use a bore guide along with the ramrod/range rod, then IMO, it makes little, to zero difference what material the rod is constructed from.

If a shooter is not going to be meticulous about coupling a bore guide with a fiberglass ramrod, then I would suggest choosing another material for the rod.

 

[Rickt300]

Way back in the 70's I shot black powder matches all over Texas, followed them fervently. These matches were usually standing and shooting at targets 25,50,75 and 100 with usually some form of laying on the ground tight group match at the end. I did make every effort to not let my favorite range rod which was made of a dark brown fiberglass to touch the inside of the barrel at the muzzle. I shot both 45 caliber rifles and 50 caliber using the same rod. The 45 was stolen some years ago but I still shoot the 50 and it is still a fine shooter and the crown looks just fine. Never used a bore guide with it but I do with every steel rod I own. I have to modify that, if I could get percussion caps I would still be shooting the 50.

 

[mnoland30]

I found my gun shoots better without the rod on the gun. I modified a shotgun cleaning rod by unscrewing the handle, cutting it to the right length, and then rethreading the handle end. Eastern Maine Shooting supplies sells an adapter for the end of the rod to fit muzzleloader jags. It comes apart and fits nicely in my pack. I've never found I needed a quick second shot. Either the animai drops, or it runs away, but never gives me time for another shot.

 

[Rickt300]

I found my gun shoots better without the rod on the gun. I modified a shotgun cleaning rod by unscrewing the handle, cutting it to the right length, and then rethreading the handle end. Eastern Maine Shooting supplies sells an adapter for the end of the rod to fit muzzleloader jags. It comes apart and fits nicely in my pack. I've never found I needed a quick second shot. Either the animai drops, or it runs away, but never gives me time for another shot.

I more or less just want to load and clean with the cleaning rod carried in the guides. A lot of my hunting is half a mile or further from the vehicle. Some of my hunts last 3 days or a bit more and I like to be able to clean after the first shot well enough to load again and hunt for a couple more days.

 

[Idaholewis]

For Loading Patched Roundball i prefer my Solid Brass Rods from October Country, I can send a TIGHT fitting Patched Ball to the powder with minimal effort