Can you shoot a ramrod out of a BP rifle barrel

Idiot at the local (private) range shot his through his hand. He apparently had never shot BP before and went to Bass Pro to buy himself a brand new shiny inline and decided he would prime it before loading...

I think you can figure the rest out. He was found patching his wound by the blood trail to the bathroom...
 
Pahoo,
There are similar devices to shoot rescue lines out of shotguns, using a long rod and line, with special blank loads.
 
Shot-Lines

There are similar devices to shoot rescue lines out of shotguns
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I'm well aware of these and they were quite common whenever we replenished at sea. The Tankers, Ammo ships as well as stores, would fire a line, between our stacks, prior to tranfer. I could see that they used shothguns and we would always try to "procure" their nylon braided shot-line. .. ;)

We seldom got away with it. ..... :mad:

Be Safe !!!
 
The short answer, is yes. if u dont believe me just leave your ramrod in the bore after loading. your ramrod will either end up looking like a pretzel 50 meters down range or it will just desentragate. I would not try this on purpose though as u could, maybe, cause a barrel rupture and a serious injury
 
I have fired a ramrod out the muzzle on two occasions. Fisrt time from a .45 Kentucky just for fun. All went well except the rod has never been seen from again. The second time was not fun. The rifle fired while I was cleaning it in my front room. I have nerve damage to this day in my right hand. My best advice is DON'T.
 
I was participating in a Rev War event in Elizabethton, Tenn. when we were "attacked" by a flying cannon ramrod. Our unit was advancing on the fort and the regular park personnel were firing the cannon from the wall. They were not familiar with firing the cannon multiple times. The cannon was fired, not swabbed, and a new charge of 1/2 lb. of black powder was rammed home. Problem was the powder was in a zip lock bag. It ignited as it was being rammed home. We saw, and heard, the ramrod coming and flattened out. The ramrod traveled about 50 yards end over end. The cannon crewman was wearing a heavy leather glove and did not suffer any injuries. The ramrod was not damaged. The spectators enjoyed the show.:)

I also knew a reenactor who was shot in the chest by a ramrod during the filming of a movie about the French and Indian War. The ramrod went through him and about 4" out his back. Fortunately no vital organs were damaged and he was fine after several days hospitalization. The ramrod was on top of about 100 grains of black powder and a paper wad. Rules on the movie set were "no ramrods" during filming battle scenes. No idea who actually had the ramrod in the musket.
 
At a rendezvous event I visited last summer, this discussion came up. I was told that among reenactors and members of black powder clubs have come up with a rule when giving demonstrations or performing battles for the public. Their rule states simply that the ramrod will not be used at all. Powder and loose wadding is dropped into the barrel, one or two firm taps of musket butt onto the ground and the powder/wadding inside settles enough to catch the spark and make a nice noise.

It seemed to work quite well for these people, and I do not recall seeing a ramrod used at all.
 
I shot mine out of my CVA Hawken .50 about 1978,it skipped down the field about 25 yards away and I felt pretty sheepish.Only done it once though...:eek:
 
I shoot a .50 Lyman Great Plains Rifle, flintlock. From what I've been told by the experienced flintlock shooters is that firing the ramrod downrange is not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when" and that the real question is "will you ever do it again?" Many men do, indeed, do it again.
 
I shoot a .50 Lyman Great Plains Rifle, flintlock. From what I've been told by the experienced flintlock shooters is that firing the ramrod downrange is not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when" and that the real question is "will you ever do it again?" Many men do, indeed, do it again.
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Another good reason to use a range ramrod instead of a field ramrod to load your rifle at the range. A stainless steel ramrod with a bore guide and a billiard ball size knob on the end is going to be obvious if you don't remove it. Indeed, the knob on the end will block your sight so you can't aim.
Also, you barrel's muzzle will wear less without a wood ramrod wiping against it with who knows what abrasive stuff imbedded in it.
 
In the 80's I was in one of those CW re-inactor clubs. While they don't do it today, back then we had live round shoots at targets, usually 9" pieces of tile hung from a 2x4 at 25 yds or 50 yds and it was fun shooting. We shot in groups of four and were timed, so we shot fast. We used plastic cups to hold the ball and powder charge. We also stuck our bayonet in the ground next to us and used the socket to hold the ram rod....probably not authentic, but that's what we did.

Someone was always forgetting to removed their ramrod and shot it down range, or they tried to. It doesn't go far and it bends about at it's middle about 90 degrees. So you end up with a crooked ramrod, which cannot be straighted. I'd say it happened once or twice during every shoot.

Long story short, if Clark Gable shot one from a musket at an Indian it would not stick into him like an arrow. It'd go sideways and bounce off.

I never did it, because I was shooting an original gun and kept thinking about not wanting to ruin that old ramrod. When it happens though it kicks like mad. We were loading 60 grains of FFG, and a greased minie ball which was the old loading.
 
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