Don't Hammer your ball!

D

deerslayer303

New member
When I can't get to the range I watch shooting videos :D. Seems its a common theme for people to beat the snot out of the ball "to ensure no air space". I do get the reason behind it, but man all that hammering is NOT necessary and CAN'T be good for accuracy. In one video the fella actually takes his short starter, used it as a hammer and pounds on the ram rod. I can only imagine what the ball looked like after all that. Then the clip of his target (a silhouette) confirmed my thoughts. One hole at the top, one hole at the very bottom right, and one hole at the very bottom left. If you push (not hammer) the ball down to your loaded mark on the ram rod then there is no air space. Maybe its just me but I cringe watching some of these folks. In the grand scheme of things I am a NEWB also, but I guess I learned from the best, (YOU ALL). ;)
 
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Always a better way !!!

Maybe its just me but I cringe watching some of these folks. In the grand scheme of things I am a NEWB also, but I guess I learned from the best,
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Well, as you can tell by the replies, you are not alone. Loading techniques like this usual come from old BuckSkinner and older habits. I know because I started out as one. ...... ;)

In fact, there are many old habits that we do not teach. Most may not be safe but certainly bad habits. They bounce the Ramrod to make sure the ball is seated. If consistency is the game, how do you measure a bounce of pounding. There is always a better way ..... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
And you cringe watching some other pound down by hand a ball or two.~really. I've had to rod balls down with the use of a tree because a barrel was so fouled with pyrodex. I've seen others use a wooden mallet. Watching that I'll bet would curl your toes.:D

Just saying: Old timers would pound and bounce their ramrod a few times after their ball was thought to be seated. It was to garner a sense of feel & sound knowing their ball was breech seated properly I'm thinking why it was done. And too. Just think of the difference between today's barrels and those of our forefathers. _Steel wasn't as good as today's. All hand made barrels had a seam full length. To bulge a barrel back in those pioneer days was easier to do if its shooter was a >sloppy loader. Thus the technique of pounding and bouncing a ram rod became a usual for most shooters.

Tip: dimpled balls are more accurate than smooth. Crushed & scored balls? Ah~ not so much.
 
Choose the best way.

When working with M/Ls, we are always on a learning curve and eventually we weed out our bad habits and find better ways of loading shooting and cleaning. There are always safety concerns and guidelines. I know that I have done things in the past that were not smart. There are times that I still do but frankly, would not teach. What works best, is choosing the best way. .... ;)


Your call and;
Be Safe !!!
 
After hammering mine down I always use a match to light up the barrel to make sure it’s down all the way.;)
I use a ball starter and as others have said, I have the rod marked for each type of projectile I use with different colored markers. I only use ball and TC maxi’s
 
Model12, his comment would only affect those with no common sense, which is not all that common it seems these days. I got a good chuckle out of it.

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Back to the subject at hand. I've even seen people do the hammer bouncing the rod deal using pellets. The manufacturer clearly states do not crush the pellets. But I guess they burn either way. When I first got my GPR, I used to do the tamping, until I figured out it wasn't all that necessary. Heck there is even a video of me on the tube doing so. I guess I would like to think I'm getting better in my habits. [emoji41]

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Anyone else remember KaDooty? It was a ram rod with a weight on the end. You lifted the weight and let it free fall. The idea was to get consistent pressure on the ball when seating it.
 
Yep !!!

Anyone else remember KaDooty?
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Sure do and these go way back to the 80's. I've only seen one in use and not surprised that they are no longer made. Once in awhile you will see one on Ebay. ....... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
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