Ramrod is a Jamrod! What'd I do wrong?

Windini

Spike
Had a disappointing day at the range trying out my new TC Impact .50 Cal in line ML. Maybe some of you experienced muzzle loaders can give me the benefit of your experience.

The gun itself seems great so far. 1st shot at 50 yards was 1/2" high and 2-1/2" to the right. I blame me for the drift, for no other reason that I was using the fiber optic sights and my older eyes saw a dark square blur where the target was... That was a Traditions "plinker" 240 gr lead sabot round over 85gr. Alliant Black MZ. The next shot was 2-1/2" low and 2" to the right; that one was a Traditions "smackdown" 250 gr jacketed bal. tip sabot round, same powder charge.

I moved the target out to 75 yards & tried another 240 gr lead bullet, this tiime over the recommended charge of 90grs.- same drift, 1/2" low this time. All good, pretty sure if I'd kept going out to 100 yds and compensated for the drift I'd have been very happy - Minute of Deer accuracy!

But.

In prepping the 4th shot, I ran a patch down the bore -- and there the patch and ramrod remain. Stuck solid, no amount of pulling by (apparently weenie) me could get 'er loose. So I pulled the breech plug, tried to push the patch through: nope. Inserted the bullet seater & tried to push it back: nope. I actually used the back side of a hatchet as a hammer to wallop the t-hande of the bullet seater - it moved maybe an 1/8".

I'm fairly confident I can get the ramrod out with the barrel in a (padded) vise, a wood dowel, and an actual hammer, but I'd sure like to know how to not do this again! For the record, I pulled the breech plug before starting, wiped off a gob of factory grease pushed up to the business end of the plug when it was assembled, pushed a patch through from the breech, put the plug back and then ran a bunch of patches through the bore until they came out clean. I also ran a patch down the bore after each shot.

The 3rd patch was a little difficult to pull out, but I wrote that off as a wrinkle in the patch rather than a cumulative build up of gunk. Oops.

Any tips appreciated! I think I'll be happy with the gun, just nedd to get better procedure so I can fine tune it and me for this fall.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
sounds like you might have ran a too dry patch down a gunked up barrel,,,

take it apart,,,drop some hot soapy water down the barrel and get that patch good and wet,,,,she should come out then easy enough

unless your patch material is to much for the weapon,,,
-----------------

how not to do it again? lots of variables but depending on what you are doing, use a smaller patch maybe,,
 

Winnie 70

Ten Pointer
Too thick of a patch....and need to drop some hot soapy water as Woodmoose has said. Clean that barrel real good with some Ballistol and probable got a winner.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Dry patch or wrong patch.
Dump you some moose milk in it and let the patch get soaked and clean what you can of the barrel the push it out or pull it.
 

Windini

Spike
sounds like you might have ran a too dry patch down a gunked up barrel,,,

take it apart,,,drop some hot soapy water down the barrel and get that patch good and wet,,,,she should come out then easy enough

unless your patch material is to much for the weapon,,,
-----------------

how not to do it again? lots of variables but depending on what you are doing, use a smaller patch maybe,,
Too thick of a patch....and need to drop some hot soapy water as Woodmoose has said. Clean that barrel real good with some Ballistol and probable got a winner.


Thanks for the advices! I got her de-rodded and cleaned, much easier than using a hammer...

So - I know I shouldn't use watery or Ballistol-y patches between shots. Should I just skip running a patch down the bore (between shots) when using a BP substitute?
 

45/70 hunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Thanks for the advices! I got her de-rodded and cleaned, much easier than using a hammer...

So - I know I shouldn't use watery or Ballistol-y patches between shots. Should I just skip running a patch down the bore (between shots) when using a BP substitute?

I usually run one "wet" patch down and then one dry patch both sides, between shots, similar types to these pics. No worries about oversize patches getting stuck....
2583725838
 
Last edited:

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
Switch your powder over to Blackhorn 209 and you should get 7-10 good shot in before needing to run patches through the bore. It is clean burning and provides good velocity. Don't use soap & water to clean if you use Blackhorn 209, use a regular gun cleaning solvent. I use Ballistol to clean during a range trip and also when I do a final clean and store at the end of the ML seasons.

<>< Fish
 

DarrinG

Six Pointer
I swab between every shot. Of course I'm using Goex (real black powder) which I personally think burns cleaner than substitutes (opinion). I want my barrel to be clean just like my first shot out hunting would be, so I swab between shots when practicing shooting or especially when sighting in. I use isopropyl alcohol to dampen my patch. Down the bore, twist and up and out. Let sit a minute or so and reload. The rubbing alcohol will evaporate very fast within a minute or so with no need to run another drying patch down, and it swaps out the bore perfectly. I carry a eyedrop bottle that was empty and refilled with isopropyl alcohol to dampen my patch. Works like a charm.
 

Windini

Spike
Thanks for all the advice, all of y'all. I used a wet patch as well as dry patches btw shots, and I had a much better range trip the 2nd time out with my TC Impact!

I standardized my load & tried the two different projectiles I have. 90gr Alliant Black MZ for all shots; 240gr lead hollow point in a black plastic sabot & 250gr copper-jacketed ballistic tip "smackdown" in a yellow sabot.

I also mounted a cheap 3-9 x 40 scope, so I could actually see the target this time!

Results:
26929

Note my point of aim was NOT the same for all shots. I used a Caldwell Lead Sled to stabilize the rifle & lessen my 'influence' on inconsistencies.

2 shots at 25yds were decent group, even though I adjusted scope elevation in between shots (poi was low for 1st shot). 2 shots of 240gr bullets at 50 yds were also acceptable, though still low. 3rd shot at 50yds was with the 250gr cjbt round; it was same elevation but to the left instead of the right.

1st 2 shots at 100yds werethe 250gr cjbt rounds. I had placed a Dirty Bird splatter target above the other holes, so the poi for those was WAY low, like 8" and 9-1/2". I adjusted scope elevation and tried again - overcorrected & placed 'em high, 1st one to the left, 2nd one a smidgen right, but higher. As usual, I had got there later than planned and ran out of time, so that was it.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Impact. It groups just fine, I simply need to dial it in and zero it at 100yds. Adjust the Windini, so to speak...

Most important of all, I used @DarrinG 's tip re isopropryl alcohol and got through 9 shots with no Jamrod! I ain't done, but I'm happy for now.
 
Top