New Kentuckey rifle

[gerardjohnson]

I brought my new traditions Kentucky Rifle home today. Look good, but I have a problem with the ramrod. It's rounded on one end and concave on the other with no threaded end to attach any accessories to. I doubt it would even hold a patch. The barrel is 33" so all my other rods are too short. Why don't they use threaded tips? My Crocket .30 cal model also lacks threaded tips but does have a cleaning jag tip that holds a patch (usually). I bought that one used so the rod may not be original. The stock is attached with pins instead of the wedges as on my others. Do they generally cause any problems?

 

[vagrantviking]

Buy or make a range rod out of brass or steel and a big handle for general use. Way easier and you can thread on any tip you like.

Pins are much more historicaly correct than wedges, particularly on a Kentucky style rifle. They won't cause any trouble but you won't be able to pop out the barrel for cleaning so you will need to be a bit careful about where the water goes when cleaning.

 

[gerardjohnson]

Buy or make a range rod out of brass or steel and a big handle for general use. Way easier and you can thread on any tip you like.

Pins are much more historicaly correct than wedges, particularly on a Kentucky style rifle. They won't cause any trouble but you won't be able to pop out the barrel for cleaning so you will need to be a bit careful about where the water goes when cleaning.

The instructions say to remove the stock for cleaning. That means punching out 3 pins each time. Do they get loose after time?
Another slight problem is that the cleaning rod drops out several inches whenever the rifle is held muzzle down.

 

[Dantforth]

Ramrod shouldn't pop out at all. In the originals they were held in place by a devise called a "spoon" which was spring steel and held the rod securely. This "spoon" was located in the stock near the point where the rammer went out of sight. It was inserted from the top of the barrel channel and held in by one pin. I'm sure that there were many methods to hold the rammer secure. With that rifle you should try to find a method which is historically correct. Dave

 

[Ol' Flinter]

Barrel pins are historically correct for an early longrifle and should not be any problem - if you don't have a pin punch then make one from a slightly undersized nail inserted into a 2 -3" piece of 1/4" dowel or brass rod. Make a bench ramrod out of a 3/8" fibreglass rod used for electric fence posts - available at farm supply stores for a couple of bucks: for convenience you can cut the rod about 6" longer than your barrel, epoxy a wooden dowel or antler "T" handle on one end and a threaded ramrod tip on the other. Ramrod tips have female thread in one end, either 8-32 or 10-32. I prefer the larger 10-32 but regardless, buy all your attachments with the same thread. Put an identical ramrod tip on your rifle ramrod for ease of maintenance. Wooden ramrods usually will warp enough with use that they won't fall out or even move from recoil after a short time. You may be able to fasten the new tip on the rounded end of your ramrod so it is hidden inside the stock and it may also provide enough friction to keep the ramrod in place. Overall, however, the ramrod should fit fairly loosely in the stock so it won't be stuck there if moisture causes the stock or ramrod to swell - I seal the rod and hole with varnish to minimize that possibility. Good luck.

 

[gerardjohnson]

Ramrod shouldn't pop out at all. In the originals they were held in place by a devise called a "spoon" which was spring steel and held the rod securely. This "spoon" was located in the stock near the point where the rammer went out of sight. It was inserted from the top of the barrel channel and held in by one pin. I'm sure that there were many methods to hold the rammer secure. With that rifle you should try to find a method which is historically correct. Dave

There is no spoon in my rifle. They are in my other Traditions & CVA rifles so I assume the Kentucky rifle should have one. It must have been left out at the factory. If I make a rod, where can I buy the tips, preferably in Canada?

 

[mooncoon]

In the originals they were held in place by a devise called a "spoon" which was spring steel and held the rod securely.

While I have seen "spoons" in some original pistols, they certainly are not common in original rifles. Some military rifles have the rod threaded into a small block in the stock at the back of the ramrod channel but most british and american sporting rifles that I have seen or in some cases own, simply rely on friction to keep the rod in. And that does not mean that the rod should be a snug fit --- if you do that and it starts raining, your rod swells up and jams in the ramrod channel

cheers mooncoon