Pedersoli Brown Bess Ramrod

BootYourFace

BootYourFace

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Hi there. I'd like to start off with saying I'm inexperienced when it comes to black powder and muzzle loaders. I recently bought a Pedersoli Brown Bess and got it just the other day. I know how everything works and what not, but my concerns and questions are with the ramrod.

The ramrod is extremely tough to draw from the ramrod pipes. The tightest pipe being the one closest to the lock, and all others offering no resistance. Again, I have never held another musket before this one, nor do I have any family or friends interested in the old firearms. My question is, how snug should the ramrod fit?

I have to exert what seems like a lot of muscle to pull out the ramrod. I would like to practice some loading drills, but I couldn't imagine people of the past having to struggle with drawing a ramrod. I figure there would have to be some sense of tight fit so you don't lose the ramrod while on the move, but this just seems excessive.

Another two questions. Has anyone had a similar experience with the same or another type of musket? And has anyone who has had this experience done anything about it?

I don't want to make any alterations for the musket itself, but I thought about trying to take some metal off of the ramrod to make it a little thinner. Here are some photos. The first shows the ramrod fully inserted as far as it goes. The second shows where the tough resistance starts. (meaning what I feel is unreasonable tightness)



I hope this hasn't been asked before. Did a few searches but didn't come up with anything that answered my questions.
 
There is a spring located in the stock that applies pressure to the ram rod to stop it from sliding out of the ram rod pipes. I suggest you inspect it to see if you can reduce the pressure. If thats the problem...

SJ
 
BYF

Welcome to the world of the Holy Black. As you are inexperienced BP shooter I suggest that you contact a Black Powder group at a gun club near you. They can offer you direction, advice and mentor-ship in the world of BP. Not to mention a good bunch of people to shoot with.

Is the ramrod straight? As SJ says check the retention spring and also see if there is any debris in the channel. If they are good hone out the pipe with 200/400 paper slowly. You do not want the ramrod to be siding out on its own.

Let us know how you make out....
 
How much weight worth of pull do you figure it takes to get that rod moving and out. I'd say it's about 20 pounds on my pedersoli bess. I don't find mine to be an issue, just well secured.

Side note, I love mine, good fast ignition now, I needed to get my hammer re-hardened though as it didn't spark all that well from the factory. Good Steel, just not hardened well.

After that, beautiful gun in every way. You won't be disappointed in the quality.
 
Alright, spent a little while tonight trying to dig up some more info and what not. Looked at Pedersoli Brown Bess plans, looked at parts and so on. I'll respond in order of responses to my post, and thank you for helping me out!

stevejones said:
There is a spring located in the stock that applies pressure to the ram rod to stop it from sliding out of the ram rod pipes.SJ
Click to expand...

I have inspected the underside of the musket, with flashlight, done many google searches and found no clear information where the spring would be located, but I'd assume it would be IN the rear thimble as it's called on the Pedersoli plans. A picture to confirm the specific part.

I assume I'd have to take the pin out from the stock to gain access to it, something I'm very hesitant to do as I haven't even fired the musket. I really don't want to risk breaking anything just yet.


MC One Shot said:
I suggest that you contact a Black Powder group at a gun club near you. Is the ramrod straight? As SJ says check the retention spring and also see if there is any debris in the channel. If they are good hone out the pipe with 200/400 paper slowly.
Click to expand...

I definitely will. I only did a quick search for a group and one did come up. I never thought of checking if the rod were straight, so I rolled it on my table like a billiards cue and yes it did wobble a bit. I found the bend and bent it a little more straight. However this didn't solve the problem. It seems that this spring is just a little too tight. As for debris, when I retrieve the rod, there doesn't appear to be any on the rod. I however need a better, smaller flash light to get a good look.


Tyockell18 said:
How much weight worth of pull do you figure it takes to get that rod moving and out. I'd say it's about 20 pounds on my pedersoli bess. I don't find mine to be an issue, just well secured. You won't be disappointed in the quality.
Click to expand...

Well, with the rod fully inserted (not just flush with barrel), I can hold the rod, pick up the musket (by holding only the rod) shake it about, moving up and down with sudden movements and it will only budge slightly, maybe coming out half an inch at a time. And I mean, I was fairly violently doing this. The musket is beautiful. As mentioned, I haven't fired it yet, but I don't think I'd be too mad if I didn't. Just a wonderful piece of history to have.
_______________

Again, thanks for your input guys. It really does mean a lot as I plan to use this a lot this year. I shall continue on trying to solve, and if I find what I'm looking for, I'll post it up, just in case anyone else has the same problem. There is a good chance that I'm just a n00b baby who doesn't have the strength to pull a ramrod out... lol
 
A little update. I manned up and removed the rear thimble. Much easier than I thought. Only the wood hole for the ramrod is beneath that. So, having more confidence now I decided to try taking off the trigger guard as I measured up the rod to see how far back in the stock it goes. Well, nothing lied beneath as well. Past that, it seems as though if there really is a retaining spring in the stock, it must be somewhere under the barrel, just behind the rear thimble. So, I believe that concludes my adventures with trying to figure out what might be a non issue. Only other thing I could do is possibly drill a little more in the ramrod hole that's channeled already in the stock.
 
BootYourFace said:
A little update. I manned up and removed the rear thimble. Much easier than I thought. Only the wood hole for the ramrod is beneath that. So, having more confidence now I decided to try taking off the trigger guard as I measured up the rod to see how far back in the stock it goes. Well, nothing lied beneath as well. Past that, it seems as though if there really is a retaining spring in the stock, it must be somewhere under the barrel, just behind the rear thimble. So, I believe that concludes my adventures with trying to figure out what might be a non issue. Only other thing I could do is possibly drill a little more in the ramrod hole that's channeled already in the stock.
Click to expand...

Rather than drill - Can you get a rat tail file in there to take a little out at a time?
 
if there is a spring, I would expect it to be in the middle of the forestock under the barrel and only accessible by removing the barrel. If you are going to open up the groove in the forestock, I would suggest removing the barrel and using a scraper with a half round end on it. Essentially a L shaped piece of metal with the short leg flattened and ground to width and the bottom ground to a 1/2 round and beveled about 45 degrees. I think you will find it far easier and more effective than a rat tail file

cheers mooncoon
 
Alright so I figured I'd post an update just in case anyone else was having a similar problem. The problem fixed itself through use of the musket. It now feels comfortable to draw.
 
I have found in a couple of case that waxing the ramrod channel will ease the ramrod travel a lot.
 
One of my friends years ago had this same problem. We eventually figured out that the screws holding the lock were too tight and it was sandwiching everything and putting extra pressure on the ramrod. Maybe try loosening off the lock screws just to rule out a possibility
 
MikeD81 said:
One of my friends years ago had this same problem. We eventually figured out that the screws holding the lock were too tight and it was sandwiching everything and putting extra pressure on the ramrod. Maybe try loosening off the lock screws just to rule out a possibility
Click to expand...

That sounds like enough pressure to crack the stock! Perhaps humidity/temperature on the wood is more likely. I'm just trying to picture that happening to my Bess and am drawing a blank lol :p
 
Don't the Bess at all, but I've several pistols where the ramrod needs to be rotated one way or the other to release a friction lock within the stock. Could this apply?
 
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