Watch: Making a New Ebony Ramrod for an Old Shotgun

MidwayUSA’s Larry Potterfield is at it again, this time whipping up a new ramrod for an old Westley Richards muzzleloading shotgun, circa 1835. The pair in this video were made for England’s Prince Albert.

The original ramrod with the pair is fairly elaborate, with one larger end for seating wads and the other end doubling as a patch holder/wad puller. Oh, and it’s tapered.

After turning a square length of wood into a round one in a giant pencil sharpener, he tapers it in a jig that certainly took longer to make than the actual tapering did. Then he whips up a replacement for the smaller brass end, but for some reason he doesn’t cut the grooves as deeply as the originals.

The process is too detailed to describe here, but it’s simplified well in this 8-minute video. But let me just add that I’ve never seen that much Loctite on one screw before.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.