If you have ever forgotten where you were in the process of loading, this tip is useful. After you complete the loading of your muzzleloader, insert the ram rod into the barrel and let it rest on the loaded ball. Now mark the rod right above the muzzle. This is sometimes referred to as a witness mark. You can now use the rod to determine if you’ve put powder in, or if your missing anything.
If you think you may have dry balled the gun, meaning you forgot the powder, the mark on your ram rod will go down in the barrel and will not show. If the mark is higher than the end of the barrel, you may have double loaded either the powder or the ball. Either way you want to know before you shoot so that you can avoid a problem.
Be sure you mark the rod in such a way that it’s permanent. I will engrave the mark on my steel ram rod that I use for bench matches. Make sure that your method of marking doesn’t weaken the ram rod.
It is recommended that you mark the rod at 2 places, empty and loaded. Some shooters vary the load so the fully loaded mark isn’t always as helpful. You could write the grains used at a given mark so that you have a point of reference.
