Gentlemen (and the rest of you, too...)
I'm in the market for a couple of one-piece cleaning rods for a three-band musket. A friend has a pair of really nice fiberglass rods from someone named DeWalt (I think...), but acquisition of these rods sounded like a complicated process and I hope for more immediate gratification. I've been making do with wooden rods I built a while back, with brass or iron ferrules pinned on one end, but it's time to upgrade.
S & S Firearms, Winchester Sutler, and Southwest Sutler all have one-piece aluminum rods with big handles, bore/muzzle protectors, and accessories to fit. I think the rods from these three suppliers are all different. The S&S rods have nylon muzzle protectors and wood handles. The Southwest Sutler rods appear to have metal handles and brass bore protectors. The Southwest rods are also double-ended, with 5/16-27 female threads on one end and 10-32 female threads on the other. I guess the handle has male threads on both ends to match, so you can swap ends with the rod according to the accessory you want to screw in to it. S&S does not say what thread pitch their rods have, but they stock components to fit them. Winchester does not really give a lot of that sort of detail about his rods, but they are the least expensive of the lot.
I have been guilty of over thinking this sort of thing in the past, but I would like to hear some opinions about these one-piece cleaning rods from those who are using them. What are your preferences?
Much obliged,
Bob Riley
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