Ramrod

A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder).

[citation needed] Cap and ball revolvers were loaded a bit like muzzleloaders—powder was poured into each chamber of the cylinder from the muzzle end, and a bullet was then squeezed in.

[5][6] Kerr rammer, patented by James Kerr[7] in 1855,[5] a bent lever (bent downwards at a right or obtuse angle, with a short ramrod on the lower arm) which pivots about a pin on the front of the revolver frame in front of the cylinder and rests on the left side of the barrel when not in use.

Large muzzle loading guns continued into the 1880s, using wooden staffs worked by several sailors as ramrods.

[10] The dictionary definition of Ramrod at Wiktionary indicates the term is also a used to describe a trail or ranch foreman, particularly one on cattle drives.

A countersunk ramrod, used in the 19th century for cylindro-conical bullets, as in the Thouvenin stem rifle or the Minié rifle .
Colt pocket revolver model 1849 with loading lever under the barrel.
Adams revolver with Adams-type rammer.
Adams revolver with Adams-type rammer rotated down 90°. An upward rotation of another 180° brings the rod into position to force the ball into the cylinder.
Webley Longspur with a Kerr-type rammer.