Thanks for all the info. It may have been a "Rookie" mistake but I have been successfully hunting with ML's for the past 8 years and that was the first time I have ever done that. The rod never made it to the target, I don't know where it went. No I didn't get the taste of blood in mouth, but I did feel sick at my stomach. After the shot and realizing what I had just done, I quickly loaded up all my gear and went to buy another rod. No one there even knew I had fired my ramrod. I will definetly look the gun over again using everybody's suggestions. I think I'll name my new ramrod and before I shoot will ask him if he's ready. Thanks again for everyone's help, I knew I wasn't the first person to ever do this and I feel better knowing that more than likely my gun is okay. By the way it is a CVA Optima Pro 50 cal. Thanks Again