RE: loading / cleaning rod help
I had one of them folding T handles for a while and it worked pretty good. Then it broke one afternoon on the range. On the range, I am currently using a solid stainless steel range rod with a T handle that is pinned to the rod. Nice and sturdy, works good, and seems to handle all my range problems.
Another option is make sure that the ramrod has female ends on both ends. Then get a T handle short starter. You can unscrew the short starter end and it will go right into the ramrod and turn that into a T handle and help with the loading.