Thanks for the help Skeeter. It frustrating to put all the time in the woods scouting and preparing for that one shot, then not having confidence when the time comes. I'll be doing a ton of shooting in the off season to prepare.

I do wonder why my ram rod is so short on my Optima Pro. When loaded, about 1/2 inch of the rod is sticking out the top of the barrel. So I guess I just don't get the first few inches cleaned when I swab? That's good advice too. Thanks again...