Can anyone recommend a good range rod long enough for a TC Hawken and GM barrel length? I broke a shotgun rod in the .50's barrel this afternoon and was lucky to get it out.Not much for ML stuff in my area .Am having trouble locating a maxi-ball mold for a .50 on E-Bay.Too popular a size I guess.Thanx Harold

Pioneer2

I use these Tipton rods, I have three of them and they are great.. expemsive but great. They are made from a carbon fiber. I get the 40 cal + 36 inches long.








[link=http://www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/tipton-deluxe-carbon-fiber-cleaning-rods.html]

http://www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/654574.html

Knight and TC both make special range rods. Im not sure what length you need but id look at the TC. They are a heck of a nice rod and the knob on the end is easy on your hand.

Cain's sells a "super rod" that you can get in all sizes. Some of the range rods out there, while excellent, are expensive. What I do is get a non breakable and then make sure it has female ends on both ends. Then I can put a T handle on one end. Also I likea range rod at least 4" longer then the longest rifle it will be used on. You can get super rods to fit the rifle with your choice of ends...

http://www.cainsoutdoor.com/cart/asp/catalog_index.asp

As for the maxiball mold, you can get them new through Lyman Molds. They are expensive, alsobecause the handles are not included, but are a good quality mold. Something else you might consider is trying some of the more cost effective conicals out there on the market. BullShop Conicals sells nice conical. Sabotloader seems to have good luck with them.

Yes. See the "Ram Rods Section" on the LHS on this web site:

http://rmcsports.com/catalog.htm

They have a 48" with a T handle that looks goodfor a range rod. They are very strong ram rods and range rods. I have two of RMC sport Ram Rods (not range rods) the ones called Rugged rods, they are excellent, threaded on both ends and light and strong. The are very good folks to deal with also, I buy a lot of supplies from them. I buy patches for $9 for 500 from them at the Sportsman's show in Harrisburgevery year.
Chap

I purchased the super rod from Cain's as well. My only suggested might be to order the rod smaller than your bore. The rod itself is pretty thick and the jag at one end is too big for my .50. Should I ever need to order another I will order one for a .45. Great rod though.

For a spare range rod I just took a $5.00 Outers shotgun cleaning rod, cut off the one threaded end, chucked it in my lathe,machined the end flat,drilled, and tapped it 10/32. I bought it at Wal Mart for $5.00 and it breaks down into 3 pieces.