Walmart has some nice ball starters for 4 bucks
 

They're made of a "dark wood" which is probably something cheap and stained but they have brass tips and it seems like a pretty solid little piece of machinery.

I'd been looking for one of them for a while (I've been using a ghetto method involving the range rod handleto start my balls, hard to explain) and the only one I had foundwas made of plastic at a local store for 15 bucks and I'm sure you just scoffed at the price as bad as I did.

Anyway, I happened to see these while passing through the sporting goods and decided to get one and try it out. I'll let you know if it splinters as soon as I can get it to the range.

This also means that Walmart also has all of their black powder stuff back in stock, even at the ones that don't sell firearms any more...or at least in my area.

RE: Walmart has some nice ball starters for 4 bucks
 

i made mine. I cut a piece of elk antler, added a 1/4" wooden rod and its been working perfect. Using it right now actually. Time to sight in the mtn. rifle @ 50.

RE: Walmart has some nice ball starters for 4 bucks
 

A machinist friend of mine made some starters out of stainless steel, and they looked great and seem to work really good. He took a 4" piece of stainless solid tube, 3/4 diameter (I think) and drilled a hole center into it and through the same hole so it could be pinned. Then he took some stainless 5/8th rod 5 inches long, and threaded the one end to accept a jag. He drilled the other end to be pinned and put that endinto the handle and pinned that with a stainless steel pin to make a short starter. Then he drilled out one end of the handle to accept the shockwave type heads, and the other he indented a rounded design, to set roundball and XTPs.

Metaldonnieg I know the short starters you are talking about at Wal Mart. They work real good. I have a couple of them so that each possible bag has its own short starter and I do not have to keep switching one, back and fourth when I want to head to the range.

RE: Walmart has some nice ball starters for 4 bucks
 

I've used an extended jag and a piece of wood from a rattle bag to make one :DDon't use it anymore, converted it to a range rod ;)