Well Builder, all I can say is I have a 36" hickory rod somewhere in the Pine woods North of New Orleans. Never could find that sucker.

+1000 if you have the muzzle in a safe position how can a ramrod stay inside of a barrel while placing a primer even with sidelocks?

Scary thought just came to mind while reading these blogs that no one mentioned. Maybe he CAPPED IT BEFORE LOADING IT!!!!!!!! This would have prevented him from dropping the rod while charging it later!!!!!

On the range my sequence goes: Powder, bullet, seat bullet, lay gun in gun rest, sit down, load primer, shoot.

I wouldn't consider that an unsafe practice, perhaps others would. I've never shot a ramrod, but I can see where it could happen.

That's just the way I do it. And I think that's the way this person did it. He just forgot to take the ram rod out.

Now don't forget guys. For safety reasons some people do not cap or prime (flinter) their rifles at the range until they sit down and place the rifle on the rest. So it would be very easy to dump the powder, seat the bullet and set the rifle on the rest then sit down and cap it with the ramrod still in the bore.
It can easily happen especially when the person is distracted or thinking about something else.
Now speaking of this, did anyone watch Sons of Guns a week or so ago when they altered a .410 shotgun to shoot a carbon arrow? that was pretty wild. Basically the same thing as shooting a ramrod.

I didn't think of that but I can understand it being possible with that sequence which still has the muzzle pointing down range in a safe manner. I can see it happening in that manner.

I've been mulling this over and realize I do it several ways.

When shooting from the bench with sidelocks I put the cap on the nipple after I lay the gun in the rest and am sitting at the bench. But with my two inlines, a break open Mustang and falling block Omega, I put the 209 in the breech while standing and before I lay the gun on the rest and the bore is pointed at the ground as I open and close the action. With those actions it just seems easier that way. But when I was playing with the bolt action Remington 700ML I primed with the gun on the rest just like with the sidelocks.

When walking the woods I prime the Mustang and Omega in the same fashion as at the bench. But I hold sidelocks at Port Arms to put the cap on the nipple, or with the muzzle pointed slightly downward to prime a flintlock pan.