ATSKO, INC. RAPID-ROD AND U.V. FLASHLIGHT IN REVIEW

A plugged barrel can have disastrous consequences.

What is in order is a collapsible cleaning rod fast into action.

Atsko, Inc. Rapid-Rod is tested out to see how well it performs in the real world.

As a hunter and a frequent shooting range user I have experienced on multiple occasions a very dangerous predicament. It is in the form of a plugged barrel. It might be mud or snow that got stuck in the barrel’s muzzle. It might also have been a low powered squib bullet that is now lodged in the barrel itself. Both occurrences when followed by another shot can blow up a perfectly good barrel. It certainly won’t help the shooter any either. How about a ruptured cartridge stuck in the weapon’s chamber? Well that is a show stopper too. I have carried sectional cleaning rods and found them to be noisy and slow into action when needed. The cable style cleaning rods were quicker but the flexible nature caused less power against a barrel obstruction. Both available options just did not work well enough in my opinion.

While leafing through a magazine I came across an advertisement for the Atsko, Inc. Rapid-Rod Gun Cleaning Rod. I was very intrigued with the design and sent a quick email over to Atsko, Inc. inquiring about a possible review. In about a week later I received a package with not only the Rapid-Rod but also their UV Flashlight with case and battery charger. We will look first at the Rapid-Rod Gun Cleaning Rod first in this review and then the handy little UV Flashlight.

What is the Rapid-Rod anyway? Well it is a sectional cleaning rod that has standard 8-32 threads. A steel cable holds the sections together. It is on the same concept of a tent pole with the elastic band inside. Get the idea? Well you hold the top of the rod and let the bottom drop to open. You pull up on the handle to straighten out the rod. The handle end is rotated counter-clockwise to apply tension. No need to over do it. Now the Rapid-Rod is ready for action when your choice of jag or slotted tip. Yes it’s that simple. Best of both the cable and sectional gun cleaning rod worlds right? It is quiet and small when folded. It fits in a standard supplied knife style belt pouch. Also a plastic .22 slotted tip along with 5 aluminum cleaning/barrel obstruction pushing tips in various sizes.

The Rapid-Rod is advertised for use with shotgun gauges 20 through 10 with barrels up to 32″ in length and .410 barrels up to 27″ long. Also rifle calibers from .22 to .54 with barrels up to 27″ in length.

To use when deployed insert the rod with the proper size tip into the muzzle (when firearm is unloaded of course). Feed the cleaning rod while holding the rod just in front of the muzzle or chamber. This will protect your muzzle crown and rifling by keeping the rod straight and not bent during use. If you can push obstruction from the action end out of the muzzle end to avoid unobstructed debris in the action. No need for serious force.

In testing the Rapid-Rod I found it did a great job as an emergency barrel obstruction remover. It is quiet, quick into action and stays quite rigid when deployed. It makes a great on the spot way to field clean your weapon if caught in the rain. Be sure to carry a little bottle of oil and some cleaning patches and you are all good.

The UV Flashlight, named on the Atsko, Inc. website as the 4″ LED RECHARGEABLE ULTRA VIOLET LIGHT came housed in it’s own padded plastic case with rechargeable AA size battery, charger and instructional literature. The main purpose of this little flashlight unit is to detect how much UV brighteners has been used on your hunting clothes and gear. Wildlife picks up on UV brighteners making some hunting clothing essentially glow. That is the worst thing you want to have when chasing that trophy buck.

I testing this little flashlight I checked over much of my camouflage accumulation. What I found quite surprised me. Some of the clothing had absolutely no glow whatsoever. Other items such as blaze orange clothing glowed light they were light sticks. Some camouflage clothing with lighter accents actually glowed too. It seems the UV brighteners for those lighter colors are a bad culprit and a tip off to UV sensitive wildlife.

In summary of this review I found both the Rapid-Rod and the UV Flashlight performed exactly as promised by Atsko, Inc. Be sure to check out all of their great products on the Atsko, Inc. website.

Do you like articles about the outdoors? You can follow him @ericthewoodsman on Twitter, The Classic Woodsman on Facebook, and @theclassicwoodsman on Instagram, and The Classic Woodsman YouTube Channel.

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