In the end...
everyone is just trying to give their best advice to help others, even for those that may read the posts much later. Sometimes the advice will differ, and where safety is concerned, that will elicit strong feelings as it should. I have found that my advice is seldom the best, but I offer it with the best intentions.
Branko--I have a short brass rod small enough to go through the threaded cylinder nipple hole for that purpose. Brass to not scratch anything. I have only needed it once when I forgot the powder. And yes, I probably should have just tried to blow the ball out with the cap... but I had this cool tool that I had made......
rebs--A lot depends on the alloy for your original question. Aluminum will be lighter. For a loading rod to throw and seat a ball, it seems you would need some weight, so maybe brass?
Question--Does anyone attach a short lanyard to grip and pull the loading rod instead of throwing it? Why not?
I thought most folks just smack the ball starter with their hand, safe or not. Guess you could use a hammer.
It would seem to make sense to leave the hammer down to restrict air. But if I had any suspicions about embers, I would want a small plastic squeeze bottle of water to shoot through the nipple, then swab and blow dry before loading.
I don't have a BP long gun so I shouldn't say. Others will.
kwhi-- I enjoy your competition pistol posts, especially the photos of the 'space guns'.