Safe to Shoot A Muzzleloader That's Been Loaded for Years

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xcrider2

Pilgrim
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Hello all,
Forgive if this is a dumb question but I used a pedersoli rocky mountain hawken rifle on a hunt 4 years ago and didn't fire it or clear the breech. So its been loaded sitting in the safe for 4 years.

Does anyone have any reason to believe that this could be unsafe to fire at this point? I mean... I doubt it. But just want to be sure that lead doesn't have tendency to bind with the barrel over time or perhaps the powder could go bad with the lube or something.
 
I read about a flintlock pistol, loaded for centuries, fired off by accident (negligently) by a book author when a girl at the author's party couldn't understand how the thing worked.

He primed the pan, shot it into the wall (didn't expect that to happen) and if I recall correctly, "....as the smoke cleared he lowered the weapon and asked the young lady, 'now do you understand?'"

Sounds like you loaded it. Fire that thing off.
 
Powder is real stable so it will be good for lifetimes. One question. Did you shoot it before you loaded it. In that case you could have some rust issues. Inside the bore it’s unlikely rust could weeken the bore. However you could be unsafe around the nipple or drum
 
If you have to ask, then the answer is definitely NO.
Why did you leave it loaded in the safe for 4 years ? was it intentional or inadvertent ?
What was it loaded with ?
How was it prepped storage?

Long term storage of a loaded gun is certainly doable, IF you know what you are doing.
Do it wrong and you end up with a charge that won't fire or a ruined barrel.

I'd attempt to pull it first.
 
It is way easier than most folks that haven't pulled a load before realize to pull a load with a ball puller, especially on a clean barrel.
If you don't already have one, get one with the brass ring that keeps the screw centered in the barrel. Screw it in and pull it. It will come out easy if the barrel was clean when it was loaded.
The powder will likely be very compacted and won't come out very easy, so give the barrel the bucket of soapy water treatment after that.
 
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I've never left any of mine loaded that long, but I have routinely left one loaded for the entire deer hunting season, which is from the start of rifle at the end on November. I fired and killed a deer with it the last day of Flintlock season near the end of January.
 
If the gun was loaded with real black powder, there is no reason it would be unsafe to fire.
If it was loaded with Pyrodex, 777, or any of the other synthetic muzzleloading powders it would be a good idea to pull the ball/bullet and scrape the old powder charge out.

The synthetic muzzleloading powders do not age well, even in their sealed containers. Outside a totally sealed container like it is when it is loaded into a gun, the powder will absorb moisture from humid air and the powder will deteriorate often to the point that it will "hang fire" or fail to fire.
 
Sidney Smith said:
I've never left any of mine loaded that long, but I have routinely left one loaded for the entire deer hunting season, which is from the start of rifle at the end on November. I fired and killed a deer with it the last day of Flintlock season near the end of January.
Click to expand...
I have strapped it down to a sled & shot it a year later a couple of times with a long string on trigger . It seemed to be fine but. I like an experts advice before I sit at a table & try it . It is sealed with a prefired primer it's a stainless knight. & Kept in a safe when not in the woods .
 
I bought an EIG percussion 36 cal Kentucky pistol in July 1960. I would load it and carry it while hunting with an unmentionable in the Florida Everglades. Sometimes it would remain loaded for six months to a year.

I kept it in the original box still loaded on a shelf in my closet. In Jan 1964, I left Florida for USCG station boot camp in Cape May NJ. For the next six years, I never gave that pistol a second thought.

When my enlistment was up, I returned to Florida with my wife & 2 kids and stayed at my parents house while waiting to close on a house we bought. We were packing up all the stuff I had left at my folks house and I ran across that pistol and it was still loaded, I figured for at least 7- 8 years.
I didn't see any reason not to shoot it and it went off like it was new. I still have that pistol and shoot it occasionally for old times' sake but don't leave it loaded any longer and the box is long gone. Here is a picture of it.
100_2487.JPG
Not bad for a 64 year old pistol made in Eibar Spain. The only part I had to replace was the nipple.
 
I have left pistols loaded upwards of 5 years and they shot with out a hitch every single time.
It is because black powder is a very stable compound and so long as it isn't exposed to moisture it will bang. It is why the authorities get a little cautious when someone reports old civil war ordinance that hasn't exploded has been found. It is why when it is discovered a local cannon has been loaded for over a hundred years they send out a crew to deal with the issue.

It is why we insist that when someone takes possession of a family heirloom they check the gun for a charge.
 
xcrider2 said:
Hello all,
Forgive if this is a dumb question but I used a pedersoli rocky mountain hawken rifle on a hunt 4 years ago and didn't fire it or clear the breech. So it’s been loaded sitting in the safe for 4 years.
Click to expand...
It’s pretty easy to pull a load out of clean bore, so why not just pull it? Ok, you loaded it 4 years ago, and as long as it loaded with a single charge of an appropriate powder, should be a big deal to shoot the load out. Simple question for you, what did you have for lunch the day you loaded the gun? Shouldn’t be all that hard to remember, only 4 years ago. Oh, what brand and granulation of powder did you use? And the charge was?

Again, pretty easy to pull a load.
 
SDSmlf said:
It’s pretty easy to pull a load out of clean bore, so why not just pull it? Ok, you loaded it 4 years ago, and as long as it loaded with a single charge of an appropriate powder, should be a big deal to shoot the load out. Simple question for you, what did you have for lunch the day you loaded the gun? Shouldn’t be all that hard to remember, only 4 years ago. Oh, what brand and granulation of powder did you use? And the charge was?

Again, pretty easy to pull a load.
Click to expand...
I can tell you the load data for every firearm I have and all the ones I have loaded.
Not exactly a mystery for me when I have very particular load outs for them all.
I'd have no issue shooting the pistol I got in the safe that has been loaded the last 3 years. It has .380 balls sitting on 15 grains of 3f powder with RwS caps. The derringer has a .380 roundball with a .015 patch, 20 grains of 3 f and RWS cap. I know the exact load I put in every one of my rifles.
Pretty sure most of us know our load out data for our pieces off the top of our head.
 
cynthialee said:
Pretty sure most of us know our load out data for our pieces off the top of our head.
Click to expand...
I cannot argue with your statement about your guns, but the OP asked about their muzzleloader and if it was safe to shoot one that’s been loaded for years, and I believe caution is probably prudent. Not that difficult to pull a load if one isn’t sure about the safety of what’s in the bore.

Think about it. You are presented a loaded muzzleloader. Do you pull the load or pull the trigger and see what happens?
 
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