Firing my flintlock without a main charge before taking a hunt

Ricky Bobby · Monday at 5:13 PM

Curious if anyone fires their muzzleloader without a main charge, to help remove any moisture or anything else, before loading it to take a hunt?

I was hunting this past Friday evening and had my flintlock not fire when it sparked into the pan while holding on a nice doe. Luckily I was able to recock and fill my pan with more FFF without her spooking and I did end up getting her so not the end of the world. Not sure but I feel like good chance it was possibly from moisture of some sort? Before leaving on the hunt I ran a dry patch to help remove anything in the barrel and I did check my flash hole with a paper clip (which I have made a standard practice).

I’m completely new to muzzleloaders, real black powder, and flintlocks so I’m not afraid to admit I’ve got a lot to learn. I was thinking maybe I should start firing my rifle without a main charge before loading it before leaving for a hunt? Anyone practice this?

Looking for advice here from the wiser. Lol. Just want to eliminate the fail to fires as much as I possibly can!

Thanks

R Ellis · Monday at 8:17 PM

I always dump some powder down the barrel and fire it to remove any oil before loading and never had a misfire also I dry patch before I dump the powder

Ricky Bobby · Monday at 8:22 PM

R Ellis said:
I always dump some powder down the barrel and fire it to remove any oil before loading and never had a misfire also I dry patch before I dump the powder

How much powder are we talking?

Brokennock · Monday at 9:01 PM

I just swab with a couple patches damp with denatured alcohol then a couple dry patches.

One of my two flintlocks prefers that I leave my pricking wire in the flash-hole throughout the entire loading process. A gun of average reliability became a gun of great reliability when I started doing this.. The other only works well doing this with 3f, if I use 2f and do that gun #2 has reliability issues.

tenngun · Monday at 9:48 PM

I too just wipe the barrel well and ( horror of horror) I blow down the barrel and wipe the vent with a pipe cleaner and wipe the pan well
I’ve been hunting with flinters since 1979 and never had a miss fire hunting

tenngun · Monday at 9:49 PM

Edit, to above
I’ve had miss fires squirrel hunting after several shots, but never on first shot or in the deer woods

Spikebuck · Monday at 10:41 PM

Three votes for swabbing the barrel with an alcohol patch and then dry patching.

If you dump powder and fire, then load, don't do what many of us do by leaving the charge sit until a deer is taken or the end of the season or you'll have a very corroded barrel.

LSLibelo · 2025-01-21T09:45:25-0500

Welcome from California.

david_1 · 2025-01-21T11:19:50-0500

Four votes on swabbing with an alcohol. patch and a couple of dry patches. I can't imagine what that burnt gunk would be just trying to dry fire the oil out.

waksupi · 2025-01-21T11:36:32-0500

With a patent breech it may be a good idea. I never do with the flat faces on the breech plugs in my guns. I run a patch of paper towel down, then load.

Ricky Bobby · 2025-01-21T11:55:06-0500

Appreciate the responses. I’m just trying to figure out what everyone does. I’m completely new to muzzleloaders .. black powder .. and flintlocks on top of that. Lol. I don’t know anyone that uses them either so I’m learning on my own and from what info I get on forums like this. So I really do appreciate it!

Like I stated, I did run a dry patch down the barrel to remove any excess oil before I loaded it when I headed out on the hunt and I also always take a straight bent paper clip and run it around inside and through the flash hole to make sure it’s open. When I had the dry fire I seen plenty of sparks and I had a fair amount of 3F in the pan so I’m assuming it had to be a moisture issue but I could be wrong. When I refilled the pan and fired the 2nd time she went off and I got my deer. I just want to educate myself as much as I can to avoid these type of situations in the future. I do understand it’s all part of it though so I’m not going to beat myself up over it either.

Loyalist Dave · 2025-01-21T12:04:18-0500

Ricky Bobby said:
Appreciate the responses. I’m just trying to figure out what everyone does. I’m completely new to muzzleloaders .. black powder .. and flintlocks on top of that. Lol. I don’t know anyone that uses them either so I’m learning on my own and from what info I get on forums like this. So I really do appreciate it!

I'm surprised that nobody chimed in with "fouling shots". In the past folks reported that their first shot was always a bit stray compared to the next 3-4 shots, and they therefore had started to shoot a blank load, then would load a live round, whether target shooting or hunting to ensure accuracy. Well I would suggest that merely means that one needs to check on the thickness of the patch and use a thicker one, but HEY to each their own. As @Spikebuck points out, such a procedure if the live load was left in the rifle for a day or more would prompt corrosion at the breech.

LD

PEARL DRUMS · 2025-01-21T12:43:31-0500

I run two dry patches down it to be sure its free of oil. Then load it up. It sits that way until I kill something or fire it off otherwise. I do store my rifles outside in the barn during hunting season. They never get a chance to warm up and condensate.

SDSmlf · 2025-01-21T13:26:23-0500

Ricky Bobby said:
Curious if anyone fires their muzzleloader without a main charge, to help remove any moisture or anything else, before loading it to take a hunt?

‘Any moisture or anything else’ in your gun’s bore likely comes down to your cleaning, lubricating and storage methods. If everything is done properly, there should not be ‘any moisture or anything else’ in the bore to interfere with ignition. Why fire a fouling charge in a clean bore and leave moisture attracting powder residue in the bore before loading your initial hunting load?

My suggestion, one of many to likely be coming your way, is to clean your barrel the best you know how, then get it dry. Isopropyl alcohol (I like the 91% formula) will typically remove any moisture, be it water or solvent base, and evaporate quickly. Then consider using a rust preventative that drys to film like Eezox (my current favorite because I have a quart of the stuff) or Barricade (plenty of folks love it) and then store your gun muzzle down for a minimum of a day or two.

If you insist on using a powder fouling oil (petroleum or non-petroleum based) in your bore for a rust preventative, keep the oil’s use to a minimum, store the gun muzzle down (to help keep the oil from collecting in the breech area) and consider a good cleaning/rinse a few hours over even the night before loading with something like isopropyl alcohol followed with dry patches.

Let us know how whatever you do works out.

wiscoaster · 2025-01-21T13:33:42-0500

Ricky Bobby said:
.....

Looking for advice here from the wiser.

No wiser, no smarter, maybe just a tad more experienced, just enough to know that there's seldom any one way that's "right", so just try some different stuff recommended to you and go with whatever works best for you and your gun.

SDSmlf said:
.....
Let us know how whatever you do works out.

Yup.

Des52 · 2025-01-21T14:02:25-0500

As has been said using a alcohol patch will remove moisture and the oil you should be using for rust protection. I use one when done cleaning, before oiling and before shooting to remove any oil or moisture.

ChuckJonesWagon · 2025-01-21T15:03:56-0500

I use the alcohol patch method as well. Using a pan flash causes BP residue to now be in your pan and flash hole. BP residue is about the same as a sponge attracting any and all moisture it can.

In addition to running an alcohol patch down the pipe, I also clean the pan, frizzen, and under the frizzen with another alcohol patch. And when hunting if I take a shot, before I reload (unless the deer is still standing there) I will clean the pan out with an alcohol patch. Then no BP residue is left to draw moisture.

Leaving your flintlock out in the cold is an excellent way to prevent that "warm" steel from being inside...... attracting moisture when it hits that cold air.

Ricky Bobby · 2025-01-21T16:50:29-0500

Again I can’t express enough how you guys are a load of valuable information … thanks again

Brokennock · 2025-01-21T17:13:16-0500

PEARL DRUMS said:
never get a chance to warm up and condensate.

ChuckJonesWagon said:
Leaving your flintlock out in the cold is an excellent way to prevent that "warm" steel from being inside...... attracting moisture when it hits that cold air.

ChuckJonesWagon · 2025-01-21T17:41:06-0500

Brokennock said:

I don't know what was so humorous. We were both saying the same thing.

I keep a pair of binoculars in my truck. It takes me about an hour to get to my hunting spot. When I get there my Bino's are all warmed up from the truck ride. When I step out of the truck into the cold air, all 4 glass lens's fog up.

The warm glass of the Bino's begins to "shed" its heat to the cold air. So, initially there is a warm "air skin" around the glass. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air. Thus, any cold air moisture is attracted to the warm air, and then "dew drops" are left on the glass until the glass cools to near what the air temp is.

Firing my flintlock without a main charge before taking a hunt

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