150-year-old loaded musket

[CarolinaTKE]

Hello! While I joined the forum to get information on flintlock shooting, I do have a question about an antique musket that I own. It was given to me when I was eight and some years ago I (gently) ran my shotgun cleaning rod down the barrel to oil it, only to discover, to my surprise, that the weapon is loaded! Close inspection of the lock reveals the remains of a priming cap, too. I keep the weapon coated with grease and I've been pouring Rem Oil down the barrel once or twice a year since I got it, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any good advice on making sure (a) the charge was safe and (b) the weapon is as well-preserved as possible. It was in bad shape when I got it, but it hasn't gotten any worse since then (18 years ago) that I can tell. Still, it's in very fragile condition. Thanks in advance!

 

[gmww]

I'm assuming you wish to unload the charge? I'd consider a C02 discharger. You can find them at Cabelas or shops that sell muzzleloaers.

 

[CarolinaTKE]

I'm really more interested in NOT unloading it if at all possible. It's been in there for over a century, and the weapon is very fragile, so I really am seeking, for example, a chemical or oil to just soak the barrel to neutralize the powder from damaging the weapon.

 

[Trench]

I'm not there to understand how fragile the rifle is. However, the best way to KNOW the weapon is 100% safe is to pull the load. A range rod with an appropriate threaded ball puller that screws in to the ball will pull it out. Then, just pour the powder out. You might have to run the ball puller down again after the ball comes out to break up the compacted BP.

There's a good chance the oil you've been pouring down the barrel has contaminated the load. However, if you're not going to remove the load, and you don't want to soak or inject something through the nipple, I'd keep that weapon in a locked safe or at least away from anything that could ignite the charge.

 

[TFoley]

I'm not there to understand how fragile the rifle is. However, the best way to KNOW the weapon is 100% safe is to pull the load. A range rod with an appropriate threaded ball puller that screws in to the ball will pull it out. Then, just pour the powder out. You might have to run the ball puller down again after the ball comes out to break up the compacted BP.

There's a good chance the oil you've been pouring down the barrel has contaminated the load. However, if you're not going to remove the load, and you don't want to soak or inject something through the nipple, I'd keep that weapon in a locked safe or at least away from anything that could ignite the charge.

I agree wholeheartedly with that post. Over here in UK the new owners of a pub took down a Pattern 53 Enfield musket that had been in place since at least the turn of the last century - there was a photograph taken in 1897 of a bunch of yokels firing it to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

To our amazehoodness, it was still loaded, and in the interests of science, we cleaned out the nipple, capped it off, and, from a safe distance, squoze the trigger.

Yup, it went boom.

It is now proudly owned by a fellow gun-club member who regularly shoots it - after it was re-proofed by the Birmingham Proof House.

So be safe - unload the thing.

tac

 

[jeep44]

I've come across four loaded muzzleloaders since I've been collecting them-one CW musket I brought home from a gunshow had the components of a cut-up modern smokeless shotgun shell rammed down it-so you just don't want to fire off a rifle with something unknown down the barrel. I had a guy bring an old CW musket to one of our CW reenactments for us to look at,and we determined that the barrel had something down there. With my cleaning rod jags and worms, I pulled out a suprising load of odds and ends,probably rammed down there by some kid years ago-no powder,though.

 

[gmww]

IMHO leaving it charged is probably not a safe thing to do. You may know it's charged but lets say the next guy or gunsmith working on it doesn't know. If they add heat to do whatever the outcome could be lethal.

 

[Mongo40]

In the interest of preserving the history of the rifle as that seems to be what your wanting to do and to be safe, pull the load and put all the contents in a small glass vile and display it along side the rifle for what it is.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

What Mongo said... just use the CO2 discharger. It's safe and simple.

 

[jbtusa]

Pull the load. You are being negligent in not doing so because you are leaving an accident waiting to happen with knowledge and aforesight. In legal terms this is called strict liability. You are passing a known safety problem onto the next person after you!

 

[CarolinaTKE]

Thanks for all the advice! A CO2 discharger won't work, I'm afraid, since it's impossible to get the hammer far enough away from the nipple without it breaking off. I'm probably just going to leave it as it is after another soaking of oil--the barrel started to flake the minute I put a rod in it with my ball puller. I really think it would crack if I applied the necessary pressure to pull whatever it is that's down there. When I said it was fragile, I was not exaggerating, I assure you.

 

[Pork Chop]

Post a pic.

 

[CarolinaTKE]

Good idea, Pork Chop. Here are two that I took a few days ago when I had it out to oil. As you can see, the weapon's trigger broke off some time ago. The hammer will move maybe a quarter of an inch before it catches on something, so I haven't tried to force it. My Brown Bess is the other weapon visible. The other picture is a close-up of the lock.

 

[gmww]

Thanks for the photos. Can the barrel be removed?

 

[CarolinaTKE]

While the pin should be able to come out, the two screws on the backstrap are rusted in place.

 

[Capt. Fred]

There is a penetrating oil called "Kroil" that is regarded as one of the best penetrating oils out there. You might want to pour some of it down the bore, stand the gun on its butt and see if any will eventually drip out of the nipple. Then you'd KNOW that the charge is contaminated and less likely to be dangerous.

It also wouldn't be a bad idea to put a tag on the gun that explains the situation.

 

[widget350]

You also may be able to remove the lock in order to use a CO2 discharger. Use some type of penetrating oil to break free the lock bolts. I know I wouldn't want to leave a potentially dangerous gun sitting around.

 

[buzz]

have you tryed a screw type ball puller
on a new rammer
just a thought

 

[gmww]

have you tryed a screw type ball puller
on a new rammer
just a thought

Once you go this route, the C02 discharger is out of the question.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Of course it is always safer to assume it is a charge down there. However, of all the guns I have purchased over the years, three or four were actually loaded. About twice that many also had "stuff" crammed down the barrels. fire crackers, rags, stones, dirt, broken glass. Even a note from a grand dad to his grandson.

If is is a patched ball down there, the patch will allow penetrating oil to seep past the ball and soak any powder down there. I would never permit a gun to have anything down there. Pull it. And get all the crud out of the breech.