Any luck opening day?

[Rikeman]

Ok so anyone out on opening day for Blacktail in Oregon bag a buck? None for me just Does. But a great day hunting none the less. Learned a lesson though.....

I sure saw a lot of hunters out there. This was my first time taking out my muzzle loader on a hunt. I spent about 3 hours in the rain with only two doe sightings before we took a break for lunch. We decided to take an 80 yrd shot at a 5 gallon bucket. All I got was the crack of my musket cap! Tried two more, one after picking the nipple! I removed the clean out screw and added some dry powder and that solved the problem. I am so glad that didn't happen with a buck on the line!

Live and learn! I remembered reading here somewhere about using thin plastic to cover the nipple then placing the cap over that. So I used the plastic from my sandwich bag and that did the trick. Another 6 hours of tromping around in the rain and a few more doe sightings (no bucks to shoot at) and before heading home the rifle fired no problems!

Wow did I get quite a bit of rust sowing up on this rifle after an all day trip out in the rain. I was not able to clean the rifle untill the next evening and was not happy with all the little rust spots I saw :shake: . Got it all cleaned up though.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Use Bore Butter, or stumpy's Moose snot mix to coat the outside of the barrel, lock, and metal parts. Push some of the stuff down into the barrel mortise to keep water from getting down into the mortise. In fact, take the barrel out of the stock, and put a lot of grease, or Bore Butter in the mortise, and then return the barrel to the stock. Squeeze out the excess, and clean any that gets on the wood. Filling the channel with grease or Bore Butter( Wonderlube) will protect the barrel and wood from water getting in there.

Finally, After loading that PRB, put a greased cleaning patch down the barrel with a cleaning jag, to coat the lands and grooves with grease. That protects the bore with grease, so it doesn't rust.

Alternatively, you can put tape, plastic, or even rubber over the muzzle and secure it to the gun to keep moisture out of the barrel from the front end. The Guys who landed at Normandy during June 1944 went ashore with condoms over the muzzles of their guns. It was also a practice used in all the pacific island campaign landings. It still work for hunting in the rain.

Glad to hear that using the plastic under your cap worked so well for you. Its an easy trick to use, and most people take a sandwich or two wrapped in plastic wrap when they go into the field hunting, anyway. The plastic wrap is there to use for that purpose.

Oh, before I began using Bore Butter( actually its predeceasor, Young Country Lube 101) I use Spray Pledge, the household furniture spray wax to protect my stocks and barrels when I went out in bad weather. There are paste waxes made for skis, or for automobiles, that can also be used. I would look around for what I have on hand before going out to buy something Just for that day I need to protect my gun from rain.

I did this back in 1979 on my first Boar Hunt in Eastern Tennessee, when it was hot, and raining or misty all day long. The wax on the wood stock and on the barrel kept me from having to deal with a swelled stock, or rust on the barrel.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

FLITZ is an excellent product that protects metals. Just becareful if you have a dull brown or blued barrel as flitz will polish it to a gloss.

 

[jtmattison]

In fact, take the barrel out of the stock, and put a lot of grease, or Bore Butter in the mortise, and then return the barrel to the stock. Squeeze out the excess, and clean any that gets on the wood. Filling the channel with grease or Bore Butter( Wonderlube) will protect the barrel and wood from water getting in there.

Really? Why on earth would you want to do that to your rifle?
If your stock is finished properly it should have a sealant in the barrel channel and lock mortise to protect the wood.

I can't imagine how much of a pain it would be to try and clean that gunk out of the stock when you are done hunting.

Finally, After loading that PRB, put a greased cleaning patch down the barrel with a cleaning jag, to coat the lands and grooves with grease. That protects the bore with grease, so it doesn't rust.

I don't see how this would help. Putting too much lube in the bore after loading could kill your accuracy.

The bore should already have enough oil in it to protect from rust if it has been cared for properly. Plus loading a PRB lubes the bore as you load.

I'm sorry but I can't agree with these pieces of advice.

:v

HD

 

[Zonie]

Rather than covering the metal parts with a oily goo or substance that contains oils to protect them from water damage, I would suggest that a good paste wax like Johnsons (in the yellow can) would do as well.

The wax protect the metal parts from the water without possibly saturating the wooden stock with oils.

While some oils like linseed and tung are great for finishing wood stocks others can actually cause damage to the wood.
Folks who have seen many old original rifles/shotguns occasionally will see one with a type of deterioration caused by excess oils that has been in contact with the wood.

Some of the newly developed waxes that are used on clear coated cars also are very resistant to water.

PS": For those out there who aren't thrilled with the idea of a glossy wax like Johnsons or Maguires you might want to use bees wax instead.
Not only is bees wax resistant to water but it's been around long enough that it may even be Historically Correct.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion, even you. I would have agreed with you until 8 years ago when I bought a Swedish 1896 model Mauser rifle, that came with the barrel mortise loaded with what looks like Water Pump grease, under the handguard, and under the barrel the full length of the stock. The Blue finish under the handguard is as pristine as the day it was done! The part of the barrel exposed to everything has NO Blue left on it, but scratches,nicks, and gouges, and an old patina forming. The inside of the barrel is terrific, and the gun shoots very small groups.

Like you, I favor using wax to water proof my stock, and my metal parts. Before 2000, I would have recommended that, only. However, after examining this old gun, that sat in a warehouse for more than 40 years before being sold to a U.S. importer, I had to admit then, and acknowledge now, that loading the mortise with grease does preserve the metal. The underside of the handguard appears to have been finished with linseed, or some other stock finish. There is no evidence that the grease has invaded the wood.

I believe that if the wood is properly treated, that the use of greases- particularly those synthetic greases made today to protect the bottom of the barrel from rusting in wet conditions, or in salt air conditions-- can be quite effective. I personally do not use or advocate others use petroleum based greases for these purposes, because of the possibility of the oils invading and weakening the wood fibers, particularly in end grain.

Obviously, using such greases in hot weather would make a mess. That is why I have expressed interest in the new synthetic greases, made primarily for the aircraft industry, with a much wider tolerance range of temperatures, compared to any petroleum based product.

My Swedish Mauser was made and used in a country not known for lengthy hot days, with high sustained temperatures. I was impressed by the fact that there appears to be NO migration of the grease used into any of the wood. The grease is NOT cosmoline. The closest grease I have seen and used to the texture of this stuff is Water Pump grease.

 

[BrownBear]

Rather than covering the metal parts with a oily goo or substance that contains oils to protect them from water damage, I would suggest that a good paste wax like Johnsons (in the yellow can) would do as well.

The wax protect the metal parts from the water without possibly saturating the wooden stock with oils.

Agreed. My 120 inches of rain a year for 35 years proves your point nicely.

While some oils like linseed and tung are great for finishing wood stocks others can actually cause damage to the wood.
Folks who have seen many old original rifles/shotguns occasionally will see one with a type of deterioration caused by excess oils that has been in contact with the wood.

Yup. I made a pretty fair chunk of change in my day chiseling punky oily wood from around the tangs and recoil lugs of CF rifles, glass bedding to fill the holes and accurizing "shot out" guns in the process. Oils are about the worst thing you can get onto the wood of a stock, and oil will surely find any gap in the finish.

 

[Rikeman]

Thanks for the replies! I am pretty competent with wood protection and have taken steps to treat it.....I like the idea of the wax and never even thought to use that on my barrel. I use a light gun oil and always have rubbed down all metal parts with it and then wiped off any excess and it has worked well except with this rifle.

I am hunting this Friday and Sat again so I will give it a nice clean coat of wax and work it in to the dovetails and such parts. Thanks everyone! :bow:

 

[Headhunter]

Don't forget to pop a couple caps before you load it up for your hunt.

HH

 

[Rikeman]

Don't forget to pop a couple caps before you load it up for your hunt.

HH

I have no problem doing this if it works, but I dont understand it. I always clean my rifle after use, so when I load, it is a clean rifle. Before loading for a hunt day I plan on pulling the nipple, running a dry patch down the muzzle, blowing out the manure, making sure the nipple is clear and clean, then laoding.

Maybe I can skip all that by just popping a few caps? If that is the case, then heck, its a lot faster! The problem I had last time I went out was from moisture getting if from the nipple. I believe :hmm: