Beware of that old muzzleloader

[ord sgt]

An interesting article in a publication that I received in the mail today.
The author bought an old smoothbore that he wanted to bring back to shooting condition. Close inspection revealed an obstruction in the barrel. Using a patch puller, he found a piece of waxed paper, small shot, another piece of waxed paper and a powder charge. The author did some research on waxed paper. His inspection of the paper revealed smooth cut edges. The metal cutting strip on the waxed paper boxes that we have today, was placed into use around 1926. The lead him to believe that the paper he found in the barrel was from a time before 1926. In his judgement, the smoothbore musket had been loaded for almost 100 years.
The author removed as much of the powder charge as possible. Then soaked the rest with oil to kill the remains. He was unable to remove the breech plug at first, so he started to heat the barrel. This burned off the oil and the remaining powder ignited. Since the patching and shot had been removed, the was no damage to his shop.
Good save by the gunsmith. Old firearms need to be checked for old loads left in the barrel.

 

[FishDFly]

You should cut and paste this on to the thread about heating the ball to remove it.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I think it's in Ned Robert's book, the story about Hacker Martin heating a barrel and setting off a charge that blew a hole in the shop wall.

 

[deerstalkert]

first BP gun i ever fired was a flintlock that had lived over the fireplace for three generations of my neighbors family.
when i fired it in 1958 no one remembered it ever being fired.
my partner in this folly was the only male in the family and of course we hung around each other as we were just beginning to discover girls.
guns we had a love affair going on with already.

we snuck this old smokepole out one day and were pow powing all over the woods with it. i had a idea of how to make the sparks from the flint and frizzen more realistic.
Match heads. crushed up and the pan was filled. luckily i pointed the thing at a squirrel instead of at Brad. the pan flashed, Brad started to say cool! and the charge hiding in the thing since rover was a pup went off! the squirrel beat a hasty retreat and so did we.
the gun was back above the fireplace when the rest of the family got home.
my love affair with muzzleloaders still flames.
wish i had that old rifle hanging over my fireplace.

 

[Mulebrain]

I bought an old percussion shotgun at a show. I got it home to find it still loaded, and found a date on the paper
they used for wadding.

 

[2 shots]

last one i pulled was from a 1763/66 charleville [ original] this from a gun i brought from a guy in cali. shipped to me in new york. loaded all the way. ball was very old, in there a long time. this is not the first loaded musket i have purchased. you never know until you check..

 

[Colonial Boy]

There was a story, some 60 years ago, in an English m/l publication about an accident with a loaded blunderbuss.
His Lordship (unnamed) had asked his butler to take the gun down from the wall and clean it, the butler decided to remove the breech plug and put the barrel in a vyce, he then applied a blow lamp whilst standing in front of the muzzle,
an ancient charge exploded and he received a charge of shot in the stomach; fortunately the powder, posslbly loaded in the 1700s, had deteriorated and he was not seriously wounded.

But wiser

 

[stephenprops1]

You should always treat EVERY gun as if it is loaded. Even if you have checked it and would bet your life on it you still need to treat it as if it is loaded. I once experienced a .22 pump rifle that I had cleared before cleaning. I did not know it, but a live cartridge was stuck in the magazine tube. While working the gun the round came loose and I unknowingly chambered it. Because I followed my dad's advice and treated the gun as if it were loaded no harm came to me or anyone else. Still, when I saw that live round kick out of the gun I was stunned and realized my dad had taught me a VERY VALUABLE LESSON.

 

[bpflint2007]

Working as some sort of gunsmith in a past life, I can’t tell you how many loaded “unloaded” guns I had pointed at me or sent to me in a box or bag. All I know is, I wish I had a gun that made its own ammo and loaded itself when you weren’t looking. Sure would save me a lot of money.

 

[rickystl]

Here's an Albanian musket that I turned into a shooter with a Hoyt liner. But when I first received it, here is what was in the bore:

Rick

 

[LME]

I never had a B.P. rifle in my shop that was loaded. I did see a fellow drill a hole in a Civil War cannon ball. I saw it on U-Tube I believe? He had rigged up a system to drill the hole by using a rope so he could be a safe distance away. I have heard of one case where a family was burning leaves/trash or whatever and a cannon ball that had been in the fire burst! Black powder isn't like us it is ageless it appears!

 

[Britsmoothy]

ALL GUNS ARE HOT!

 

[desi23]

Working as a gun dealer and gunsmith I have encountered quite a few old muzzle loaders that were still loaded (as well as having a number of modern breech loaders that came in to the shop still loaded as well!!). Always check the barrel! Any indication of something in the bore means be careful and get it out. Might be just some dirt or an old marble from kids playing or could be a full powered load. Many old folks kept their gun loaded, ready for use. After they passed on no one thought to unload the gun (if they even realized it was loaded) and over time it becomes just an old relic. And if no one checks it a potential accident. Cleaned up one old gun for a fellow who was absolutely shocked when I showed him the powder and shot charges I had removed form the barrels. He and his siblings had used the gun as a toy when kids, fortunately the nipples were hammered flat enough nothing could reach the charges.

 

[springfield art]

An interesting article in a publication that I received in the mail today.
The author bought an old smoothbore that he wanted to bring back to shooting condition. Close inspection revealed an obstruction in the barrel. Using a patch puller, he found a piece of waxed paper, small shot, another piece of waxed paper and a powder charge. The author did some research on waxed paper. His inspection of the paper revealed smooth cut edges. The metal cutting strip on the waxed paper boxes that we have today, was placed into use around 1926. The lead him to believe that the paper he found in the barrel was from a time before 1926. In his judgement, the smoothbore musket had been loaded for almost 100 years.
The author removed as much of the powder charge as possible. Then soaked the rest with oil to kill the remains. He was unable to remove the breech plug at first, so he started to heat the barrel. This burned off the oil and the remaining powder ignited. Since the patching and shot had been removed, the was no damage to his shop.
Good save by the gunsmith. Old firearms need to be checked for old loads left in the barrel.

Interesting. They had waxed paper as far back as the 1860's, Civil War days. There was an essay on it in the Watchdog, a history publication that studied Civil War era stuff.

 

[cynthialee]

got a derringer a number of years back, it was loaded, but it seemed to be loaded as a trap. There was about 20 grains of modern smokeless in there!

 

[11Bravo]

A number of years ago I bought a SxS that had two loads in the left barrel. But the worst was about 40 years ago. I'm out in MO. at my uncles funeral with my Dad and my aunt started passing down long arms from the attic. There was maybe 15 folks sitting on chairs in a rough circle and the guns were passed around, I was towards the end of the circle and the second gun came to me (a .22 auto loader) and I cleared it of 13 rounds. Here it went around the room ready to shoot and even my father didn't check it! My Son has that .22 and I kept his .303 he used for deer. My aunt should have also realized they could have been loaded as my uncle always carried a pistol.

 

[sheriff john]

Last one I had was a single-barrel percussion shotgun bought at a gun show. "Something" turned out to be oil-soaked cloth for several inches atop newspaper over shot, over more newspaper over black powder. Newspaper was hand-set type. Shot had turned white and powder went "whoosh" on a brick when lit. Nipple smashed flat.

Also got home with a half-stock .32 original. Niipple was smashed. When I applied only a small amount of force to the nipple wrench, it fell out. May have had only part of one thread holding it in. "Threads" were almost totally gone. There are other things to check besides obstructions.

 

[jfahlingsr]

ALL GUNS ARE HOT!

I received my grandfather's .31 cal 1830's pepperbox as my Christmas present, I was 14 and had handled it every time we made the 200 mile trip to Southern Wisconsin. After getting it in my possession I wanted to hear caps going off, thought that would be cool. I knew about percussion caps but didn't know where to get any but had paper caps. In that stage of my life I made one of the few re-considers and looked down all six barrel under a strong gooseneck light and 1 round lead ball was hiding there. I did have a mentor in my small town that I trusted to get the ball out, he said the powder was still good.

 

[deerstalkert]

i have a cannon ball from the war of northern aggression. the timer hole is open, exposing powder kernels the size of the stones in my wife's wedding ring.
said cannon ball lives outdoors, wedged into the spokes of a wagon wheel a hundred yards from the house. in a moment of folly i chipped one kernel of powder out and dried it, then touched it with a hot wire. went up just like fg made today. BP is as close to having eternal life as anything i know.

 

[TFoley]

Here's an Albanian musket that I turned into a shooter with a Hoyt liner. But when I first received it, here is what was in the bore:

RickView attachment 117798View attachment 117799

Sure, dat's a very crood-lookin arra day was shootin' in dem days!