can powder stay in the barrel?

[kkmemmott]

Hello, I'm sure this question has been asked before, so if it has please forgive me and if you could direct me to this question in some previous post I would really appreciate it. Anyway, I usually fire the load in my rifle at the end of the day when I am hunting and put in a fresh load the next day. I clean the barrel after unloading it, but I was wondering if it would damage my barrel if I left the load in the barrel through the hunt if I have not harvested an animal yet. Will the charge stay dry if I keep a wooden toothpick in the touch hole? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Leaving the gun loaded will not harm a clean barrel....so long as you keep everything dry.
Granted ....You'll be dumping the prime and pricking the vent...every day or more.

I've left percussion guns loaded for up to 9 months without an issue....I don't recall leaving a flintlock loaded for more than a week though... no particular reason....just worked out that way.

 

[Feltwad]

Hello, I'm sure this question has been asked before, so if it has please forgive me and if you could direct me to this question in some previous post I would really appreciate it. Anyway, I usually fire the load in my rifle at the end of the day when I am hunting and put in a fresh load the next day. I clean the barrel after unloading it, but I was wondering if it would damage my barrel if I left the load in the barrel through the hunt if I have not harvested an animal yet. Will the charge stay dry if I keep a wooden toothpick in the touch hole? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Personally I would not leave a gun loaded because if left for any length of time it could be quite easy to forget and load another charge .This did happen to a American friend of mine when fired with a double charge the recoil was so severe that the spur of the hammer came back and dug into his for head just above his right eye, he was lucky he did not loose his eye
Feltwad

 

[kkmemmott]

Thanks for the advice, that makes a lot of sense.

 

[cynthialee]

if you put two marks on the ramrod double loading will not happen.
First mark is the gun is empty mark, second mark is the loaded mark.

 

[coloradoclyde]

If my gun has been sitting for any length of time, enough for me to forget if it's loaded....I always run a patch down the barrel....It gives you a lot of information and tells you if the gun is loaded...Dust, rust, oil, spiders and other bugs...etc....

 

[Kansas Jake]

I've left a rifle loaded for a time in the gun cabinet. I either cover the nipple on a percussion with a piece of leather or a toothpick in a flinter's touch hole. I then wrap a piece of masking tape around the ramrod with the words "Loaded" printed on it so I don't forget or in the event of my demise others know it has a load down the barrel.

 

[Semisane]

I leave loads in clean barrels throughout the hunting season, and sometimes for months.

I always flag a loaded gun before putting it in the truck, camp, or closet. That way I won't forget it's loaded and, perhaps more importantly, if I take an unexpected trip to the happy hunting grounds my family and friends will know the gun has a charge in the barrel.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I load my .54 prior to the opening day of deer season, if I shoot a deer I clean it and load it again. If I don't kill a deer it stays in my truck or gun cabinet. I may go months without killing a deer and my rifle stays loaded all that time, being a flintlock there is always a toothpick in the touch hole.

When I shoot my rifle out after deer season it always goes bang like I just loaded it.

I am a fair weather hunter and don't hunt in the rain. If I did, I would shoot it out after a rainy day hunt and clean it.

 

[Feltwad]

if you put two marks on the ramrod double loading will not happen.
First mark is the gun is empty mark, second mark is the loaded mark.

To me no gun should be left loaded it is against all safety rules, little is gained by leaving it like that and just asking for something too happen
Feltwad

 

[cynthialee]

I keep my rifle loaded until I either bag Bambi or the hunt is over and it is time to clear all rounds and clean rifles.
My guns go bang every time.

I have a pistol that has been loaded about 4 years now. I am going to fire it in a year. I suspect every chamber will go off. When I left it loaded for 2 years and then fired it all chambers went off.

There have been reports of old BP firearms left loaded for decades, then some idiot gets killed or kills someone with it by accident cause they weren't being smart and using common firearm safety procedures. They see an ancient looking gun and think it could never fire and get stupid...

President Grants' pistol was shot 50 years after his demise, the thing sat loaded for all those years. When they fired it...no issues.

Black Powder is not going to lose its power or ability sitting in a barrel. Black Powder does not deteriorate, it does not have a shelf life. The components of black powder are all very stable molecules. A gun barrel is a nice sealed environment that doesn't change much at all...sounds like a great place to store powder. And it is. That powder will sit a thousand years and so long that it doesn't get wet and leach, it will burn just as good as it would a week after it was concocted.

 

[Feltwad]

I keep my rifle loaded until I either bag Bambi or the hunt is over and it is time to clear all rounds and clean rifles.
My guns go bang every time.

I have a pistol that has been loaded about 4 years now. I am going to fire it in a year. I suspect every chamber will go off. When I left it loaded for 2 years and then fired it all chambers went off.

There have been reports of old BP firearms left loaded for decades, then some idiot gets killed or kills someone with it by accident cause they weren't being smart and using common firearm safety procedures. They see an ancient looking gun and think it could never fire and get stupid...

President Grants' pistol was shot 50 years after his demise, the thing sat loaded for all those years. When they fired it...no issues.

Black Powder is not going to lose its power or ability sitting in a barrel. Black Powder does not deteriorate, it does not have a shelf life. The components of black powder are all very stable molecules. A gun barrel is a nice sealed environment that doesn't change much at all...sounds like a great place to store powder. And it is. That powder will sit a thousand years and so long that it doesn't get wet and leach, it will burn just as good as it would a week after it was concocted.

With nearly seven decades of restoring, building and shooting all types of black powder firearms I have come across many times of a loaded gun that have been loaded for 100 plus years, so I do know the powers of this class of powder.
Feltwad

 

[Black Hand]

To me no gun should be left loaded it is against all safety rules, little is gained by leaving it like that and just asking for something too happen
Feltwad

I understand your concerns. However, an unloaded gun is a very expensive club.

I have no issues keeping my muzzleloader loaded during hunting season if I hasn't been fired, but do unload it after the season ends. I pull the load with a screw, re-cast the ball, put the patch back into my tin and the powder back in the horn.

 

[cynthialee]

When I left guns unloaded at all times...the coyote got away with my hen.
Now I keep a loaded weapon available. Everyone in the house has had it drummed into their heads which guns are loaded. Coyotes don't get away Scott free anymore around here.

Then there is the mountain lion and her two kittens that live about 1/2 mile away. She is a naughty kitty that doesn't care about dogs and has been stubborn about running away when people confront her....
We like loaded guns around here.

 

[Black Hand]

MT appears to have a lower home-invasion rate than much of the USA. Might be due to the fact that people can shoot back and have the right to shoot if you are on the wrong side of the door uninvited...

That said, my muzzleloaders are loaded when needed but aren't kept loaded (see above for exception).

 

[Col. Batguano]

If you shoot it you have to clean it. If you don't shoot it, you don't. Just make sure you don't use a water based lube for your patches and (left loaded) rust won't be an issue either.

 

[tenngun]

I have several loaded guns right now, when I lived in the country all my guns were loaded except if I shot I cleaned the went a week or so to make sure I didn't leave a wet spot that rusted, then I would wipe and reload then run a oil damp patch down the unprimed gun.
First rule my dad gave me about guns was no matter what it was loaded or at least you treated it so.

 

[hanshi]

After I load a gun for the season, it stays loaded until it gets fired. It's loaded with a greased patch that doesn't rust steel, unlike water based lubes. I'm now a fair weather hunter and the gun doesn't get wet. I put a cork in the muzzle and put it away until we hit the bush again.

 

[heck]

I had a .45 flint southern style rifle at one time that I spent a year leaving it loaded and firing once or twice a month. It always went bang and never had a problem with rust. I also left a ball and cap pistol loaded for months at a time with no problems. Being a police officer, I always have loaded guns around and I am use to that and anyone that comes to my home knows there will be loaded weapons.

 

[coloradoclyde]

To me no gun should be left loaded it is against all safety rules, little is gained by leaving it like that and just asking for something too happen
Feltwad

That's a good position...and I don't disagree...However, an empty gun is just a clumsy club. There are times, places, and circumstances on this planet that do dictate the necessity of a loaded gun... I wish the world was a more civilized and accommodating place.
Even your own statement.

With nearly seven decades of restoring, building and shooting all types of black powder firearms I have come across many times of a loaded gun that have been loaded for 100 plus years,

Set's a historical precedent for loaded firearms....

I also applaud those that mark their guns "loaded"

I was always taught to treat every gun as if it is loaded, then to check if it was loaded, and then to load or unload it. :v