Flinter in drizzle/snow/cold weather

[phoenix511]

I want to hunt whitetail late this fall with a flinter, and the weather here may be raining, snowing, and likely cold, perhaps below 20F. I don't hunt from a tree stand, just squat on the ground and look around.

What suggestions has the forum about the care and feeding of a flinter in cold weather: loading, and keeping the priming powder dry? (If I don't shoot, I can keep the loaded firearm in an unheated space overnight.)

 

[jethro224]

If it's raining just keep the muzzle down and the bottom of your coat over the lock. Or use a cow's knee.
Cold shouldn't make much difference.
Check and change your prime every now and then just to be sure. :thumbsup:

 

[texcl]

I shot my 1st flint deer in a snow storm in about 20 degree weather, didn't make a bit of difference. I've also shot alot in really cold weather as in 20 below zero cold and that makes loading a bit more challenging due to frozen lube and frozen fingers.

 

[rabjr]

I want to hunt whitetail late this fall with a flinter, and the weather here may be raining, snowing, and likely cold, perhaps below 20F. I don't hunt from a tree stand, just squat on the ground and look around.

What suggestions has the forum about the care and feeding of a flinter in cold weather: loading, and keeping the priming powder dry? (If I don't shoot, I can keep the loaded firearm in an unheated space overnight.)

So far I just point muzzle down and cover wthe lock with my coat. Keep saying one day I'll make a cows knee, just haven't. I use 3F for prime, I do change it once in a while but I'm not one of those guys who dump it every half hour. Looking back, theres at least 4 deer I shot in a drizzle, cold rain. Had no problem.

(If I don't shoot, I can keep the loaded firearm in an unheated space overnight.)

Worse thing you can do. If you don't shoot, lock it up in your car/truck or unheated garage. Fold up a cleaning patch and cover the vent with the frizzen closed onto of that or use a tooth pick, but cover the vent during the night. Vent pick and prime the next day and go hunting. But you cannot change the temp of the gun like that, once it's cold, leave it cold. Or you create moisture inside the barrel with such temp extremes which leads to damp powder and a missed deer. My gun is loaded and don't get shot until I see a deer which can take a couple weeks. I generally unload only if the weather is wet, just to be safe. And hunt with a fresh load the next day.

 

[BrownBear]

The worst problem I've had with flinters in the rain is a bad habit. I look down at the gun as I cock it.

And all that !@$%!#$% rain on my head/hat/hood runs off and drops right onto the lock. After I've kept it dry for hours. :surrender:

Around here a strip of electrician's tape over the muzzle is a good idea, simply because you can't always keep the muzzle pointed down as you move. I manage to keep the lock pretty dry by keeping it under my raingear, until I start moving around in our rough country. A cow's knee along with the tape gives me more freedom of movement, so that's what I do.

Some folks will pull their britches up tight over that tape, claiming a tightly patched ball won't let water down onto the powder. Bull whacky. Pour some water down the bore on a tightly patched ball, and see just how long yer powder stays dry. Good test. Tape wins.

 

[Trench]

A cow's knee is a must if you've got drizzle or rain. Another trick is to take some of your patch lube and seal the outside of the pan and frizzen to help keep moisture out. The latter does keep you from re-priming, though.

I sat out in a moderate rain for 4 hours with the pan/frizzen sealed with borebutter and kept my cow's knee on with the muzzle pointed down. I emptied the rifle at the end of the day and she went right off without a hitch.

 

[rabjr]

I want to hunt whitetail late this fall with a flinter, and the weather here may be raining, snowing, and likely cold, perhaps below 20F. I don't hunt from a tree stand, just squat on the ground and look around.

What suggestions has the forum about the care and feeding of a flinter in cold weather: loading, and keeping the priming powder dry? (If I don't shoot, I can keep the loaded firearm in an unheated space overnight.)

So far I just point muzzle down and cover wthe lock with my coat. Keep saying one day I'll make a cows knee, just haven't. I use 3F for prime, I do change it once in a while but I'm not one of those guys who dump it every half hour. Looking back, theres at least 4 deer I shot in a drizzle, cold rain. Had no problem.

Sorry I totally misread your post so disregard my second answer. Geesh I shouldn't be allowed on the forum at certain times. :youcrazy:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Wide brimmed hat. A waxed cow's knee (see image). Sit under a hemlock. Wear a poncho or caped frock that you can drape over the lock when sitting or walking.

Cold weather alone is not a problem. In fact, below freezing you don't have to worry about moisture unless the rifle is warm. Soooo, leave it outside between hunts if possible.

Yeah, I know. It looks like something the dog kacked up. That's part of its charm. It's a 40 year old car chamois plastered with molten beeswax.

 

[longfowler]

I've hunted and shot in all the worst weather new england can dish out, only once had a weather related missfire - it was over in Newfane, vt. on a deer drive during a blinding snow storm. wet greasy snow was comming down so hard I couldn't see the deer till she was only 10 yards away. If I had kept the gun under my arm instead of up on my knee, I would have got her - but she heard the "klatch" and saw me wipe off the frizzen and cock the hammer, and she turned just as I fired. 2 seconds later my hunting partner's daughter shot that doe!
other than that,you'd be surpised how bad the weather has to be before you have problems. I've gone target shooting in bad rain & snow just to learn what to expect, & I've hunted in the pouring rain for a week and had my guns go off like freshly loaded. I always put some electrical tape over the muzzle to keep stuff out of the barrel and cary the gun under your coat or arm.

 

[Onojutta]

I used a calf's knee to keep my lock dry last weekend and was successful after two days of hunting in a down-pour (see my post this forum). I heated it up in the oven to about 175 degrees and then saturated it with Snow Seal. Anything similar to bees wax would work. As I just found out, it works great.

If your load is tightly sealed with a lubed patch, I wouldn't worry too much about covering the barrel. You obviously don't want to fire with a slug of water in the barrel, but a little moisture will not contaminate the powder. I had to pull a ball the other day after the powder charge got wet trough the touch hole and would not fire. To see what would happen and also as a safety precaution, I filled the barrel with water to reduce the chance of a spark while I was screwing in the ball puller. Even with 20-some inches of head pressure (barrel full of water), I got no water passing through the patch and I let the rifle stand for several minutes to see if any would trickle out of the touch hole.

I've heard many many stories of people who left their muzzleloaders loaded for weeks and they still fired, so as long as you minimize condensation that would occur from rapid temp changes, you'll be fine leaving it loaded.

 

[boar]

I all ways take my cows knee When I deer hunt,cap or flint. Mine is a oiled soft piece of deer or goat leather. You can seal the wood along the barrel ahead of the lock with wax so water don't run along the barrel into lock. Dilly

 

[Herb]

In damp weather, 4F priming compound will absorb moisture and fail to fire. 3F, or even 2F, is a better prime then. And even it will need checking and replacing.

 

[Walks with fire]

TC PA Hunter with 32" 1/66 twist 50 or drop-in GM 1/28 twist LRH.

It depends on how traditional you want your flintlock rain coat to look. This is a pic of one I make with a piece of new/unused treated Chamois leather that is slathered with Sno-Seal boot dressing. Use the same stuff I mentioned to make it and you will never worry about wet weather and keeping your rifle firing. It's not very traditional or authentic looking but it works outstanding for a old man from PA that worrys more about dragging his deer out than what he looks like when he shoots it. You can make them bigger than this one if you want but this size is pretty handy and still get's er done.

 

[redwing]

Keep the pan very clean no carbon. The cleaner the pan the less lkely you will have a problem with soup. The 4F will work just fine. :thumbsup:

 

[Walks with fire]

I never saw a difference between 4f or 2/3f in the pan for wet weather. I have used at least 4f forever; but tried the others. I now use Swiss Null-B for all my hunting loads regardless of conditions and highly reccommend it if you can get it.

The "rain coat" shown above molds to fit by hand pressure and can be loosened quickly and silently to form a tent over the lock and can still permit the hammer to fall and see the sights with it still shielding the rain or snow if you need to under very hard rain. Yes; it will powderburn it but it doesn't ruin it. Most times just peel it off and put it in your pocket. Very little movement and very quick and quiet. They are cheap to make anyway; I have made dozens of them and give them to people I meet up with doing deer drives.

Redwing is right on about keeping the firearm clean in wet weather. I use denatured alcohol to remove any trace of fouling and use the "rain coat" if it's wet. My rifle is never anything but bone dry regardless of the conditions. Blackpowder is supposed to be water attracting by nature but I have found that it's not really that moisture attracting quality that get's you in wet weather it's that fouling from a previous shot is what really attracts the moisture. If you get rid of all fouling your not going to have much trouble with things getting damp. If your gettin soup you ain't doin it right. :thumbsup: