half cock after firing?

[M. De Land]

I will not break in on the safety issue, it was extremely well covered. My guess is that with the hammer down blocking escaping air, it becomes difficult to put a patched ball down the bore.

I've never noticed that the hammer down on a spent cap ever seals the bore and made it harder to load from when I did move it to half cock and removed the dead cap. Usually the cap is split wide open but not always.
My under hammer target rifle doesn't even have a half cock and it's never been hard to load with the hammer up or down that I have noticed yet.

 

[TFoley]

I also learned there is a fair bit of discontent between the US and Hungarian shooter? Maybe not but it certainly sounds that way from the back and forth here. This is my first foray into the forums on this site other than to introduce myself on that thread and I am curious if this is how it is all the time or did I just happen to pick a rough starting point?

I simply pointed out that the way that the international competitions are run, by the MLAIC - in ANY country, BTW, not just Hungary, does things one way, and the N-SSA, and even the NMLA, does it another.

Please take a minute to read your messages.

 

[bisleyjohn]

Thank you, @Grenadier1758, for taking the time to share your thorough response.

As I initially noted, I now own my first muzzleloading rifle, and I have not even fired it yet, as I want to do plenty of research beforehand so I eventually fire it correctly and safely. This is quite the learning process for me!

I sincerely apologize, hat in hand, if I have ruffled any feathers in my quest for knowledge here.

You can please some of the people some of the time

 

[NorthFork]

Thank you, @Grenadier1758, for taking the time to share your thorough response.

As I initially noted, I now own my first muzzleloading rifle, and I have not even fired it yet, as I want to do plenty of research beforehand so I eventually fire it correctly and safely. This is quite the learning process for me!

I sincerely apologize, hat in hand, if I have ruffled any feathers in my quest for knowledge here.

No apologies needed. Feathers get a bit mussed around here from time to time. You just happened touch a known lightning rod issue 'round here.

I'm a blower and a half cocker (keep yer mind out of the gutter!). Some folks are. Some folks ain't. YOU decide what's best for YOU.

 

[Rickf1985]

I simply pointed out that the way that the international competitions are run, by the MLAIC - in ANY country, BTW, not just Hungary, does things one way, and the N-SSA, and even the NMLA, does it another.

Please take a minute to read your messages.

I read your message. I pointed out that it was not me that called anyone out! I had absolutely nothing to do with that discussion!!! I think I got my answer to my question about the forum and I will probably look elsewhere for guidance and education. Thank you and have a good day.

 

[Crow-Feather]

I've never noticed that the hammer down on a spent cap ever seals the bore and made it harder to load from when I did move it to half cock and removed the dead cap. Usually the cap is split wide open but not always.
My under hammer target rifle doesn't even have a half cock and it's never been hard to load with the hammer up or down that I have noticed yet.

might check how the hammer is sitting on the cap.

 

[OhioHawkeye]

If you do that at Friendship the range officer will check you and possibly send you home. It's unsafe to leave it in half cock and load it. Don't ask me how I learned this A lot of us that used to shoot percussion have a habit of putting it into half cock because we're used to half cocking right after shooting to remove the spent cap.

Bad information about NMLRA rules.
Your statement about it being unsafe is totally wrong. It is the safety, especially in a flintlock. As for the percussion, You have to half cock to remove the cap, and should before reloading. It matters not if you leave it there or not. Again, It is the safety.

Unless you are talking about the two blowing down the barrels, you are right. They would be asked to leave...rightfully so. I met one of the two known guys who are the reason for no blowing down the barrel rule. It is nothing to trifle with.

If you think this is good information, please give me the rule number and chapter. I am an NMLRA range officer. The rule book is available at their website.

 

[Mr Mortimer]

Gave up blowing down the barrel when I bought a double rifle.

@dave951, There are those that do not wipe the bore before loading the next round. The wiping is done with the wet patched round ball, but they do believe that there should be some moisture applied to the barrel to soften fouling. There is also the belief that blowing down the barrel looks cool and it has been mentioned as a historical practice which is not one I care to follow.

 

[bud in pa]

Makes no difference to me as I only shoot flint!

 

[oncewas]

I read your message. I pointed out that it was not me that called anyone out! I had absolutely nothing to do with that discussion!!! I think I got my answer to my question about the forum and I will probably look elsewhere for guidance and education. Thank you and have a good day.

Please don't take this thread as typical of this forum. There is occasionally some back and forth and sometimes people get their feathers ruffled for no apparent reason that I can see. And there are a few people on the forum who seem to enjoy causing discord but for the most part you can not find a better place to find information about shooting Black Powder and muzzleloaders. Just take the negative with a grain of salt because the positive is well worth it trust me. Just hang around and get the “Yesterday's Forum Activity” to see if there is anything of interest and use the search feature to look up what you are interested in. Don’t let them chase you off we need new shooters.

 

[Dave Fox]

I'm a casual shooter. Learned from an old timer years ago, when not cleaning between shots, to blow down the barrel of a black powder muzzleloading shoulder arm to keep fouling soft. Ones breath is humid. Believe precision breechloader boys use special blow tubes to do the same, but from the breech.

 

[M. De Land]

I'm a casual shooter. Learned from an old timer years ago, when not cleaning between shots, to blow down the barrel of a black powder muzzleloading shoulder arm to keep fouling soft. Ones breath is humid. Believe precision breechloader boys use special blow tubes to do the same, but from the breech.

I see no safety hazard to blow down the muzzle with an offset blow tube (plastic hose and muzzle fitting) that keeps your face out of line with the bore. That's not more danger than loading our pulling a ball.

 

[brazosland]

I’m a professional marksmanship instructor, ran a club for years, have match directed multiple state championship 3gun matches...all those things have one thing in mind that drives the rules...liability.

I am a blower, for the reasons listed elsewhere in this thread. But I totally understand the NSSA rule. In stressful situations like combat and competition people make mistakes like double loading, dry balling, failing to prime, etc. There is historical evidence of this from battlefields and we all have personal experiences from watching others or doing it ourselves.

So, it’s very possible that even an experienced shooter could fail to fire for whatever reason an attempt to blow down a loaded barrel at a match.

Liability. If you have never run a shooting event then you don’t know what it’s like to put your future financial security in strangers hands. I have been in the witness box in US District Court over a range having issue with its neighbors and blaming us (it wasn’t us)...but if there is an issue of any kind, guess who goes to the courthouse? Or the jail house? The guys that wrote the rules.

I will continue to blow down my bore. But if your rules say “No”, I’m OK with that too.

 

[Dave Fox]

I’m a professional marksmanship instructor, ran a club for years, have match directed multiple state championship 3gun matches...all those things have one thing in mind that drives the rules...liability.

I am a blower, for the reasons listed elsewhere in this thread. But I totally understand the NSSA rule. In stressful situations like combat and competition people make mistakes like double loading, dry balling, failing to prime, etc. There is historical evidence of this from battlefields and we all have personal experiences from watching others or doing it ourselves.

So, it’s very possible that even an experienced shooter could fail to fire for whatever reason an attempt to blow down a loaded barrel at a match.

Liability. If you have never run a shooting event then you don’t know what it’s like to put your future financial security in strangers hands. I have been in the witness box in US District Court over a range having issue with its neighbors and blaming us (it wasn’t us)...but if there is an issue of any kind, guess who goes to the courthouse? Or the jail house? The guys that wrote the rules.

I will continue to blow down my bore. But if your rules say “No”, I’m OK with that too.

Amen, brother. As stated above, I'm a casual shooter. I blow down the muzzle after firing to keep fouling soft. I'm reasonably aware of my firearm going-off so have no hesitation to do so, any more than I have of walking in front of my car after I put it in park and shut off the engine. Others' mileage may vary.

 

[Artificer]

OK, with a Patched Round Ball (PRB) Percussion Rifle, here is what I've done since 1972 and no Range or Safety Officer has ever questioned it.

After firing, I half cock it and clear the spent cap. Then I let the hammer down to fired position on the bare nipple. Both of these are while I'm still holding the rifle pointed downrange.

I DON'T leave the hammer on Half Cock because if one allows the butt plate to hit the ground too hard to begin loading, it can jar the sear off Half Cock. IF that happens and you don't have a Tumbler with a Fly in it (and even sometimes with one), it is far too easy to damage either the Nose of the Sear, the Half Cock Notch on the Tumbler, or both. The Hammer down on a bare nipple ASSURES this will never happen.

Gus

 

[Okie Hog]

i've met one guy with three mangled fingers who claimed the powder charge flashed as he was reloading.

i was in a firearms shop in WV for some 209 primers for the Nonel shock tube detonator. After the guy left the shop two others told me to believe nothing he said. That man was notorious for loading a cocked and primed muzzleloader, claimed it saved time loading.

 

[dave951]

That man was notorious for loading a cocked and primed muzzleloader, claimed it saved time loading.

All of Darwin's life tests are final exams. No extra credit. No make ups. No half credit.

 

[Mad L]

Well, I have to say that as another new cap and ball shooter I was quite interested to see what this thread had to say so I could learn something from it. All I learned is that nobody seems to agree on the proper procedure. I also learned there is a fair bit of discontent between the US and Hungarian shooter? Maybe not but it certainly sounds that way from the back and forth here. This is my first foray into the forums on this site other than to introduce myself on that thread and I am curious if this is how it is all the time or did I just happen to pick a rough starting point?

Don't let a little arguing get you down.
It is not by any stretch unique to this forum or even to this hobby. I have been to other forums that are far worse. It just has to do with 'A lot of people from different walks and different trainings and backgrounds'.
There is no one set of Golden rules for all to follow.

Best advice I can give a new comer to the Grand World of Muzzleloaders is; sit back, read all you can, compare, and enjoy the occasional sideshow.
I myself lurked for a while before even introducing. Another rule on the Internet I try to keep in mind to try and not get caught in the middle is my old UNIX training; "RTFM" and learn to 'search' forums before asking.

Also keep in mind the mentality of muzzleloaders; they are deep rooted in mountain man, fur trader culture - arguing, bickering, showing one another up is just all part of the sport

But seriously, a thick skin is needed when dealing with such a lot as muzzleloaders, take nothing personally, question Everything, and absorb all you can, especially issues concerning 'Safety'
(I for one will never argue with anyone's stance on Safety Issues - after all, I willfully and gleefully jumped from 1,101 perfectly good steel birds, so NEVER take advice from me)

 

[brazosland]

Amen, brother. As stated above, I'm a casual shooter. I blow down the muzzle after firing to keep fouling soft. I'm reasonably aware of my firearm going-off so have no hesitation to do so, any more than I have of walking in front of my car after I put it in park and shut off the engine. Others' mileage may vary.

Yep. I work with some retired Marines that were plane captains on carrier decks...they won’t walk in front of a jet on static display on the parade ground.

I get it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

"RTFM" Read The Factory Manual

Don't confuse honest debate with arguing. Although I am caught up in the world of the French and Indian War, adherence to the British way of soldiering can be pretty specific, I have learned that there is often no one "best way" to be shooting as long as the end goal of safety on the range is kept in place.