How long do you let your powder sit in the bore between sits?

[RyanGeiler]

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate the help! The area I hunt is essentially my 'backyard' and within an ATV ride. Only kiddo in house is 15 going on 16 and shoots regular with me--so a loaded muzzle/percussion in my study overnight without a cap on it and a 'LOADED' tag doesn't make me too nervous.

One thing I noticed is the poor review of bore butter! Local guy told me that was the way to go but after doing a bit of google/search fu--it appears that bore butter is not looked very favorably upon in the powder community. Not to derail my own thread a bit but since it came up---right now I'm doing the following:

Post-range--tearing down rifle, using Bore Cleaner mixed with very warm water and using Bristle---pad---then wool to dry on the inner bore. Bore cleaner/rem oil saturated pads along with Q-Tips to clean up surrounding areas. Removing nipple, using bore cleaner/rem oil to hand clean and clean all areas around the nipple by hand.

My last step (was!) to put bore butter down the barrel to help protect/get ready to shoot next time. But this appears to be incorrect. So--what product should I use to store long term in your experiences? And then just do a dry swab of the barrel after storage/before shooting?

Thanks again!

 

[user 36911]

Not to start an argument but balls, powder and caps are precious commodities these days. Being an old yankee, I hate to waste anything.

Shoot a squirrel.

 

[user 36911]

I forget not everybody is as lucky as me in the land I can hunt. We have 25 million acres of public land to hunt in Colorado. It's not a problem to fire off a shot. I won't be near where I hunt.

 

[excess650]

I clean with a water and dishwashing liquid mixture to cut the BP fouling and fatty patch lube. I run a dry patch, and then WD-40 and store muzzle down to let any excess WD-40 run out the muzzle rather than accumulate in the breech. I'll run a snug dry patch prior to loading and have never seen rust or had a failure to fire.

While it may not be the best patch lube on the target range, I use mink oil from Track of The Wolf on my patches for hunting.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Fixed that for ya.

I should have said "corrosive".

 

[Grimord]

At the end of the day, my percussion guns are de-capped, and a .22 short case is fitted over the nipple until the next hunt. As for my flint locks, I brush out the pan powder and insert a round tooth pick in the touch hole and lower the frizzen onto it. I also put my frizzen stall on the frizzen. I have gone entire deer seasons like this and never had a problem with the gun going off when I want it to. I should mention, that I also place a small party balloon over the muzzle of my guns to prevent moisture from entering the barrel. It stays on for the entire season or if i am luck, till I shoot it off.

 

[Sidney Smith]

One season, I loaded my flintlock in late November, and fired the gun in late January. I went through two deer seasons, general rifle, and our flintlock season before getting my deer that year. Fired as if it had been loaded an hour before. I dont take my muzzleloaders out in the rain, and I leave the gun in the garage on a table to avoid the heat/moisture issues that can develop when a gun is brought into the warm house etc.

 

[RyanGeiler]

Well I’m glad you guys mentioned how bad bore butter was. I went and dry swabbed my bore today and the damn pad came out orange tinged! Not sure if that’s a sign of rust or the butter but I dry swabbed it clean then swabbed a soaked WD-40 pad down the barrel to hopefully protect it!

 

[Brokennock]

And then just do a dry swab of the barrel after storage/before shooting?

Regardless of what you use as a bore protectant in between hunts or shooting sessions,,, clean it out well before loading. I use alcohol and then some dry patches. You want something that helps remove grease and oils but goes away easily itself,,,, especially if using something petroleum based to protect the bore.

 

[William Lincoln]

Just coincidence maybe, but yesterday I decided to shoot out the loads in my Uberti 1858/NMA. It had sat for just under 4 years at a duck camp that has high humidity, and was stored capped up. It had pyrodex for powder. Five cylinders fired Ok but were a little slightly less powerful than usual--but not squibb. The sixth misfired. I put on a fresh cap, cap fired but powder would not ignite. I pulled the ball with a screw later and the powder seemed
dry. Nipple was open. My takeaway, if you are using ANY
substitute do not trust it if loaded over,say a year. Load your ball/bullet tight and seal the mouth with a good wax-lube to retard moisture. And I load with a pre-charge of about 4grains of 4f black first and stack the substitute(T-7,Pyrodex) over that usually- but not the one I just used after nigh 4 years as the bear-scare pistol at the camp(noisemaker to scare off bears that scavenge the camp). Now, two takeaways. If you are keeping a BP pistol/revolver loaded I recommend fresh caps
every 4 or 5 months at least and if stored or being used for a back up for defense ONLY trust real quality Brand Black powder where your life depends upon it going bang. Over the years I have had misfires and squibbs with substitutes, whether fresh or old(more with old stock). But I cannot recall a total misfire caused by powder where I used a quality black powder. The good news is that the 5 cylinders of old pyrodex did fire,if a little weaker and would function for defensive use. This was not spot on the thread but related ,and since it just happened ,thought I would chime in. My experience and opinion only.

 

[user 36911]

Regardless of what you use as a bore protectant in between hunts or shooting sessions,,, clean it out well before loading. I use alcohol and then some dry patches. You want something that helps remove grease and oils but goes away easily itself,,,, especially if using something petroleum based to protect the bore.

Not important to do if you use your patch lube to protect the bore. Maybe one dry patch to remove any excess but no need to remove it all.

Bear grease.

 

[Art Caputo]

I have left loads in my flintlocks and percussion rifles for about a month(deer season) with no adverse effects. I will remove all lube from the barrel using alcohol, then swabbing the bore dry. With my percussion rifles I will clear/check the flash channel by firing a cap My loads are PLRB’s lubed with Mink Oil. When not in the field, I will de-prime, and place a feather/quill in the flash hole or use a red plastic cap on nipple. I will not leave a fired rifle for more then a day of hunting without cleaning.

 

[Brokennock]

Not important to do if you use your patch lube to protect the bore. Maybe one dry patch to remove any excess but no need to remove it all.

Bear grease.

I actually do use my patch lube for my bore protection.
I try to emphasize using a decreased when I don't know the person or there practices as I see a prevalence of people using unnatural, often petroleum based, products to protect the bore against rust. These products must be removed completely.

 

[user 36911]

I actually do use my patch lube for my bore protection.
I try to emphasize using a decreased when I don't know the person or there practices as I see a prevalence of people using unnatural, often petroleum based, products to protect the bore against rust. These products must be removed completely.

I know but my point was........don't use that stuff.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Bore butter isok as a lube, but nota bore protectant.

 

[Howard Pippin]

Well I’m glad you guys mentioned how bad bore butter was. I went and dry swabbed my bore today and the damn pad came out orange tinged! Not sure if that’s a sign of rust or the butter but I dry swabbed it clean then swabbed a soaked WD-40 pad down the barrel to hopefully protect it!

When I first started shooting a percussion, bore butter was recommended and I used it for loads and after I cleaned the rifle I coated the bore with it, And it worked just fine. It is very dry where I live. Now, being I also shoot a flintlock, I experiment with lots of PRB lubes, So I finally just went to use kerosene as my final wipe down. Seems to work for me but then bore butter did too, so I can't vouch for anyone else. It just seemed like if I cleaned it profusely, that Rust wasn't a problem and in those first years of hunting I was using pyrodex and that worked for me too. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Squint

 

[torpedo]

My Uberti Dragoon is my first line of home defense so I have it loaded and primed by my bed. I live alone. I do leave one nipple without cap under the hammer. I keep it loaded for about a week or two then go out shoot it. I enjoy breaking it down for deep cleaning.

 

[11Bravo]

Only over a weekend as that was my hunting time, never an issue with the flint lock not firing before I went home. But I did use saran wrap over the barrel and made a gasket for the pan. Before I headed upstate I coated the bottom of the frizzen with vasoline and used solvent to clean the pan. Then I put a bead of silicon on the pan and closed the cover for a day or so before heading up to my hunting camp. I was always afraid of losing my priming powder humping the woods not to mention if it were raining. And the only things my bores have seen is soapy hot water and Hoppes muzzle loader #9.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Had one loaded for 3 years , went bang like it was loaded yesterday . Have one now that's been loaded since December and expect it will do the same . Both were loaded with black , not sure how a sub would do . Not recommending that you do this , just that I have never had a problem because of it . The three year old load was a gun I inherited from my father . It was stored in a hard case when I brought it home and I was not aware that it was loaded . He loaded it for a hunt and did not get a shot so uncapped it and put it back in the case with a piece of leather between the nipple and hammer . That was in 2012. He never went hunting again as he had lung cancer and died in August of 2013. In 2015 I finally took the rifle out of the case and noticed the leather over the nipple so I suspected it was loaded. Rod down the barrel proved that to be true so I capped it and shot it into the bank behind the house . Black powder seldom ever goes bad whether in a can or a barrel unless it is contaminated by oil or some such . I have known of guns that were loaded much longer (100+ Years) that went bang with no issue .

 

[Daveboone]

The question was asked ..."why pop a cap?....I didnt see it answered. With a percussion lock, it is good routine before you load to pop a cap or two to burn off any residual oil in the nipple/ firing channel, to minimize a misfire. Needless to say, be sure it is empty.
Here in Upstate NY, if the weather is dry I am happy to keep my gun loaded (uncapped) over several days. It stays out on the dry porch at night usually to avoid moisture condensation . If it is damp/rainy....load might get pulled mid day, very likely that night. One chance, no reason to risk it...might be my only shot all season.