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How long was a rifle or pistol left loaded.
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sherpadoug
40 Cal.
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I remember reading of guards in the colonial period being required to fire their guns once a week. This both proved their guns were in working order, and that the charge was no more than a week old.
I have no idea how long a gun might have been left loaded, or what the previous owner did or didn't do.
I do know of a case where I bought a used rifle at a Gun Show. When I got home I noticed there was no air coming out of the nipple hole when I ran a patched jag down the bore. "Its loaded!" says I. :shocking:
I removed the nipple, and then the drum from the side of the barrel and peered inside with a flashlight.
What I saw didn't make me happy.
Yes it was loaded, but the powder was not little black powder granules. It was grayish cylindrical pieces of powder.
For those not into reloading, this is what many types of SMOKELESS powder looks like.
It's a dam good thing I didn't try to shoot the load out! :shocking:
I've heard of many old muzzleloaders which have been loaded for 130+ years and the powder is still fully capable of firing.
One of our members had an experiance where a gun went off while he was trying to remove an old load. Luckily no one was hurt.
I do know of a case where I bought a used rifle at a Gun Show. When I got home I noticed there was no air coming out of the nipple hole when I ran a patched jag down the bore. "Its loaded!" says I. :shocking:
I removed the nipple, and then the drum from the side of the barrel and peered inside with a flashlight.
What I saw didn't make me happy.
Yes it was loaded, but the powder was not little black powder granules. It was grayish cylindrical pieces of powder.
For those not into reloading, this is what many types of SMOKELESS powder looks like.
It's a dam good thing I didn't try to shoot the load out! :shocking:
I've heard of many old muzzleloaders which have been loaded for 130+ years and the powder is still fully capable of firing.
One of our members had an experiance where a gun went off while he was trying to remove an old load. Luckily no one was hurt.
Russ T Frizzen
70 Cal.
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It is said that Bill Hickock used to empty his Navy Colts everyday to be sure his loads were viable. No doubt the target practice was also of value.
It's apparently well documented that the British mail service required arms to be reloaded weekly.
I doubt if many folks reused the load - just fired it.
If the powder stays dry, everything's fine - arms were often hung over fireplaces to keep them warm and dry when loaded.
Lots of old guns have heavily corroded breech areas from being left loaded and not kept dry.
:m2c:
I doubt if many folks reused the load - just fired it.
If the powder stays dry, everything's fine - arms were often hung over fireplaces to keep them warm and dry when loaded.
Lots of old guns have heavily corroded breech areas from being left loaded and not kept dry.
:m2c:
Years ago somebody gave me an 1816 Springfield that had been altered to a rifle musket early in the Civil War with a bolster alternation. I noticed the ramrod did not go all the way to the bolster. 
I took a worm and pulled the charge. The rifle musket had been loaded with homemade buck shot and wadding made from labels soaked off of patent medicine bottles. The powder was caked, but dry and if someone put a cap on the nipple and fired it the musket would have probably gone off. One should always check an old muzzel loader to see if it is still loaded. I recall, when I was a boy, neighborhood boy was killed when his brother snapped some match heads on the nipples of a muzzel loading shotgun. I still have the rifle musket and recall it was quite a chore to clean out the barrel. Even though it is well preserved I do not think I will ever fire it. :blue: I have had it for about 55 years now and it is on a rifle rack above my desk.
I took a worm and pulled the charge. The rifle musket had been loaded with homemade buck shot and wadding made from labels soaked off of patent medicine bottles. The powder was caked, but dry and if someone put a cap on the nipple and fired it the musket would have probably gone off. One should always check an old muzzel loader to see if it is still loaded. I recall, when I was a boy, neighborhood boy was killed when his brother snapped some match heads on the nipples of a muzzel loading shotgun. I still have the rifle musket and recall it was quite a chore to clean out the barrel. Even though it is well preserved I do not think I will ever fire it. :blue: I have had it for about 55 years now and it is on a rifle rack above my desk.
Johnny Tremain
Silversmith in training
>>>Since the weapon was kept loaded for use at anytime<<<
Weapons are for killing, firearms are for shooting and colecting.
My 1814 rifle manual says to unload every night.
Weapons are for killing, firearms are for shooting and colecting.
My 1814 rifle manual says to unload every night.
As a rule of thumb, black powder will not harm a barrel in it's unfired state, so you can leave it loaded for a long time as long as you can prevent moisture from getting into the main charge...
Once it is fired, the powder residue is corrosive...
Another thing to conceder is that the lube can dry out over time and loose it's benefit, spit lube could rust the barrel before it all evaporates when storing the firearm in the ready state...
Depending on the temperature and the time involved, the lube itself could leech into the main charge and ruin it...
Once it is fired, the powder residue is corrosive...
Another thing to conceder is that the lube can dry out over time and loose it's benefit, spit lube could rust the barrel before it all evaporates when storing the firearm in the ready state...
Depending on the temperature and the time involved, the lube itself could leech into the main charge and ruin it...
I had been hunting in our late season wich comes in after christmas one year and never got a shot off that 2 weeks so the rifle sat in the closet up stairs for a 12 months and one day I remembered I never emptied the rifle or cleaned it to my pleasure I went out back in the pasture, primed and let loose went right off never hurt the bore
the modern inlines will keep a charge ready for a long time.
A friend and I went out to the range last fall and while I was charging my new flinter- to show him- he put on a 209 and let fly.
I was not happy and asked him what was going on. He was tickled that it hit close to where he aimed. I told this story to a buddy in arkansas and he laughted and " said so do I"
it is so dangerous to leave a loaded weapon like that. Any weapon, unless it is your personal self defense weapon and you have complete control of it should be unloaded even if you have to clean it afterwards.
Am I out of line with this?
A friend and I went out to the range last fall and while I was charging my new flinter- to show him- he put on a 209 and let fly.
I was not happy and asked him what was going on. He was tickled that it hit close to where he aimed. I told this story to a buddy in arkansas and he laughted and " said so do I"
it is so dangerous to leave a loaded weapon like that. Any weapon, unless it is your personal self defense weapon and you have complete control of it should be unloaded even if you have to clean it afterwards.
Am I out of line with this?
FWIW, I can see both sides of the opinions on this subject...and one year I personally decided to leave a sidelock loaded overnight during a week of vacation since I'd be going back out early every morning, made a special gaudy LOADED RIFLE sign to hang on it, put it in my gun rack as usual, and there's no one else in the house except the Chief of Staff and I, so IMO it was really a very low risk situation.
After I missed a 6 pointer one morning due to a delayed fire that I concluded was due to the powder getting contaminated with condensation, I've never trusted leaving a rifle charged overe night again, always pulling the load, and loading fresh each morning since.
I've seen suggestions to leave the rifle out in the cold, in the garage, in the truck, in the tent, etc, etc...but I like my rifles inside where it's warm and dry.
So I personally decided it's not that big of a deal to pull a load and dump the powder...only take 60 seconds anyway...AND THEN...no matter how low the risk of an accident, there's never any worry about having a charged ML laying around the house, or the garage, truck, tent, etc...
In no way am I suggesting to others how they should handle their firearms...just responding to the post and laying out how I happen to do it.
:m2c:
I read where a guy who is a current muzzleloader hunter, leaves his gun loaded for a year. He has done this for around 14 years.
Acoording to John Olson's Book, people have found old muskets with up to 5 loads in the barrel. Apparently in the heat of battle, some folks kept loading and forgot to shoot :thumbsup:
Acoording to John Olson's Book, people have found old muskets with up to 5 loads in the barrel. Apparently in the heat of battle, some folks kept loading and forgot to shoot :thumbsup:
Blivetmaker
40 Cal.
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I doubt the rifles found on the battlefield with multiple loads were a result of forgetting to shoot. The big military muskets have a very pronounced recoil so I also have trouble with the parallel theory that the soldier did'nt
notice a misfire.
What might have happened:
Private Gomer: D'oh!! It didn't off! Awright recap! D'oh!
/Starts shaking the musket furiously meanwhile the formation has advanced 10 feet and he's fallen behind.
Sargeant Hardbutt: "Private Pyle! Geet yore goat-smellin'
first point of contact(no parachutes yet) on line now!!"
Our private gomer is now realizing that the lessons about
keeping your cartridges dry, weapon clean, etc. were important. Unfortunately he's the company "$%
notice a misfire.
What might have happened:
Private Gomer: D'oh!! It didn't off! Awright recap! D'oh!
/Starts shaking the musket furiously meanwhile the formation has advanced 10 feet and he's fallen behind.
Sargeant Hardbutt: "Private Pyle! Geet yore goat-smellin'
first point of contact(no parachutes yet) on line now!!"
Our private gomer is now realizing that the lessons about
keeping your cartridges dry, weapon clean, etc. were important. Unfortunately he's the company "$%
If you've ever been in a full state of shock, as I'm sure happened frequently to the lightly trained troops of the Civil War, it is not hard at all to consider that the cap going off might be enough to "fool" the soldier into thinking he had fired.
Believe me, when you can't feel the ground with your feet and your arms are numb and you feel like you're breathing and walking in transparent Jello it is certainly possible.
I can't imagine anyone keeping their wits about 'em when the shells are falling, men are dying and they are wearing parts of their buddy.
Believe me, when you can't feel the ground with your feet and your arms are numb and you feel like you're breathing and walking in transparent Jello it is certainly possible.
I can't imagine anyone keeping their wits about 'em when the shells are falling, men are dying and they are wearing parts of their buddy.
I thought I would ad the paragraph here.
After some of our famous battles of the Civil War battles,ordnance men who picked up the weapons in the field frequently found guns with four, five, or six charges lodged in the bore. Apparently, in the heat of battle there were those who didn't realize that they were loading but not shooting.
This history is recorded in the records!
After some of our famous battles of the Civil War battles,ordnance men who picked up the weapons in the field frequently found guns with four, five, or six charges lodged in the bore. Apparently, in the heat of battle there were those who didn't realize that they were loading but not shooting.
This history is recorded in the records!
Blivetmaker
40 Cal.
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I'm not a veteran of the Civil War or any other war for that matter. From the accounts of carnage at Gettysburg alone you could have seen more than enough to sponsor nightmares for a dozen lifetimes. I still have my reservations with the forgot-to-fire/didn't notice-six-times theory.
If his position is overrun and the bad guys are on top of him he goes to pummel, slash, pierce tactics.
If in the above mentioned situation (enemy in your face) he'd shoot 'em if he had 'em. He would not under any circumstances reload anything unless he was out of immediate bayonet/buttstroke range unless he'd lost complete touch with his surroundings.
Until he finds himself overrun, he's in formation and is maneuvering with his unit so as to be the one doing the overrunning. During this phase people are getting hit but the enemy is a target at distance, not a chaotic all-surrounding "Landsknechtshaufen".
If at any time in the above situations a soldier "lost it", he might simply run. An explanation for five, six or whatever charges in the weapon is a soldier going into full
auto mode, otherwise he'd darn sure catch on before he had a foot of barrel stuffed. Try timing yourself for six shots
out of a rifle musket. It takes a while. That's a long time
to be doing something you've been drilled and trained to do and to do it... fundamentally wrong.... If, however, his training and drill were poor or brief why would he remember to do it at all and not simply fall out.?
My comments pertaining to the company $%
If his position is overrun and the bad guys are on top of him he goes to pummel, slash, pierce tactics.
If in the above mentioned situation (enemy in your face) he'd shoot 'em if he had 'em. He would not under any circumstances reload anything unless he was out of immediate bayonet/buttstroke range unless he'd lost complete touch with his surroundings.
Until he finds himself overrun, he's in formation and is maneuvering with his unit so as to be the one doing the overrunning. During this phase people are getting hit but the enemy is a target at distance, not a chaotic all-surrounding "Landsknechtshaufen".
If at any time in the above situations a soldier "lost it", he might simply run. An explanation for five, six or whatever charges in the weapon is a soldier going into full
auto mode, otherwise he'd darn sure catch on before he had a foot of barrel stuffed. Try timing yourself for six shots
out of a rifle musket. It takes a while. That's a long time
to be doing something you've been drilled and trained to do and to do it... fundamentally wrong.... If, however, his training and drill were poor or brief why would he remember to do it at all and not simply fall out.?
My comments pertaining to the company $%
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