Hunting in wet weather with BP

[rja72]

This will be the first year I hunt deer with black powder. I have a Cabela's .50 Hawken in percussion.

looks like there is a chance for rain. At what point should i put the muzzleloader away and hunt with the shotgun? What precautions should I take to make sure she goes bang?

If it is pouring, i will be in the camper. From my experience the deer aren't going to be moving anyway.

Thanks

 

[jtmattison]

You should never have to put it away and use the shotgun. Put electricians tape over the muzzle to seal out water and use wax around the cap on the nipple. Weatherproofing a caplock is easy. Carrying it with the lock up under your arm, muzzle down will also keep it dry.

Good luck hunting :thumbsup:

HD

 

[BrownBear]

What Dawg said.

If we didn't hunt in the rain, we wouldn't hunt much.

A strip of electricians tape over the muzzle is the minimum. I've never resorted to wax around the cap, but I should. Instead I just keep the lock under the flap of my raincoat. Works better than the armpit, and it gets pretty tiresome holding the rifle so high all the time.

 

[rja72]

Do you remove the tape before shooting?

 

[BrownBear]

Nah. The air in the barrel moving ahead of the ball blows it off when you fire. I've tested everything from muzzleloaders to 22 rimfires to centerfire rifles and shotguns with and without the tape. No losss of accuracy, no "throwing" the first shot out of a group, and no change in point of impact. Kind of an apply-and-forget situation.

Yeah, we get lots of rain- 120+ inches a year. If I worried about PC, I'd use something other than tape, but I figure that even if our forefathers used something else, they would have immediately switched to tape the moment they could have got it.

 

[bucktales]

What they said.
When bare ground hunting is done, I'll take rain over walking on frozen potato chips. I have gotten up close and personal to many deer in the rain. Play the wind and S-L-O-W down.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

First time Ive ever heard of tape. We always used condoms. Dont care if they leak when were done with them.

 

[shortbow]

I admit I am not the sharpest tack in the box, but I am wondering. Is it really true that water from rain , especially with the barrel carried mostly down, could get past the patched ball and contaminate the powder? I used to live on Vancouver Island where rain is the order of the day, and never had any problems with ignition when hunting with a caplock. I did on occasion drip hot wax onto the capped nipple, but never resorted to tape or condoms. I would like to hear from folks that have actually had failed ignition due to water in the barrel.

Thanks, eh?

 

[BrownBear]

Had it happen only once, and when I was using a fairly loose ball/patch combo. Never with a tight patch. A bigger worry for me than water is bits of brush and other bore obstacles. In the kind of cover I hunt, lots can end up down the bore over the course of a day. If you're hunting in wet snow, that can scrape off the brush and pack down the bore, too. Been there. Done that. Tape's too easy and cheap a solution.

Even if not enough water gets down the bore to foul the powder, you sure get enough to rust a bore. The red stuff that comes out on your patch at the end of a day will sell you a case of electricians tape.

 

[shortbow]

Tnx, BB, ttyl, J.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Try using a poncho when you are in the rain. You can keep the rifle under the poncho to protect the action, while the barrel sticks out but is held down while the water that does hit the barrel runs down to the muzzle and drips off it. As long as the muzzle is down you are not going to get anything more than condensation in the barrel.

I recommend usuing a cleaning patch with lots of lube on it to lubricate the bore of your gun after seating the PRB. That protects the bore from rusting in a humid environment. Then use tape, or condoms-- if they worked for the GIs in WWII, they will work for you--to seal the muzzle of the gun. To keep your powder dry, you might want to have a cap to go over the percussion cap to seal the nipple from mositure. Those triangular pencil erasers made of rubber will do the job, but you may have to cut down the top for your particular gun. There are several kinds of cap Kappers sold, so check the suppliers. And the Cow's Knee, a piece of leather that is shaped like a hat, with straps hanging down to tie under you gun can be put over the hammer and nipple to keep it dry. The leather is usually coated or soaked in oils, and wax to waterproof it.

I think a small- postage stamp sized- piece of plastic wrap can be placed under the cap and on top of the nipple to waterproof the flashchannel. The fire from the primer will burn right through the wrap, and ignite the powder in the barrel. The rest of the plastic wrap will burn partly and fall away from the nipple. Certainly on a rainy day you don't worry about starting a fire with it.

Or, you could put plastic wrap OVER the nipple and hold it in place with a rubber O-ring, pushed down over the nipple. That would eliminate any concern about the plastic wrap cushioning the cap enough to cause a misfire.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Last rondy, the cappers were having wet cap problems. We rock sparkers just kept on shootin.

About 50% of my shooting is in down pours. Guess you just get used to it, and adjust how you do things.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Make yourself a waxed leather cows knee. Can be simple as a square foot of leather. I sewed a tuck in mine (an old car polishing chamois leather) and waxed it with melted beeswax.

When it's raining I take my percussion with the cow's knee. If it's not I use the flinter shown (and carry the cow's knee because if it isn't raining or snowing at dawn it will be before sunset hereabouts in Nov and Dec). She's been out in the rain many times. Only had one "pfffft" with a deer in the sights. That's why it's a challenge. :wink:

I don't worry about water getting past the ball and patch, but I don't feature firing with a column of water ahead of the ball and buldging something. I keep the muzzle tipped down as much as possible - rain or no rain come to think of it. :hmm: