Hunting with your muzzleloader

[khavell]

When I am at the range it takes a bit of effort to get that first ignition. My brother suggested I bring by .45 cal Kentucky along the next time we go rabbit shooting. Chances are it will fail to go off the first time we come across game. I don't like the idea of messing about in the field - taking of the nipple - putting some powder down etc - fine at the range but not too cool in front of bro! Maybe it has something to do with how I clean the rifle. Oil may be around the flash hole on the powder drum. I would be interested in what people do when they hunt. What do you do to guarantee you get that first boom! in the field?

 

[Bruce H]

One of the best tips I got was on this forum and that was to store my rifle muzzle down. That keeps any oil out of the nipple. But to be absolutely sure everything works, I fire one round the day before.

 

[roundball]

Storing it muzzle down is a good proven practice to keep oil from gradually collecting down in the breech...even if you have it in a horizontal gun rack, at least have it positioned so the muzzle is lower than the breech.

Then before loading, dry patch the bore and pop a couple #11 caps on the empty gun to ensure any film of oil or contaminate in the flash channel gets burned out.

 

[VEARL]

I store my rifles muzzle down. The day before or morning of the hunt I dry the barrel and drum out with several patches. Also fire a couple of caps to get rid of any oil that might be near the nipple. I also then clean out the nipple with a pipe cleaner.
Load everything up and go hunting.

 

[justahunter]

What has worked well for me is storing muzzle down like others have said and then dry patch clean with several patches. I then run a new patch to the breach then fire a couple caps and pull the patch and make sure I'm getting a good burn on the patch.

Good luck in the future.

Todd

 

[ebiggs1]

Sorry to say but the first shot should go off equal to any shot you make. Clean your gun with denatured alcohol and snap a couple caps before you leave to go hunting.
And the smoke from one shot will not hinder your sight of a deer. You are thinking of many hundreds of Civil War, etc, soldiers all shooting at one time, Not to mention several batteries of cannon. In that case smoke has been known to be a big problem.

 

[ohio ramrod]

As others have noted oil in the breech is the most common cause of first shot failures. My method is simple , store muzzle lower than breech. Use an alcohol soaked patch to remove oil, then snap a cap off with a patch lightly pushed into the barrel to make sure things are dry and clear. The patch should blow off. :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Does it fire reliably after the first shot? If not, you have other problems.
Do not shoot the day before. As others have suggested you must clear any oil lingering in the breech. Standing muzzle down overnight is good then run a patch through the bore. As added precaution, I have squirted carburetor cleaner into the breech through the bore then swabed. You need to do tests to get the first shot reliability you want and need for hunting.

 

[Bruce H]

Do not shoot the day before.

Why is it not good to fire off 1 round the day before? After that 1 shot, I swab with a spit patch, then follow up with dry patches til I get a clean patch. I've done this for at least the last 6 to 7 years without any issues. Not that I'm saying it's the right way, just the way I've always done it.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Do not shoot the day before.

Why is it not good to fire off 1 round the day before? After that 1 shot, I swab with a spit patch, then follow up with dry patches til I get a clean patch. I've done this for at least the last 6 to 7 years without any issues. Not that I'm saying it's the right way, just the way I've always done it.

Because any remaining residue will be a moisture magnet. You want it to be surgically clean and free of all foriegn materials (residue, oil, etc.) as possible. That has been my practice for decades. Take out of safe, run patch through barrel to get out oil, squirt carburetor cleaner into nipple or touch hole, swab again with dry patch, load. I then run a lightly oiled patch down the bore over the load. Rifle remains that way until I shoot at an animal or end of season. I have never had a failure to fire with that procedure. Others may have other procedures that work for them and that's OK. The only rule that is absolute in this ml game is to do what works for you.

 

[Horizontal Hunter]

Lots of good advice above.

Here are some other things that may help:

Remove the nipple and run a pipe cleaner through the flash channel to remove any crude that has built up.

You can also try holding the rifle with the bolster (where the nipple is) toward the ground and tapping the opposite side to knock some powder into the bolster. Then load the patch and PRB.

Substitute powders have a higher ignition temperature than real black powder like Goex. The only time I had ignition problems is when I was using a sub.

Bob

 

[rabjr]

I used cap guns for 20 years before switching over to flintlocks and never in those 20 years ever experienced a misfire while hunting. Not even a delayed ignition and I hunted in some nasty weather. I swab the gun good with a dry patch to remove any lube in the barrel/breech, been known to leave a patch pushed down into the breech area over night until I load up the next morning..always used a pipe cleaner to make sure everything was clear and clean from nipple to breech. Load up, then remove nipple and trickle a little bit of 3F under the nipple ensuring if your cap goes off, your gun will...inspect nipple and reinstall. I never sat in the woods no matter what the weather was, wondering if my gun would fire. I always knew it would and it always did. :thumbsup:

 

[Richard McCullough]

I store all my rifles and shotgun muzzle up. When I get ready to shoot, I dry patch down the bore, then a fresh patch followed up with popping a cap. Once I started this process I have never had a missfire from fouling.

 

[Sinner]

I also store my rifles with the muzzle up. Only had one misfire on the first shot when I failed to run a dry patch down first and then fire a couple of caps.
I think the real key is using a dry patch and firing a couple of caps, whether or not you store it muzzle up or down.

 

[lorren68]

I shoot a t/c production caplock, the way I do my prep is simple. The day before the hunt I take my rifle out of the safe where it is stored muzzle down, I then run a dry clean tight patch or two down the bore(use one side of the patch flip over and use the other), the last patch should come out clean and dry, I then store the rifle muzzle down until the morning when I load for the hunt. I do NOT pop caps or leave patches in the barrel, I have left my gun loaded for weeks at a time and have never had a failure to fire or a delayed ignition.

The main reason I think this works is due to how I lube my rifle after cleaning. I clean the barrel with warm soapy water and dry with plenty of flannel patches, when I am satisfied I have all of the moisture out of the barrel I run a patch saturated with rem oil down the barrel. This is the part where I think I differ from most shooters. I then store the rifle muzzle down till the next day, I then run dry patches down the bore until they come out dry. I now use a lite coating of rem oil on a patch to re-coat the barrel, now I put the rifle in the safe muzzle down until the day before the next hunt or shoot.

IMHO I think this method keeps excess oil from puddling in the rifling and causing miss fires or the need to burn it out by poping caps.

Other shooters hunters may have different methods/opinions, and that is ok whatever works for you is the best method there is :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Don't soak it with oil to begin with. Pop a cap and wipe with 91% alcohol before loading.

(I won't be catty and say "use a flintlock" :rotf: )

 

[ebiggs1]

Do not shoot the day before.

Because any remaining residue will be a moisture magnet. You want it to be surgically clean and free of all foriegn materials (residue, oil, etc.) as possible. That has been my practice for decades. Take out of safe, run patch through barrel to get out oil, squirt carburetor cleaner into nipple or touch hole, swab again with dry patch, load. I then run a lightly oiled patch down the bore over the load. Rifle remains that way until I shoot at an animal or end of season. I have never had a failure to fire with that procedure. Others may have other procedures that work for them and that's OK. The only rule that is absolute in this ml game is to do what works for you.

Boy :shocked2: am I glad my TC's do not require all that preparation to get them working. I make no special attention to them, basically load and shoot!

I store all my rifles and shotgun muzzle up. When I get ready to shoot, I dry patch down the bore, then a fresh patch followed up with popping a cap. Once I started this process I have never had a missfire from fouling.

”¦ Pop a cap and wipe with 91% alcohol before loading.

These are all that is needed. :thumbsup:

 

[khavell]

Thanks for all the advice. The first thing I will do is start storing the Kentucky muzzle down. I must get some carb cleaner. I used to use this to clean out the carb on my Ford which used to get a bit smokey. I use to spray in in with the engine running and watch the rubbish come out the other end so I can see value in using it here.

 

[lorren68]

At nearly $8.00 per hundred I just cant justify poping caps when it is not necessary. My method has worked without failure so I will continue doing it. The reason behind the oil saturation is to ensure all parts of the bore are covered with oil, all the oil is removed the next day with dry patches. During storage between shoots/hunting it is stored muzzle down with a lite coating of oil.


I actually enjoy giving my rifle attention such as this, to me it is part of the game. I have the utmost confidence my rifle will fire the first time every time.

 

[Ron_T.]

I use a little different method of "clearning" my older, cap-lock CVA Carbine (24-inch barrel).

I start out by storing it muzzle down. Then, when I get ready to leave to go shooting or hunting, I turn my small air-compressor "on" and let it build up to it's 100 lb maximum capacity.

Then I remove the screw in the drum and blow 100 lbs of compressed air through the hole, down the powder channel and into and out the barrel.

I continue allowing the air-compressor to blow into the rifle through the screw-hole in the drum until the compressor's air gauge shows only about 20 lbs of air left.

THEN... I snap a single percussion cap off to insure everything is then "dry". If hunting, then the rifle is ready to load.

If going shooting at the range, I wait to load the rifle until I'm ready to shoot it at the range.

Doing it this way, I've never had a single failure-to-fire on the first "try" incident.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.