Ignition while loading

[waksupi]

What this boils down to, is two things.

One, cook offs happen at re-enactments where blank charges and paper cartridges are used, and during speed shooting events.

Two, NOT BLOWING DOWN THE BARREL IS PRACTICED IN NEARLY EVERY INSTANCE!

I detest re-enactments due to many safety concerns.

 

[waksupi]

X

 

[bpd303]

The only one I saw was my brother may he RIP. He would put his rifle on half cock, put a cap on the nipple, put the charge down the barrel and bump the butt on the ground to as he said settle the powder. One time the hammer fell from the half cock and ignited the powder. Lucky he hadn't started the ball so just a big poof, smoke & flame. Of course this was the guy who would use WD-40 to keep the cylinder loose on his Remington and it caused a chain fire. That time he had to go and change his shorts.

 

[R Ellis]

I've been doing it for 43 years. No problem.

Me to that was the way the old guy told me to and it has worked

 

[Tasbay]

Thanks for the reply's so far Guy`s. I tend to find I load from the flask though I know I shouldn`t. I swab between each shot with a spit patch and would be lucky to fire a shot every 2-3 minutes on the range, in the case of hunting it`s just the one load from a cold barrel.
Have buried a couple of friends mistaken for deer while hunting. Been to a few smokers Cancer and Driver accident funerals of friends but never known anyone to have a cook off while loading a muzzleloader. Balanced risk I would assume.

 

[necchi]

Only personal experience please, not hearsay. Cheers

Is it hearsay if I know a guy that lost his pinky and damaged the finger next to it?
Speed loading contest, he poured from the horn, horn went boom.
I SAW his bandaged hand, and HE told me what happened. And I SAW his hand after it healed.
He went back to work.
He was a pressmen, I worked in shipping,,,, is that hearsay?
Carelessness and accidents happen.
I've been telling that story for almost 40yrs now, with all the gory details posted on this forum at least 5 times with this same question. I haven't seen the guy in 35yrs, that's life.
It's your life,, you choose.
Knock on wood,,,,,,,,,

 

[Some_Mook]

Balanced risk I would assume.

Pretty much sums up Life.

Wear a seatbelt. Wear a helmet. Don't use a screwdriver as a chisel or a pry bar, ad nausium....

Remember, Safety Glasses are for people with only one eye.

 

[sturmkatze]

There is NO way in hell I am putting my mouth over a barrel and blowing down a barrel after firing a round. 50 years of that ? Seriously?

You do you. I blow down the barrel after a shot. I’ve done it for over 40 years and I will continue to do it. I don’t need some nanny state aunt Mary telling me what to do. Or, to do what I know isn’t safe.

 

[User_Dan]

You do you. I blow down the barrel after a shot. I’ve done it for over 40 years and I will continue to do it. I don’t need some nanny state aunt Mary telling me what to do. Or, to do what I know isn’t safe.

I blow down the barrel also, I keep a piece of hose in my kit in the event others are around to avoid questions or trying to talk to me.

 

[DementedMindOfJac]

Now I know we are not supposed to load a Muzzleloader from the flask but instead from a measure. My question is, has anyone had a measure of powder ignite while loading and under what circumstance IE: dumping it in straight after firing, having it go off after swabbing the barrel then loading. Only personal experience please, not hearsay. Cheers

No. What happened is I prime the pistol/rifle as the last step before firing.
There is no way I can see for powder to flash after a swab. Not even if you're packing a coastal gun.

 

[Appowner]

If it can happen someone will figure out the how.

Not ML but I know of a gent who slipped a 20 Ga shell down the barrel of a 12 Ga. When it didn't fire he assumed he'd dropped the shell on the ground and so without checking, loaded a fresh 12 Ga shell down the barrel.

The whole left side of the frame blew off, knocking his left arm out of the way preventing serious injury. He got lucky!

Murphy is always lurking!

 

[TexiKan]

I was not at our club range when it happened but one of our experienced members had a charge go off while ramming the load down. He was taken to the hospital for stitches. As I recall, he wrote an article about what factors might have caused it yet I am not sure where it was published. In the 46 years I have been a member of this club, that is the only incident I know to have happened to someone at our range.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Well that's it for me. Muzzleloaders are too dangerous. I'm never shooting one again.

 

[waksupi]

Suffice it to say it is unicorn rare. When it does happen it is from trying to shoot quickly and ramming paper down the bore. IF you want to shoot fast shoot modern guns. If you load with the gun pointed in a safe direction and use a separate powder measure then it will not be a catastrophic event. IF a guy is worried about it, shoot modern guns. IF you are not willing to do that damp swab between shots. This imaginary issue sure gets people worked up.

Even with modern guns, a squib load can cause some big problems fast in automatics.

 

[waksupi]

Thanks for the reply's so far Guy`s. I tend to find I load from the flask though I know I shouldn`t.

Well, if you are loading from a flask, that tells me you are inexperienced and foolish. Bad habits die hard, people die easy. You are re-enforcing your learning of a very bad habit.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

In all of 8 years of reenacting I never had anything like that happen, even in the hottest times of summer when we were firing constantly and the barrel was so hot you couldn't touch it. The only thing that did happen once, was that part of the charge came out the touch hole and actually bent the pan part made of brass that we had to use to protect the fellow next to us, that happened only once but once was enough!

 

[Mike in FL]

I did have a load torch off this past summer first time in 50 years and tens of thousands of rounds. I was the first time I recall forgetting to blow down the barrel after firing a round.

During those same 50 years I was loading/shooting. Not once did I blow down the barrel. I'm sure it can't hurt anything. A recent thread about it surprised me in that so many shooters do that very thing. I'm comfortable not blowing down the barrel. I'm vain enough not to want to be seen doing it.

 

[Mike in FL]

View attachment 265720

 

[Mike in FL]

View attachment 265720

Those in Hell will have a hard time loading safely.

 

[Buckskinquin]

I used to shoot with a group in upstate NY. 12-15 met each Sunday in a heated building and shot at 50 and 100 yd targets thru a hole in an exterior door. One of the participants had a TC from its custom shop. We all swabbed between shots with a damp patch since we had plenty of time. This person chose to swab with a dry patch,and he had shot with us numerous times. Suddenly, I hear a Boom!, and turn to see this guy holding his right hand. He had swabbed, poured his powder in and was seating the patched round ball when it touched off. Blew his range rod thru the ceiling and halfway thru the metal roof of the building. The loading jag caight his fingers and ripped them open. Cleaned his hand before taking him to the hospital. Later I was told this happened again without injury, but he never shot again. We never could figure out why his rifle did this. I do not swab while shooting outdoors and have never had an issue, but I was present when it happened to this poor guy.