Leave it loaded vs. new charge daily?

[Black Hand]

If I've been out in the pouring rain, I might consider unloading. Otherwise, it stays loaded until I decide to pull the ball & charge. When I do unload, the ball gets re-cast, the patch placed back in the tin and the powder goes back in the horn. I also bring the gun into the house regardless of the temperature outside and I've never had a problem with moisture - the thought that moisture magically condenses in the powder charge with temperature swings appears (to me) as an old wives tale. When I've pulled charges, I've never seen any indication there was moisture in the powder (even after hunting in the rain or bringing the gun inside after hunting in cold temperatures). BTW, I shoot a flintlock.

 

[Jimbo47]

I can understand that thinking about condensation forming going from cold to hot, is more likely going to happen if you go from below zero to going inside and immediately putting the rifle next to the wood burning stove.
A gradual acclimation I'm sure would prevent it from happening.

 

[Black Hand]

Goes from outside (temps for the Oct/Nov hunting season are usually 30F or below) to the truck to a 68-70F house.

 

[Jimbo47]

I've never heard of anyone complain that they ruined or rusted/pitted a barrel because of condensation from going from cold to warm.
Maybe on a neglected barrel that wasn't properly cleaned or lightly oiled.
A quick wipe even on a charged barrel an hour or so after coming in from the cold with a lightly oiled patch or some WD40 should do it.
Fact is, it gets cold during hunting season even in south Texas, and others have gone from cold temps to a warm cabin or car in just about every state, and it's not that big of a deal as it's being made out to be.
It can be a concern if you neglect your firearm, which most would not do.

 

[azmntman]

I cost me one huge 6x6 bull when I was 17. Loaded up night before after drying completely. Popped two caps then powder and PRB. Instead of leaving in the car (20 feet from the tent?) I brought in side the tent where we had a propane heater. Next morning about 200 yds from tent popped a cap on his arse. That rifle had NEVER before misfired. Also had never before been left loaded and brought in from cold to warm. After 4-5 more "next morning Mercy hunts" (I like to think I had Mercy on them) and losing bucks n bulls n cows I now ALWAYS fire the rifle on the morning of the hunt and reload. Have never again had mercy on my meat hunts!

 

[Arcturus]

I used to worry about condensation when going from cold weather into a warm cabin for the night. As Richard and others have stated, after a lot of testing, I've determined it's not a problem with my reliable flintlocks. Loaded with 2f or 3f, patches lubed with bear or mink oil, stored muzzle-down to prevent oil or moisture from seeping into the charge, I have had no problems.

We've all heard the instances of condensation from bringing a gun into the warmth at night causing a next-day misfire. But I started thinking, would Boone or Kenton leave their rifles out in the cold (or unload them) at night with enemies lurking about? Of course not. I hunted for four days this past January with my .58 flintlock rifle in cold conditions hovering around 0F for several days. Each evening when I came in from the cold my barrel instantly frosted and a white layer of ice formed on it. I stood it muzzle down on a towel in a corner, wiped the outside of the barrel dry and lightly oiled it. And on the final day of the hunt, as I knew it would, the gun fired just fine.

 

[George]

But I started thinking, would Boone or Kenton leave their rifles out in the cold (or unload them) at night with enemies lurking about? Of course not.

A few decades ago, when I was first learning about flintlocks and how to use them, I did a lot of testing to check out their reliability in adverse conditions. One thing I did was to sleep with mine. In those days I used a bedroll, a couple of wool blankets in an oilcloth tarp, directly on the ground, outside. Temperatures below about 30° kept me at home. I would put the loaded rifle alongside me inside the waterproof tarp, so that it was warm and moist for hours, then shoot it as soon as I was up and about in the cold. I did that at least a dozen times, it never failed to fire a single time,

I don't worry about changing temperatures causing ignition problems. I always load my guns in the warm house the night before a hunt, take no precautions when I go out into the cold, bring it back inside after the hunt, loaded if no shot, no problems even after doing that several times.

Spence

 

[dragnetbill]

I unload, usually just pull the ball and charge. For me it is not a question if it will go off or not, but for safety reasons. Most people don't know how to tell if a muzzleloader is loaded, (unlike modern guns).I just feel better going to sleep at night knowing the gun is unloaded, (should I not wake) also feel more confident the next day with a fresh charge. flinch

When I leave a muzzleloader in loaded condition during hunting season or beyond, I attach a "LOADED" tag to the hammer with a twist-tie. I use plastic for the tag to minimize the possibility of tear off.

 

[dsayer]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Fascinating to read the varying approaches being used. Keep em coming!

The idea of storing muzzle down after cleaning and after a day of hunting is such a common sense idea and I can't believe I've never thought of that before. I've always set my rifle muzzle up. I suppose because that's the way you always see them in gun racks...

I'm going to start some testing with leaving it loaded in the house vs. garage vs. outside and see what happens.

 

[Black Hand]

The idea of storing muzzle down after cleaning and after a day of hunting is such a common sense idea and I can't believe I've never thought of that before. I've always set my rifle muzzle up. I suppose because that's the way you always see them in gun racks...

I've never bothered. The powder is sealed from exposure to anything in the bore by the use of a tight-fitting patch. If stuff is getting by your patch with the muzzle up, you need to change your patch/lube combination....

 

[George]

I've never bothered. The powder is sealed from exposure to anything in the bore by the use of a tight-fitting patch. If stuff is getting by your patch with the muzzle up, you need to change your patch/lube combination....

I agree, and if there is enough sloppy oil in the barrel after loading for it to run to the breech, you need to change your procedure. With a snug PRB or wads rammed down the barrel, I don't understand how that is possible, anyway.

Spence

 

[Jimbo47]

I store mine loaded/charged with the muzzle down after a hunt after running a slightly oiled patch and followed with a dry patch, and the rifle is put away inside a blanket gun case in the closet.
It's just a precaution that I do to make sure my powder stays dry, and this as after getting older, I know first hand what gravity can do.

 

[dsayer]

I've never bothered. The powder is sealed from exposure to anything in the bore by the use of a tight-fitting patch. If stuff is getting by your patch with the muzzle up, you need to change your patch/lube combination....

I agree, and if there is enough sloppy oil in the barrel after loading for it to run to the breech, you need to change your procedure. With a snug PRB or wads rammed down the barrel, I don't understand how that is possible, anyway.

Spence

You all might be exactly right, but storing muzzle down vs. up seems a low cost low burden preventive measure IMO. I've started getting into the habit of storing muzzle down for this reason.

FWIW, I use mink oil as my patch lube and I've never had issues with leaving my gun loaded for a few days. I've never done more than a week or so though. I am mostly curious to see what folks on here are doing, and, as expected, there seem to be a bunch of opinions on the topic.

 

[George]

You all might be exactly right, but storing muzzle down vs. up seems a low cost low burden preventive measure IMO. I've started getting into the habit of storing muzzle down for this reason.

You are right, of course, and it's no big deal. I just try not to spend a lot of time solving problems that don't exist.

Spence

 

[Black Hand]

You all might be exactly right, but storing muzzle down vs. up seems a low cost low burden preventive measure IMO.

If there is no advantage, why do it?
We all do things because it feels right or believe serve a purpose, but actually have no effect. Why bother?

 

[dsayer]

You all might be exactly right, but storing muzzle down vs. up seems a low cost low burden preventive measure IMO.

If there is no advantage, why do it?
We all do things because it feels right or believe serve a purpose, but actually have no effect. Why bother?

Well, a number of folks in this thread seem to think there may be an advantage so I don't know that this is truly conclusive. If there's no disadvantage and even a possibility of an advantage, why not do it? :idunno:

 

[Black Hand]

Well, a number of folks in this thread seem to think there may be an advantage so I don't know that this is truly conclusive. If there's no disadvantage and even a possibility of an advantage, why not do it? :idunno:

Fervent belief in something or the number of people believing something don't make something true or advantageous. In other words - there is a huge difference between a possibility of an advantage and a behavior that actually confers an advantage....

But back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

[dsayer]

You all might be exactly right, but storing muzzle down vs. up seems a low cost low burden preventive measure IMO. I've started getting into the habit of storing muzzle down for this reason.

You are right, of course, and it's no big deal. I just try not to spend a lot of time solving problems that don't exist.

Spence

Hahahaha! Well, if I took your advice I probably never would have found this forum!! I've killed a couple dozen deer with my muzzleloader using either Hornady 535 PRBs or GP conicals and 85gr of FFG T7. I could have just left good enough alone but decided I wanted to start casting my own boolits (balls and Lee REALs) and then I decided to switch to real BP and... and... and... Here I am!

 

[Black Hand]

What you describe are not problems to be solved, rather choices to be made.

 

[dsayer]

What you describe are not problems to be solved, rather choices to be made.

True, yes. But the choices I made led to some problems (now resolved) that led me to seek info and advice on the interwebs that led me a forum on casting where a member is also a member on this site which led to my joining here. And I'm quite happy for it. :hatsoff:

ff

Now, as stated above, back to the topic at hand.