Leave it loaded vs. new charge daily?

[Ames]

I have returned mine to the cold attic, night after night, with the feather, loaded, pan empty. Taken it out into the frosty morning again and again. Goes boom when I need it to, no problems.

 

[OLD CROW]

On one of my trade/purchase ''deals'',i acquired a
1. t/c new Englander
2. lyman trade rifle
3. Safari hawken
all in .50 cal/ all cap locks
sold the t/c for more than I paid for the lot !!!
#2 and #3 were loaded,one was double charged.....
been loaded for many years as the person I bought them from ,extended family member said he bought them and put them ''away'' not knowing anything about B.P. or muzzleloaders.....where I hunt in the wet west coast valleys and mountains, I start with a fresh charge every morning.......course I have my ''little friend '' loaded at arms length at night...
in BRITISH COLUMBIA, as many places Stateside, we can carry flinters and caplocks in our trucks loaded Minus a cap /charged pan.
all firearms are ''always hot'' so granddad taught me over 60 years ago...

 

[Juice Jaws]

[QUOTE="Britsmoothy,
Any minor in my house that points a stick and shouts bang only does it once!
Pointing anything that resembles a firearm at a member of the family in jest is chastised heavily by me and any objections are completly ignored![/QUOTE]

Times have change, and I know where you are coming from but you did not grow up in the 50 and 60's in the U.S.A. , us kids all had sticks and toy guns and spent all day killing Indians or Germans

 

[Eric Krewson]

I loaded my flintlock about a month ago and have kept it in my unheated shop with a toothpick in the touch hole. It has rained almost every day here during this time period with 100% humidity most of the time. Yesterday I was thinking all this humidity might have compromised my powder charge so I decided to shoot out the charge out to see.

Instant boom, no problems.

 

[7of7]

I have a cap and ball revolver that I carried when I was hunting. I ended up leaving two cylinders charged for three years.. they were stored at my uncles place in a garage... for all of that time..
all 12 shots went boom just as if I loaded them fresh..
I was expecting some misfires, hang fires and such, but was pleasantly surprised..

 

[Britsmoothy]

[QUOTE="Britsmoothy,
Any minor in my house that points a stick and shouts bang only does it once!
Pointing anything that resembles a firearm at a member of the family in jest is chastised heavily by me and any objections are completly ignored!

Times have change, and I know where you are coming from but you did not grow up in the 50 and 60's in the U.S.A. , us kids all had sticks and toy guns and spent all day killing Indians or Germans[/QUOTE]


Nope I grew in Britain and the kids did the same. But not in the home and not at family!

 

[Poboy]

Seen several references to uncertainties about whether guns were loaded or not. Fortunately, these things come with charge checkers. They are called ramrods. Mine is marked at the point it should meet the end of the barrel, but even with an unfamiliar gun this is easy to check. Simply lay the ramrod along the side of the barrel to the end of the breech and hold the ramrod where it meets the muzzle. Insert the ramrod. If your fingers touch the muzzle, it's unloaded. If the ramrod stops before your fingers reach the muzzle, it's loaded.

Marking your ramrod at the point where a full charge should be has the added advantage of assuring you have a properly made and seated load.

I worry much more about a double load than an accidental discharge. As far as those that say "What about kids?" I say if you allow any firearm to be accessible to irresponsible children, it's a case of dangerous negligence, and "unloading" is no solution whatsoever.

 

[robes]

For all you guys that leave your guns loaded for extended periods obviously don't shoot enough!

FYI, I'm an occasional collector of old percussion and flintlock rifles, and I've bought two at auction that were still loaded... I now assume they all are. Should have anyway!! If you or your estate ever sells your guns, make sure someone makes it safe for the next owner!

 

[Skychief]

My fowling piece had been loaded for a doe that I never took since November the 18th (~7 weeks). In this time, I've hunted with it several times including in some light rain and drizzly snow.

I brought it in and out of the cold outside and the warmth of home taking no precautions such as a quill in the vent.

I took a "farewell to another deer season" shot today, murdering a 50 yard gong.

Ignition was instantaneous.

These old guns are more reliable than they are often given credit.

Best regards, Skychief.

 

[Straekat]

FYI, I'm an occasional collector of old percussion and flintlock rifles, and I've bought two at auction that were still loaded... I now assume they all are. Should have anyway!! If you or your estate ever sells your guns, make sure someone makes it safe for the next owner!

I have a collection of original flint and early percussion martial arms. I've had the same experience of buying a musket and then finding out the barrel wasn't empty. One m1842 I picked up at a show had roughly six inches of something down the barrel based on how much of the ramrod stuck out. The dealer hadn't bothered to check it before putting it on the table. After I bought it, I took it home and tried to extract what was inside with a worm. It wouldn't budge what was inside. I took it to a gun smith who discovered it had an upside down 45/70 round (live) that had been dropped down the barrel, and powder was packed firmly around the case and held it in place. It could have turned out very ugly... I doubt an adult dropped the live 45/70 round there. Chances are it wasn't an adult, but a kid playing with it.

Even though we like to think we're supervising kids when we're home, unless your firearms are locked securely in a safe, don't be positive that "negligence" won't happen on your watch.

True, unloading a firearm won't entirely prevent something, but it is an additional layer of safety, particularly with flintlocks. If you keep powder/shot in a completely separate and secure location from a firearm, that makes matters harder for someone to put them together. Kids may not be thinking of pointing a gun at someone in play, and saying "bang." They may have watched your routine and try to imitate you by trying to shoot game, targets, etc.

My preference for cleaning comes from military training and learning to make certain to clean and inspect every time I handle a firearm (and other "tools'). When you handle it, clean it properly afterwards.

After all, if daily cleaning for the likes of Bill Hicock who may have had more working experience with black powder firearms on a daily basis than almost everyone on this forum, there must be something to it.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I leave both caplock and flintlock loaded, including cap + ball revolvers. If its a snowy hunting day I'll run a greased patch down the bore at the end of the day. I've never experienced a problem with discharge when finally emptied.

 

[shane a gress]

I have a leather frizzen cover with a thong tied to my trigger gaurd. When my fusil is not in use the pan is emptied and frizzen covered. Does anyone else cover their frizzen?

 

[Essayons!]

I have a leather frizzen cover with a thong tied to my trigger gaurd. When my fusil is not in use the pan is emptied and frizzen covered. Does anyone else cover their frizzen?

That's what I was curious about.

 

[Skychief]

When mine is not in use, I open the frizzen, and lower the cock. No frizzen cover.

 

[Britsmoothy]

When mine is not in use, I open the frizzen, and lower the cock. No frizzen cover.

Me too.

B.

 

[Stony Broke]

I just loaded up "Ol Brutus"...my .62 caliber last night before I went to bed. It's sitting in a corner next to the front door waiting to go to work this morning. It will stay loaded until a doe succumbs to it...hopefully.

 

[RHensley]

Through out the year I target practice. After a days shoot I thoroughly clean the gun and put away. Now during hunting season I clean the gun thoroughly then load and unless I get caught in a rain the gun stays loaded until I take a deer or the season is over. Now when I come in from a days hunt I open and empty the pan. Put a tooth pick in the touch hole and stand the gun in the corner of the hall until I go out again. So far it has not failed to go boom. I grew up in the times of playing cowboys and Indians but we also knew the difference between a cap gun and a real gun. There was something called discipline in the home. Being taught the difference between what we could do and what we could not do and the punishment the latter would bring. My dads rifle always stood in the corner of his bedroom and I knew never to touch it. I tried not to even look at it. I am a firm believer that now days people don't raise there kids. They let the TV and video games do it for them so kids now days don't know the difference between right and wrong. It's a lot of fun making kids but takes longer to raise them.

 

[Rockvillerich]

Seen several references to uncertainties about whether guns were loaded or not. Fortunately, these things come with charge checkers. They are called ramrods. Mine is marked at the point it should meet the end of the barrel, but even with an unfamiliar gun this is easy to check. Simply lay the ramrod along the side of the barrel to the end of the breech and hold the ramrod where it meets the muzzle. Insert the ramrod. If your fingers touch the muzzle, it's unloaded. If the ramrod stops before your fingers reach the muzzle, it's loaded.

Marking your ramrod at the point where a full charge should be has the added advantage of assuring you have a properly made and seated load.

I worry much more about a double load than an accidental discharge. As far as those that say "What about kids?" I say if you allow any firearm to be accessible to irresponsible children, it's a case of dangerous negligence, and "unloading" is no solution whatsoever.[/QUOTE

Another thing to consider, and this I've seen with my own eyes...an uncapped percussion firearm can go off. Residue on the nipple can ignite the charge if struck, so we need to take special care when handling loaded black powder arms, particularly those with a fly in the tumbler as these will lower the cock with force if brought back past half cock, with potential to discharge both cap, and flint weapons. Muzzle loaders enjoy relaxed regulations up to this point, so lets keep it that way by being safe, and under the radar.

 

[Poboy]

No doubt blackpowder is a volatile critter. As a kid growing up in San Antonio, Texas, a neighbor heard a muffled explosion. A friend of mines older brother decided to make a pipe bomb. As he was screwing on the cap, a spark set it off.

He lost one hand, two fingers on the other, impaired vision in one eye, and hearing in one ear. Dummy was lucky to be alive.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Up here in Alberta, a M-loader is deemed "unloaded" if the cap is removed, or for flint, if the flint is removed from the jaws of the cock. I think it is very nice to have these Fish and Wildlife regulations in print, even if I do not agree with the flint removal bit!

OH it's the same thing here.... but all we need is to dump the pan, AND you can even remove the flint if you wish. That doesn't stop the local officer from citing you. OH and we have laws against driving with a loaded firearm, BUT a sidelock caplock or a flintlock are legally "antique firearms" and thus are exempt from that law. Again, that won't stop the charges..., you will just prevail when in front of a judge, and the prosecutor realizes the officer made a mistake. You won't even get a judicial record of being found "not guilty", as the prosecution will Nolle Pros the case before you can say a word, and you're free to go. BUT you've had to take time off from work, burn your gas to get to court, pay for parking, and if you're smart, maybe you paid $300 to a lawyer to be there to cover your backside.

LD