Leaving a smokepole loaded..?

[Homesteader]

I should know this, I guess, but I don't. How long can one leave a charge in a smokepole without causing problems? I'm guessing it's a shorter time in humid weather, right? Is there a difference between real black and pyrodex / Triple 7 / whatever? I've had a Colt Army charged for a little over a week without any trouble, and it just got me to wondering...

 

[Claude Mathis]

I should know this, I guess, but I don't. How long can one leave a charge in a smokepole without causing problems?

Here's a thread that may help: How long loaded?

 

[Huntinfool]

Well this could be a touchy subject. So I'll just give you my experience and you can go from there. I've left my longrifle loaded for close to 6 weeks I live in WV it's very humid here. That's 6 weeks most of which I went huntin' 4 or 5 days a week! I've got friends that have left there guns loaded for months with no ill effects.

A gunsmith friend of mine has worked on more than one old original rifle to find a charge and ball still in the gun left from possibly 75 to 100 years. He reports the barrel was not harmed.

Now at least one of these old guns hung over someone's mantle high and dry for over 70 years. The owner was shocked to find out it had been loaded all those years seems his Great Grandfather had originally owned the rifle.

He had taken it down from the mantle many times in his Grandfathers house and snapped the cock down on an empty nipple. Good thing he didn't have any percussion caps available to him! Huh! LOL!

Bob Spencer's Blackpowder Note Book says that BP before it is burnt is not that hydroscopic if your gun is clean and not been fired yet and reloaded then it should be ok. Burnt powder residue is very much a sponge it will draw moisture from 60% humidity very fast!

If I've fired it and reloaded then I will unload it and clean thoroughly then reload. The 2 or 3 times that I've left mine loaded I've brought it in the house and kept it near the heat so as to make sure it stays dry. Some say they to leave it in the cold like in a car or truck. But mine has always fired instantly the way I do it. :redthumb:

Chuck Goodall
The Original Huntin' Fool
&
Kanawha Ranger Scribe

 

i recently had a set of double barrels go off while de-breaching, the prvious owned stated that they had been in the barn as long as he could remember . I believe these charges where at least 50 years old and maybe well over 100 and still put 1x2 inch holes in the asphalt

 

[Gary]

Depends on humidity. If dry enough, it can keep indefinitely. When I attended the Remington Armorer's School, they told us of one fellow who brought in a Remington flintlock that had been left loaded. He asked what the factory what to do. Their staff examined the gun and advised him to shoot it.

In deciding if and when to keep loaded, always remember safety FIRST.

 

[Griz]

:imo: :imo:No rifle should be left loaded due to the safety issue. I always shoot mine when I am done hunting for the day and reload the next day with a fresh load.I don't mean to be sounding like I am repremanding you I just can't see any reason for letting a load in a rifle, when it really does not take that long to clean after just one shot. :imo: :m2c:

 

[musketman]

If you do leave it loaded, tag it as being loaded...

Just because you know it's loaded doesn't mean the next guy does...

A simple tag tied to the trigger guard stating that it's loaded will go a long way in preventing a wrongful death...

 

[Griz]

I have read that some of the longhunters used bird feathers as a "tag" for others to be aware of a loaded rifle. They would dump the primer out and stick a bird feather in the touch hole as a second safety measure and then close the frizzen. Then anyone seeing that rifle would know that it was loaded. On the other hand they NEEDED to have their rifles loaded at all times. :thumbsup:

 

[Keith]

Okay, I admit this was dumb, downright stupid. I went hunting, didn't shoot left the gun loaded. I didn't use that rifle for over a year and a half. :no: It took three caps to fire, but fire it did. I a use bore butter as a lube, so the patch shouldn't have caused rust. I don't know if not being cleaned and lubed did something to the rest of the barrel. I live in New York which is humid in the summer, in fact it was fairly humid when I did shoot it. Therefore I would say you could leave one a long time, especially if if it did not have burnt powder reisdue down bore. Will it hurt the gun? Could. Is it a good idea? Hell no, I am embarrassed to admit I did it.
FWIW, if you hunt in a dry climate you could leave the gun loaded and probably get away with it. The only trouble I ever had with ignition in the same rifle was after hunting in humid conditions with snow melting off the trees in thick woods. If the gun gets wet or will be brought in doors shot the damn thing or get a CO2 discharger.
I am read yfor my stupid slap now.

 

[Griz]

No slap from me, If you aren't making mistakes you aren't doing anything. If you use them you will make mistakes, no powder, too many balls and no powder... :shake: :nono:
Not that I ever done any of these :yakyak: :yakyak: :crackup: :crackup: :bull: :bull:

 

[Huntinfool]

Hey Grizz,

I know where your coming from or is that going to.

But there's no one in my house but my wife and I. We keep more than one gun loaded at all times, period! There's 2 fully loaded Glocks within' reach of us at all times.

Plus we always treat every gun as if it were loaded, period!

And if my grandson comes around then we put them away in the vault or put them where he can't touch them. Period.

I didn't mean to give anyone ill advice but they have no business owning guns unless they already know these simple rules of safety! :imo:

If they don't then they had better learn them now!

And no offence Captchee had you followed that simple rule treat ALL guns as if they were loaded you would've known the double barrel was loaded before you started to work on it. LOL!

I bet you check em all now don't ya! :haha: :redthumb:


YMH&OS
Chuck Goodall
The Original Huntin' Fool
&
Kanawha Ranger Scribe

 

[Stumpkiller]

I leave the ramrod sticking out the end if I leave mine loaded (which I do during hunting season). I leave it outdoors so the change in temperature & humidity doesn't effect it.

 

I keep an 1860 Army loaded for varmints around the house and it has never failed to fire (well, one time but it was a bad cap and not the charge). It sits in an old gym bag on the floor and goes months without being fired. I don't have little kids in the house and everyone else knows to leave it alone. Skunks and coons - beware!

 

[roundball]

Never.

If I haven't fired during a days hunt, I pull the load when I get home, wipe everything down, set it in the warm house, wipe it all down again a couple hours later.

I reload fresh in a warm, clean, dry barrel the next time I go out even if it's the very next morning...I don't want to waste even a single brain cell worrying if my powder charge has become affected by condensation, a full moon, etc.

Clean, warm, and dry, with fresh powder every time for me.
:m2c: