leaving m/l loaded

[snagg]

Thanks for all the replies. I was under the impression there was concern over the b/p being corrosive. But I guess it isn't a factor until after the gun is fired. Safety is a concern, but I would dump the prime before transporting the gun and store safely in the house until the next day of hunt. A real problem could be the main charge becoming compromised from dampness. It would probably fire every time except that one time I would see the " BIG ONE ". I never thought of pulling the load rather than shooting it out. A hole lot less noise in my hunting spot for sure. But I do like the sounds of that air discharge unit to remove and capture the unused r/b. May have to look into one of those. This muzzleloading thing has quite a learning curve
Thanks once again, snagg

 

[CrackStock]

Dumping the prime and wiping the pan is not enough to be safe. I have seen flintlocks fire when these were both done and the trigger pulled. Sparks can make it into the vent (aka touchhole) more often than you would expect. You must plug the vent with a feather or toothpick; thumb the hammer/frizzen forward and let the cock down to be anywhere near safe.

Even then, respect that muzzle at all times.

Unloaded is the best answer, but there are times when the above might be acceptable.

CS

 

Whether or not I leave my M/L loaded overnight or for an extended period usually depends on what kind of weather I hunted in that day. Here in Missouri it's no different from many other places in the nation. You can have: hot, cold, rainy, dry, humid, foggy and snowy...sometimes all in the same day! Obviously if it's been a rainy or high humidity day I'll fire the rifle off when I get back to the house, take it in and clean it then charge fresh the next morning. If we're having some wonderful Indian Summer weather I'll leave it loaded and usually out in the shop where the temp stays pretty much the same as outside. That way there's no condensation from going from one temp to another. The rifle is always decapped or deprimed and I'll plug the touch hole or cap the nipple. I've never had a mis- or hangfire doing things this way. I live out in the woods and there ain't no young-uns around and all my guns are loaded, whether they are or not, meaning I treat all firearms as loaded until verified. Then the cardinal rule still applies.

Oh...the correct term for burned black powder's affinity for drawing moisture is "hygroscopic", not hydroscopic. One letter difference and it took me 20 years to remember it!!!

Vic

 

[CrackStock]

:thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Slake]

I've purchased several rifles that were put away loaded and after giving them a good cleaning I see no harmful effects from the powder being in there. One of my best shooters had been left loaded and mounted on a living room wall enduring all the climate changes of upstate New York for over five years that the guy knew of.
As a safety matter I do not bring loaded gun into my home. At hunting camp overnight I don't hesitate unless it has been raining.
I pull the ball out with a screw extractor on a brass range rod with a T handle on it so it's quite easy and I waste a wee bit of powder. It's a small price to pay for safety.
At hunting camp I pull the percussion cap off the nipple and leave the hammer down on the nipple and put the gun in a safe place poited in a safe direction over night.

 

[asabai]

I always fire at the end of the day, I get to plink and I get see the fireball come out of the barrel at dusk. :grin: Plus I get to practice cleaning a muzzleloader and what could be more fun. :rotf: