Leaving musket loaded

[Tony Turner]

This is my first season hunting with a musket. Do you fire (empty) your musket at the end of each day (hunt) and then reload before going into the bush each time?
I hunt in ND and our temps can vary quite a bit during early season. Is there worry about condensation from warm to cold, cold to warm?
If you leave it loaded what is the correct way of doing so. I will remove the cap from the nipple.

Sorry if this has been asked a lot, I am new and couldn't find any previous posts on this.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Presumably/hopefully you are using real bp. You can leave loaded for centuries if you wish. But, to do so, you must have a clean gun to start with. I will spray carburetor cleaner in the touch hole and swab with same, then a couple dry patches. Also clean the pan of the lock. When clean, clean, clean, load normally. After that my practice (some will disagree with this step) is to swab the bore over the load with WD-40. I do this as a protectant.
Then, when you see yer game, shoot 'em. Good luck and carry on.

 

[BrownBear]

We deal with this all the time, and in a climate that's probably a whole lot wetter than yours.

Leave it outdoors overnight rather than bringing it indoors into a heated space, then back out into the cold. That will really limit condensation.

I cut a strip of soft leather about 1/2" wide and 6" long, then put a slit in one end and loop it onto the trigger guard. When I remove the cap for any reason, I just place the other end of the leather strip over the nipple and lower the hammer to reseal the powder charge. If you don't like that strip of leather hanging from your trigger guard, just cut yourself a few tabs of soft leather and keep them handy in your shooting bag. Do several because they're easy to lose.

Flinters get a toothpick in the touch hole.

I've dinked with this on and off for years, going so far as leaving a couple of guns loaded for 2 years, than test firing. Boom.

 

[Tony Turner]

Thanks guys.
I am using black powder.
I was planning on leaving my rifle in the pickup overnight to help with the condensation part.
I am so pumped on hunting with my Lyman Trade Rifle this year. I haven't rifle hunted in 10 years due to lost the excitement of shooting with a scoped center fire rifle (not much of a challenge). Only hunted with my longbow and recurve.

 

[Britsmoothy]

We deal with this all the time, and in a climate that's probably a whole lot wetter than yours.

Leave it outdoors overnight rather than bringing it indoors into a heated space, then back out into the cold. That will really limit condensation.

I cut a strip of soft leather about 1/2" wide and 6" long, then put a slit in one end and loop it onto the trigger guard. When I remove the cap for any reason, I just place the other end of the leather strip over the nipple and lower the hammer to reseal the powder charge. If you don't like that strip of leather hanging from your trigger guard, just cut yourself a few tabs of soft leather and keep them handy in your shooting bag. Do several because they're easy to lose.

Flinters get a toothpick in the touch hole.

I've dinked with this on and off for years, going so far as leaving a couple of guns loaded for 2 years, than test firing. Boom.

Me same as the above :hatsoff:

B.

 

[TNGhost]

Ditto to what Brown Bear said. Leaving it in the pickup you should be good to go, as long as it is in the back (unheated part).

The only thing I can add is I'll throw a red rubber band around the wrist or tie a piece of red yarn around the trigger guard to remind me its loaded (What can I say, I'm getting old :grin: ).

 

[hanshi]

If it's clean and dry and not fired, if you've used a lube that's NOT water based and if it is not stored exposed to water; then you can leave it loaded all season. I do.

 

[Tinker2]

All good advice above.

In my case, I fire mine off and clean it at the end of the day




William Alexander

 

[robinsroost]

I do as hanshi and the others, with this difference: I cut a 3/4" by 3/4" piece of truck inner tube, and tie it to the trigger guard with a piece of waxed linen cord. I put the square on the nipple and lower the hammer on it to seal the bore. The square falls to the side when you cock the gun. When I hunt with my flintlocks, I plug the touch hole with a round tooth pick. Keep yer powder dry......Robin :wink:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I do not unload unless I got wet and leave the gun (or rifle) in our unheated garage between uses. But if it's more than a week I unload.

As an experiment I left a barrel loaded 11 months.

Fired OK and just a couple inches high at 50 yards (one of my Moose Snot tests).

 

[G.smith]

The quill of a little feather works better in the touch hole. They don't break off as easy as toothpicks.

 

[azmntman]

I was hunting deer last week. Goex left in barrel
4 days and fired flawlessly. Kept the gun cased in the tent at night. No deer (bucks anyway) but did see a baby bear, 200 elk and 200 does? oh and 45000+/- tree rats!

Then of course I helped a buddy with an elk hunt in a different unit and saw six bucks and no elk?

 

[Ken Cormier]

Do not bring the loaded gun in to heated building if you have been hunting in the cold. As t he condensation will dampen the charge in the gun. If it has been out in the cold it needs to be warned up slowly to prevent it from producing moisture. Don't ask me how I know LOL.

 

[Kenny54]

all good advice and experience shared so far. don't apologize for asking, thats how we learn and no matter how long you do something you can always learn. i leave my gun loaded unless I've fired it. then, not always, but i try to clean it that night at camp. if i fired and reloaded and don't clean it that night i run some mink oil down to the ball to help keep fouling soft. if its cold or snowy I've always brought my rifle(flintlock) inside at night. thats how my dad taught me 40 years ago. I've never had a problem with condensation. i hear a lot about how you shouldn't do that now so i spend half my day worrying but no problems so far. :idunno:

 

[tom deinek]

I have a lot of guests at my hunting camp. Leaving my loaded piece in the pick up truck prevents curious folk from picking up a rifle and examining it before I can advise them it's loaded.

Good luck, have a good time & tell about your bp hunt.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Ditto to what Brown Bear said. Leaving it in the pickup you should be good to go, as long as it is in the back (unheated part).

The only thing I can add is I'll throw a red rubber band around the wrist or tie a piece of red yarn around the trigger guard to remind me its loaded (What can I say, I'm getting old :grin: ).

This is a practice that should be universally used by everyone & not just muzzleloaders.

 

[TNGhost]

I use it on all my firearms modern and traditional. You never know when your hunt might get interupted and for how long, and when you get back to the gun its nice, with my memory lapses, to have a reminder.

And if someone else runs into your gun, before you, for whatever reason, the red should give them a clue at least. :idunno:

 

[Major Tim]

Howdy neighbor!

I too have been hunting only with a longbow for last 10 years.

All good advice above. I think you'll be good if you avoid wide temperature swings.

 

[Tony Turner]

Well it turned out I only needed to leave it loaded 1.5 days until I pulled the trigger on my 4x4. Thanks for all the advice

 

[Major Tim]

Nicely done!

I'm in West Dakota. Where were you hunting?