Leaving musket loaded

[Tony Turner]

I am from the eastern side. Was hunting southeast of Stump Lake.
I used to bow hunt the western side every year for a week. The oil boom has detoured me from coming out there. I want to come out there and spring turkey hunt with my musket though.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I hunt from a blind or still hunt. I keep a quill in the touch hole all the time. When game is spotted I have time to remove the quill and prime.

When I get home I leave the gun in the garage (no kids) with the quill in the touch hole.

I use real BP.

 

[Historian]

Just another good idea is one I learned from my father. That is to use a RED poker chip between the hammer and nipple. Never had a problem with condensation. The Red poker chip will definitely get someone's attention.

Keep your Powder Dry. :wink:

 

[eaglesnester]

I keep my Hawken 54 cap lock loaded all the time. After a good cleaning I use a final patch of WipeOut and ensure that the patent breech is clean. Then a final dry patch and a pipe cleaner through the snail. Load er up with 90gr of 2F stick some wasp nest over the powder charge, then use a lubed duro felt wad and finally a greased paper patched great plains 54 caliber bullet. I keep my rifles in a Underwriters approved safe with descant and a safe heater. My average relative humidity is 48% constant and temp is 72 degrees constant.

 

[Blackfingers]

If a caplock, go to a hardware store and get some small thread protectors to squeeze over the nipple, it gives a tight seal. Round wooden toothpick for flinters. Leave out in the car or truck overnight to prevent condensation. MHO

 

[Loyalist Dave]

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 ).

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

Whatever happened to the rule:
Treat all guns as if they are loaded??

If you follow that rule, plus the others:
Control the muzzle direction at all times,
Trigger finger off trigger and out of trigger guard until ready to fire,
See that the firearm is unloaded; PROVE it's safe
THEN you don't need the reminder.



LD

 

[bender20]

I never understood all of the other rules. If you treat a rifle as if it is loaded at all times you will do all of the other rules. However I understand why in the case of a muzzleloader you would want to mark it some how this prevents double loading which is fraught with peril.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I fall into the group that leaves a quill in the touch hole until I am ready to prime and fire.

I leave my gun in the garage if it is cold outside. I do not have any kids to worry about.

I swab the barrel with alcohol before loading to remove any oils.

 

[flytrout]

I have a question. What about keeping a loaded 1851 pistol loaded for in the house for protection, that has not been outside.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

this prevents double loading which is fraught with peril.

IF you follow rule #4... and check to see it's unloaded, your ramrod will indicate to you that it IS loaded...and thus no extra step needed to avoid a situation fraught with peril.

LD

 

[smoothshooter]

I have had good luck when I used to shoot percussions by tying the the thong on the leather strip to the upper neck of the hammer. That way, when the hammer is cocked, it withdraws the leather pad forcibly from the nipple and eliminates the possibility of the pad sticking to the nipple.

 

[Billnpatti]

There are so many experienced muzzleloader shooters on this forum who leave their rifles, shotguns, muskets, etc. loaded from one day to the next, or even all season long that I have quit advising other folks to do as I do and unload your gun at the end of each day. I am no longer so sure that one needs to do that if the necessary precautions are taken to ensure that the gun won't be accidently fired. I, on the other hand, will continue to unload my gun at the end of each day. It has been driven into my head from childhood and my years in the service that you don't leave your gun loaded when you are not hunting (or on the firing line at a gun range) and you never bring a loaded gun into the house. So, unloading at the end of each day is just my way. I can't say that it is THE right way, but it is MY way. :thumbsup:

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Even with no kids at home I am not a fan of leaving a loaded gun for home protection. The last thing I want is to be shot with my own gun by some lucky burglar.

It would seem a cap and ball revolver would have a few drawbacks. Mostly the long term degradation of the component parts; caps loosen and fall off, grease over the balls dries out etc. :hmm:

Unless you are like old Wild Bill Hickok and fire and refresh you guns every few days.

Just like any muzzleloader, keeping a cap and ball loaded though the hunting season is one thing, long term storage is another.

Personally, my first line of home defense would be my double barreled 12 ga. the location of the 00 buckshot shells known only to me. If I have time to get a gun, I have time to load it.

 

[Katahdin]

Shot gun loaded with #9 bird shot,low brass,00 buck might go through a wall and get someone you care about on the other side,, #9 pretty much stays where you put it,,,,, we carried #4 in our shot guns when standing Armed Line Watch,less chance of damage to AC,,,,bigger shot pattern ,

 

[Grumpa]

No problem. Make sure the caps fit securely. Practice with it once in a while, which keeps you fit, and eliminates any question of long term storage. A year...I wouldn't worry. Some folks put a clear lacquer or nail polish on the caps to seal them.

 

[chuck-ia]

I am with billnpatti on this.I have on occasion left the gun loaded when I was going out the next day, maybe a couple times in the past 20 years. I just feel better knowing the gun is taken care of before going to bed. Different strokes for different folks. It takes me a couple minutes to pull the ball and dump the powder in my trade gun, not a big deal. flinch

 

[slumlord44]

I have always left my muzzle loaders loaded through out the whole deer season. What I do is hang a tag on it with "Loaded" written in red. On occasion I keep a loaded gun locked in a cabinet for various reasons. Always tag it also. Why? Because people die unexpectedly sometimes and I would hate to have something bad happen after I am gone when I can easily help t prevent it. Not everyone treats all guns like they are loaded. Some just do not know guns.

 

[azmntman]

....and many are in office throughout this great land of ours :youcrazy:

 

[Grandpa Ron]

You make a good point on the bird shot. Close up it really does not matter much.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Shot gun loaded with #9 bird shot,low brass,00 buck might go through a wall and get someone you care about on the other side,, #9 pretty much stays where you put it,,,,, we carried #4 in our shot guns when standing Armed Line Watch,

That's essentially what we teach here for civilians. Too many think an apartment wall, much less their single family home walls, when not brick, will stop buckshot, even #4 Buck. :shake:

#4 shot is good...I like #6 myself, and modified choke...in most living spaces that's plenty of umpf and a wide enough spread to knock the snot out of any badguy....plus... in our world where felons are allowed to sue homeowners it's much better to use a "sporting round for birds" than to use that buckshot round (imho)

LD