Leaving Muzzleloaders Loaded or Not

[Swede50]

This year I had arrived at the hunting area and pointed my BP rifle down to pop off a cap and it went BANG scared the stuffing out of me.

Good thing I had enough sence to point it at the dirt and in a safe direction.

I will never leave a BP rifle loaded after Muzzleloading deer season ends again.

 

[roundball]

Yeah, @&$#%+ happens, we're human...good gun handling practice on your part
:thumbsup:

 

[Carl Fowler III]

Good to see that at least 51% of us keep our guns loaded...wish there were more choices so we could get the other 14%...the only time I unload (shoot my load) is if I have been hunting in rainy weather, and it has always gone off at the end of the day! Course I always have a good cows knee covering my lock and try and keep lock area under cover of my copote or poncho!

 

[cynthialee]

So I just took out my Queen Anne flintlock pistol and test fired it. After sitting loaded and primed since Thanksgiving it fired. However....!
There was about a half second hang fire. That is unacceptable in my opinion.
So I cleaned it up, oiled him down and it is in the safe unloaded.
Now my percussion guns fired instantly back when I was doing similar tests.

So my personal take on things is that leaving a percussion gun loaded is probably ok so long as you are confident that you have a good seal all around and won't get contaminated powder. With a flintlock that doesn't have the vent plugged...Might not go off properly when called on.

 

[Grumpa]

I marked "after season closes." Normally, I load up my flintlock at the start of the season and, if I don't get a shot, I unload it at the end of the season (which has lasted anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months). Of course, the prime is changed daily, in good weather, more often in bad.

I have left a charge in the gun from one year to the next several times. Sometimes, it fired right now, sometimes not. Once, it took 3 pans. I decided I didn't want that happening when a deer was in the sights, so now I load it fresh at the start of the season.

 

[IROCZ]

Hey Grumpa, Pgh here also. My .54 Hawken is loaded right now, out in the garage. After finding this post I ran out and wiped it down with Ballistol. It was loaded on Christmas Day and been out hunting twice. I put a pipe cleaner in the touch hole with a piece of tape marked "Loaded" and the charge. I don't bring it in the warm house as condensation might dampen the main charge.

 

[Dickydalton]

OK, I'm headed to the bathroom sink with a loaded 1858 cylinder again. I'll soak it for about ten minutes and get back to you all, right Cynthia? :grin:

 

[dbutch]

Stumpy..Isn't there a poem wrote about this subject somewhere?????????