leaving pistol loaded

[ron9969]

Newbie here,im trying to understand percussian pistols.So can you load your pistol and leave it loaded.any problems with carrying for a long period of time?i live in a hot climate and have been reading about how grease or whatever your using melting out of the chambers,so how did they do this in the old days?

 

[bkovire]

after reading many of historic accounts, it's up to personal preference. some say 24 hours, others say six months. i my self never keep it loaded, i have the remmm 58.ps. welcome to the forum, don't be afraid to ask any questions, no matter how of the wall they might be.

 

[Coot]

The consistency of the lube needs to reflect the local climate. Something too hard to load in sub freezing weather will likely be too soft & runny in a really hot summer. (Sort of like motor oil in a car needs to be matched to the climate)

 

[biliff]

so how did they do this in the old days?

They didn't put grease over the chambers. Colt's loading instructions never used grease or wads or any of the other stuff we do. It was just pour powder, seat an oversize ball and cap.

 

[Homesteader]

This topic comes up from time to time, so I'm sure you could do a search and find lots of info / opinions.

Personally, I've got more than a few C & B revolvers and have left several loaded for quite a long while. I no longer seal with grease, preferring felt wads instead, so leak out isn't a problem.

The only negative experience I've had was with one of those little Remington .31 pocket revolvers. All 5 went off, but it seemed to lack its normal level of power.

My Colt, Remington, and Starr revolvers have never given me a problem nor failed to go off, even after months of being loaded.

That's been my experience, anyway.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I don't normally leave a gun loaded for any reason. I do keep the cylinder of my Ruger Old Army loaded, however, the cylinder is kept in it's own heavy leather pouch. Only takes a few seconds to put it in the gun. The lube I use stays pretty much the consistency of freshly squeezed caulk, regardless of temperature. It is called Pistol Patch, and was sold by Blue and Gray Products co. and comes in a large tube like tooth paste. (I bought far too much of the stuff at a going out of business sale years ago.)

I have never seen this lube turn into a liquid even when placed in the trunk of the car on a hot summer day.

 

[rafterob]

Usually the lube does not melt out until you start shooting and that really heats things up.If I were to leave my revolver loaded for some reason, I don't think I would bother with any lube-mainly because I would be concerned it would pick up dirt and grime over time. If it was an issue of possible home protection/self defense, then the supposed benefits of using lube would not be my first concern. Keeping a capped and loaded revolver laying around is probably not a great idea-too many variables. Most range safety rules dictate the cylinder not be capped till on the firing line.

 

[mykeal]

Newbie here,im trying to understand percussian pistols.So can you load your pistol and leave it loaded.any problems with carrying for a long period of time?i live in a hot climate and have been reading about how grease or whatever your using melting out of the chambers,so how did they do this in the old days?

Never leave a gun (any gun) loaded for a long period of time.

This has nothing to do with whether or not the load will still be viable (I assure you that it will unless a very highly humid environment is encountered). It has to do with keeping proficient.

How can anyone claim to be a proficient shooter who does not shoot their guns at least weekly? If you're going to keep it loaded I presume that's because you believe there will be a reason to use it. But if you need to use it, you should be proficient with it, no, you MUST be (as in you have an obligation to be) proficient with it. But how can you be proficient if you haven't shot it in a long time?

I have lots of guns that I don't shoot regularly enough to shoot proficiently with them. But, I don't leave them loaded on the premise that I might need to use them with little notice.

 

[Stewswanson]

They generally left one empty chamber to leave the hammer on. Wonder wads would proabably be better than grease and consider using 777 or anouther of the less corrosive powder substitutes.
Stew

 

[dodgecity]

The only time I leave my ROA loaded is for a week or so on occasion during hunting season. As has been mentioned, I only load 5 chambers with the hammer over the empty. I lube with a mutton tallow mix and have never had a problem with the lube melting or with the revolver dependably firing.

 

[ron9969]

Well thanks for the replys,lots of good info.

 

[gordy]

As far as the mechanical aspects of keeping a BP cap&ball pistol or revolver loaded for extwnded periods of time in a climatr controlled area such as a home there shouldn't be any problem. If doing this is to be able to protect your home and family the weapon wouldn't be of much value empty.One of the most diffucult problems to over come is to have a way to keep the weapon available, yet, out of the reach of any children.In many states it can be a major misdemeanor or low grade felony if a minor child were to obtain access to a loaded weapon and cause damage or death with the weapon. There are ways to accomplish keeping the weapon avalible yet secure from small children. It was mentiomed that you should fire your weapo on a regular basis to stay proficeint with it , to me that would be at least once per month and more if possible. Also to be an effective deterent , you need to know that you can pull the trigger if a deadly situation were to develope. I hope this helps you to make your mind up. :thumbsup:

 

[smoothshooter]

To my knowledge , unburned black powder in a clean chamber has no corrosive effect .If the chamber is dry and free of any lubricant ( lubed wads or otherwise )the powder should stay good indefinitely . Of course the other end should be cappped with propper-fitting caps or otherwise sealed .

 

[zaboomafoozarg]

Mykeal that's just silly

You don't need to shoot your guns at least once a week in order to remember how to shoot. Nor will your shooting skills deteriorate that quickly... well, at least, they SHOULDN'T. Lol.

The old frontiersmen would leave their black powder guns loaded for long periods of time until they needed them in a hurry...sometimes it was months, who knows. And I highly doubt they lost their proficiency...

 

[Rebel]

Not a real good way to make yourself welcome at a new forum by calling one of the long time. respected members silly for their comments. :nono:

 

[zaboomafoozarg]

:shake:

If you want to take this off topic and hash that out we can, even though I meant no offense by it at all.

First, fitting in by kissing up is not something I particularly care about. :bow:

Nor is the number of posts at all indicative of how much respect someone should be given.

I have many many times more posts than, what, 1700-something on other forums and never, ever would I dream of acting like I deserve added respect (or any respect)simply because of that. :thumbsup:

And I certainly wouldn't jump in and say to someone else who merely made a mild offhanded remark, "Hey. So-and-so has X number of posts. You need to respect him because you have Y number of posts. Where Y is less than X." :rotf:

So, I'll say it now, don't go there, mister. Don't go there.


And I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm simply responding in due part to your off-topic mini lecture that could have just as easily been sent as a PM.

Which probably would have been a good idea in the first place so as to ensure this thread doesn't get derailed.

Shouldn't a long time. respected member such as yourself know that? :shake:

 

[Rebel]

I never said a thing about the number of posts he has, only that he is a long time respected member. Respected because of the content of his post and his expertise, not the number of posts. And don't get uppity with me cuz it don't do a bit of good in cyberspace. Don't prove a thing. So welcome to the Forum and Lighten up.

 

[zaboomafoozarg]

Uppity, I believe, is more accurately exemplified by becoming indignant at the word "Silly."

And getting angry at the use of such a harmless word like that is hardly being "lightened up."

I am done going off on this uninteresting tangent.

Let's get back on topic.

 

[mykeal]

Rebel, thank you, but it's really not worth the energy. Remember Mr. Shaw's homily about wrestling with a pig.

 

[Dphar]

Newbie here,im trying to understand percussian pistols.So can you load your pistol and leave it loaded.any problems with carrying for a long period of time?i live in a hot climate and have been reading about how grease or whatever your using melting out of the chambers,so how did they do this in the old days?

I used to shoot mine at least twice a week when I carried a 60 army all the time in a shoulder holster. Find a lube that will not melt out if this worries you. I was using some food save grease at the time. This was 30 years ago or more.
Hanging on the wall they will keep indefinitely.

Dan