Leaving Rifle Loaded

[flatcreek]

How long is it practical to leave a unfired rifle loaded with black powder without causing damage? If your hunting and didn't have any luck and are going out the next day or even next couple of days its a pain to have to unload your rifle and clean when you haven't shot. How corrosive is unburnt black powder?

 

[russellshaffer]

The old powder cans were steel. They didn't corrode.

 

[64Springer]

Leave it loaded as long as you want to and stop looking for Gremlins that aren't there.

 

[SOLANCO]

As long as you like. Though I would not store it capped or primed.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

How long is it practical to leave a unfired rifle loaded with black powder without causing damage? If your hunting and didn't have any luck and are going out the next day or even next couple of days its a pain to have to unload your rifle and clean when you haven't shot. How corrosive is unburnt black powder?

Unburnt powder isn't corrosive per se. It's the results of the combustion when moisture/humidity is added that cause the acidity and the rust and pitting.

What some people worry about is keeping the main charge sealed. IF you have a very warm and humid place where you store your rifle loaded, and air can get to the main charge, then so does that moisture. Take the rifle outside and the temperature drop might cause condensation to form. It might form in the charge because it was exposed to humid air when stored OR more likely..., with a flintlock, things were fine until you brought the cold steel barrel inside, and moisture formed on the metal from the warm humid air within the home, and when you put it away muzzle up, those tiny drops combined. They then followed gravity, ran down the barrel where it meets the stock as though it was a rain gutter, right to your touch hole. Voila a fouled main charge.

So a lot of guys store the loaded guns in a room where the air is the same as the outside air.

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

What others have said is correct. My practice when hunting season came around was to clean the rifle completely. Load. Then I wiped the bore with WD-40. With priming the rifle was ready to use and no corrosion. One year, due to a family emergency, I did not get out to hunt. The following year, I picked up the rifle and it fired immediately. And, no corrosion.

 

[Grimord]

As an added precaution, I place a small party balloon over the muzzle and a empty .22 short case over the nipple, or a tooth pick in the touch hole of a flint lock to prevent moisture from entering. Have never had a hang fire, or failure to fire when doing this, and have left the gun loaded for sometimes two months.

 

[russellshaffer]

On a caplock, I put a little piece of gasket material over the uncapped nipple and let the hammer down on it. And do something to cover the muzzle. Tape, balloon, etc. Everything sealed up tight.

 

[The Appalachian]

I'll second the "storing" a loaded rifle at the same temp as what you're hunting in. The quickest way to screw up a charge that's been at freezing all day is to bring it inside where the woodstove is cranked up. The metal will sweat and contaminate the powder with moisture. My garage is usually close to outside temps if I leave the heat off so that's where we leave our loaded rifles over night.
Sealing the flash hole or nipple prevents atmospheric moisture from tainting the charge there; and we use an "X" of electrical tape over the muzzle with one or two wraps around the tag ends to keep it in place, to seal the bore during crappy weather. A greased patch should seal the powder charge sufficiently but we use the tape mostly to keep rain, snow, dirt, crud, etc, out of the bore.
Our concerns are mainly "keep your powder dry", but damp blackpowder can and will rust steel.

 

[Butch Martin]

How long is it practical to leave a unfired rifle loaded with black powder without causing damage? If your hunting and didn't have any luck and are going out the next day or even next couple of days its a pain to have to unload your rifle and clean when you haven't shot. How corrosive is unburnt black powder?

Way back in the 70s, I cleaned a '51 Navy copy. I dried the parts in an oven and then oiled all of the parts except the cylinder and nipples. Then I installed the nipples with a small drop of oil on the nipple threads. Then I loaded the chambers with powder and balls. Then I sealed the chamber mouths with molten candle wax and also covered the nipples and caps with candle wax. I didn't fire the gun for two years, but when I did fire the weapon all six shots worked fine. However, when I cleaned the gun, I found the chambers had some slight etching. The nipples backed out with no trouble, and the barrel and the rest were smooth and clear.
To this day I still wonder why the chambers were etched. The damage was not severe, but I have not stored a BP loaded for longer than a day or two since then.
My two cents on this matter!

 

[Josh Canuck]

In the BP era, wasn't it the rule to keep one's long gun loaded and right over the fireplace? To be at the ready just in case?

 

[ETipp]

Once I kept a .50 Renegade loaded after fall hunting season all the way until the next year ML season. Took it off the wall, placed a cap on it, and it fired like it should have.

That was years ago in TN, a fairly humid state. The ML did hang above my fireplace all year but that does no good during the summer, in terms of humidity. After firing it I did not see any rust, although back in those days I did not have a bore light.

Nowadays, and considering the lack of good, quality sidelocks being produced, I'm a bit more picky on cleaning and oiling. There's not a doubt in my mind whatsoever that unless a ML has been subjected to rain and/or very high humidity, it will be fine to leave it loaded for an entire season if one so desires.

 

[tiklikker]

One year I hunted with my .54 GPR percussion for five days in a box blind, heated by an ice fishing LP heater. It was very comfortable with windows open with a sweater on, even though very cold and snowy outside. I closed up the blind at night with the heater off, leaving the loaded rifle in the blind. On the fifth day, after seeing no shooters, I tried to unload by shooting. No bang! After pulling the ball I found muddy powder. Condensation from heating and cooling did me in. Good thing that 10 pointer never showed up.

 

[Old Grunt]

I left a CVA Pennsylvania Flintlock loaded for I believe 6 years maybe 5 years round ball,GEOX 2F and patch lubed with straight home renderard lard,I was deer hunting and had a major family emergency,and ended up caring for folks several years,the gun was put in closet in bathroom so fairly high humidity area,nothing special done not even a toothpick in touchhole, few months ago I pulled it out ran pick through touch hole,filled pan and she went off just like I'd just loaded it 1 minute ago,I wasnt expecting it to fire but she did.

I also left a 1851 Colt replica loaded for couple years,it was loaded with Pyrodex P,.375 round ball covered with Crisco and was stored in upper Kitchen cabinet, about half went off first cap,the others took 2-4 caps to ignite, and recoil and sound was different for each chamber.

So in my experience, black powder is way better then substitutes for long term.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I'll second the "storing" a loaded rifle at the same temp as what you're hunting in. The quickest way to screw up a charge that's been at freezing all day is to bring it inside where the woodstove is cranked up. The metal will sweat and contaminate the powder with moisture. My garage is usually close to outside temps if I leave the heat off so that's where we leave our loaded rifles over night.
Sealing the flash hole or nipple prevents atmospheric moisture from tainting the charge there; and we use an "X" of electrical tape over the muzzle with one or two wraps around the tag ends to keep it in place, to seal the bore during crappy weather. A greased patch should seal the powder charge sufficiently but we use the tape mostly to keep rain, snow, dirt, crud, etc, out of the bore.
Our concerns are mainly "keep your powder dry", but damp blackpowder can and will rust steel.

Never took any of those 'precautions', never had a problem.

 

[tom_in_vt]

Unless it’s been exposed to rain (or condensation), I leave it loaded. I also don’t bring my hunting rifle from below zero to a warm house and back out multiple times.

 

[The Appalachian]

Never took any of those 'precautions', never had a problem.

I've never felt the need to swab my loaded bore with WD40 either.....so there's that.

 

[mikesto44]

Store it as long as you want. Just don't forget it's loaded....ever...!

 

[TRGRHAPY]

How long is it practical to leave a unfired rifle loaded with black powder without causing damage? If your hunting and didn't have any luck and are going out the next day or even next couple of days its a pain to have to unload your rifle and clean when you haven't shot. How corrosive is unburnt black powder?

The same BIG QUESTION that I've also been wanting to ask others for years....but never did!!! Is it "DAMAGING" or simply "HARMLESS" to leave ANY muzzleloader firearm loaded for a while(days) to avoid having to discharge/fire, clean and reload it again later, just for another hunt or practice at the range?!?! Hmmm!

 

[The Appalachian]

Y'all do know that a load can be pulled to unload a ML and avoid unwanted "cleaning", right?

A good bullet puller and a proper range rod easily pulls a roundball. That's what I do when deer season is over and I want/need to unload. They also sell CO2 discharge kits that blow the charge out with air pressure that I understand work pretty well.