Leaving smoothbore loaded

[woodsman1]

I left my .62 smoothie loaded after spring squirrel season was over in June. Of course I removed the cap. What is ya'lls opinion iffin the load is still good to fire. I know that rifle loads have been found loaded for up to a 100 years or more and still shoot. I haven't heard about a shotgun load.

Draw a Fine Bead on Em Son!!!! Bobby

 

[roundball]

I haven't heard about a shotgun load.

Whether a rifle or smoothbore shouldn't make a difference.
For what it's worth, it's not a risk I personally feel like taking...pulling a load only takes a few seconds and only costs pennies.
If I'm going to go to the trouble of a hunt and getting something in my sights, I want a known fresh load in there when the hammer drops.

 

[sidelock]

Cap her up and see. May take 2 or 3 caps but I dought it. I have left my .50 T/C loaded for up to 6 mo. loaded and she fired just fine. I leave the cap on also and works fine when fired off. :thumbsup: I know this goes agin most folks here, but it works for me. :hatsoff:

 

[paulvallandigham]

It depends on where it was stored, and how much humidity it has been exposed to. You could have a lot of corrosion occurring in that powder chamber. I would pull it, or shoot it out, into the ground, and clean that gun ASAP, and then kick myself for not taking better care of my gun. If the powder is dry, the gun should fire. I would not wait to fire that load at game, however. The lead pellets may have corroded together, and instead of sending out a pattern, you will be shooting a goofy looking slug.

 

[E Poffinbarger]

Woodsman1:

Will it fire, probably, maybe, who knows, as stated it depends on the storage environment!

However, IMHO to avoid the damaging effects of corrosion one should always thoroughly clean any muzzleloader before storing for the "off season".

Osage

 

[nw_hunter]

Humidity!! "Heck fire" There ain't no humidity in Southern Arkansas. There sure are some nice Bass in the lakes though. I caught me a nice 10 pounder in Lake Monticello this summer while on vacation.OOPS! Wrong thread!!!
*********************************************
. Before you judge someone, you should walk a mile
in their shoes. That way, when you judge them, you'll
be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

 

[paulvallandigham]

My father made a big deal out of making us take care of our guns. It was a good lesson, and has preserved my firearms for 40 years. I don't tell you what to do. I said I would kick myself in the butt for not cleaning the gun sooner.

I actually did shoot a 12 gauge shotgun shell that was very old, just to see if it would fire. We had three shells that belonged to my grandfather and probably dated back to the 1920s. they had roll crimps, which pretty much puts them at Pre-WWII. We were simply trying to dispose of them, by firing them out of a well made gun. The one shell that went off had lead shot that corroded and fused together. It put a hole in a paper target at 50 yards that was about the size of a small fist. Most of the shot was a solid mass. Ever since then, I have been cautious about what I expect from lead shot that has been in casings, or in the barrel too long. My storage area is A/Ced, so I don't worry about my reloads. But when I am given shells that have been sitting in someone's garage for a year or three, I have to wonder what will come out the barrel. When I suspect from any other indications that the cartridges have been compromised, I break a shell apart to check it.

In this case, I don't hesitate to tell this member to fire the load out of gun into the ground, and then give it a good cleaning. Depending on how he loaded the gun in the first place, he may not have any problems with rust at all.

 

[chuck-ia]

I would feel better about leaving a modern gun loaded than a muzzleloader. A modern gun most anyone can tell if it is loaded, not so with a muzzleloader. Really don't understand why one would leave a muzzleloader loaded, unless one was gonna use it the next day, and then put a tag on the trigger guard LOADED. I can understand leaving a muzzleloader loaded if one is to hunt with it the next day, but to leave it loaded for weeks or months at a time, well, laziness, comes to mind. Think about it, if you had a loaded muzzleloader in the house, would you feel comftorable letting your son, daughter, grandson or whoever handle the gun, maybe pop a cap to see how loud it is? Well, that could happen if you died in your sleep. flinch

 

[paulvallandigham]

While I agree with you in principal, Anyone who touches a ML without first pulling the ramrod, running it down the barrel to feel and hear what it might be hitting, then marking the rod, pulling it out, and laying the ramrod along the outside of the barrel to see where then end of the rod stops , HAS NO BUSINESS HANDLING A ML. PERIOD. It is the basic savety rule for muzzle loaders.Always check to see that the ML you are handling is empty. Now after years of doing this, I can feel and hear the difference when my rod strikes a lead ball or OS card, rather than the metallic ' clink " i get when it strikes the breechplug face. I rarely have to lay the rod down along the outside of the barrel to know the gun is loaded or empty. I do teach this method to all new shooters. I use to teach marking the rod, and checking the mark, until I found that I wanted to change my load, and therefore had to put a new set of marks on the rod. It got to the point after several changes that I didn't know which mark meant what. So, if someone does use a mark on his rod to tell him a gun is loaded or unloaded, that is fine to me. However, I no longer rely on it. I don't think its wrong to do so, provided there is only one mark indicating that the gun is empty!

 

[chuck-ia]

Most people have no clue how to check if a muzzleloader is loaded or not, just assume it is not loaded. I should make that clearer, most people that know nothing about muzzleloaders are more apt to assume it is not loaded, and these people shoot modern guns. I know guys around here that leave their muzzleloaders, (if you want to call them that) loaded after the season ends. I see no point in it, laziness comes to mind again. Sorry if I come off a bit strong on this subject. But I would hate to hear of any accidents involving an assumed unloaded muzzleloader , especially if someone was killed by a supposedly unloaded gun. I know mistakes can happen, along with dumbass attacks, (I have more than my fair share) but to knowingly leave a muzzleloader loaded for a long period of time is just asking for trouble. I think we are having a hard enough time keeping this sport alive as it is, I can only imagine what would happen around here if there was an accident involving a supposedly unloaded muzzleloader. If you are going to leave it loaded just put a tag on it LOADED, that way if something happens to you your loved ones know it is loaded and can deal with it. flinch

 

[woodsman1]

Ok. You guys... I get the picture. I wanted to know and now I do. As for safety... I am. My family is. And we all shoot. Each member has their own gun. From the wife (she has two) down to the 11 year old daughter. For the most part they are not into muzzleloading (yet) and don't touch them. They are very safe in handling firearms. All taught from a very young age. But as you say accidents (cause that is what they are; if not they would by purposes!)can and do happen. I am taking care of the loaded smoothie right after this post. By the way. I'll let ya know iffin it shoots and how it did. BTW it will not be left loaded again.... Thanks.... :redface:

Draw a Fine Bead on Em Son!!! Bobby

 

[woodsman1]

Well the 3 month old load still fired. I shot
at a sheet of typing paper with a 1" dot in the center. 60 gr 3f 70 gr measure of #6 shot at 25 yds. I was disappointed to say the least. The load fired, but seemed to have less recoil than I was expecting. Only 4 pellets hit the paper about 3 inches under the center dot. Guess this proves the point. "Don't leave your shotgun loaded." To say the least, I had to shoot some more. Fresh load was placed down the tube. Used a shot cup made from a post it. Read about them here. Very pleased. Shot this load- same 60-3f & 70-#6's at 25 yds. Pellets hit all around the center dot, jut did not hit it. Recoil was as expected. Iffin it had a been a squirrel, I'd be a eatin fried squirrel for supper.

Draw a Fine Bead on Em Son!!! Bobby