The tag on a loaded muzzleloader is a good idea but it has its flaws. After you shuffle off this mortal coil, will your heirs be careful to make sure the tag remains on the rifle or will they unload it? If they fire it to unload it, will they know to clean it or how to clean it to keep it from becoming ruined? Just thoughts.
I am one of those folks who inherited an old rifle from my brother-in-law. it was a very old middle eastern matchlock. No telling how old it was but it had obviously spent many years in storage in some warehouse. I have no idea of where all it had been nor how long each person had it. My brother-in-law had kept it in his gunsafe for many years before I got it. Then I had it for several years before thinking of checking for an old charge in it. Lord save us, it was
still loaded for all these many years. I used a patch worm to dig out a bunch of very dry and crumbly paper wadding, then I dug into some greyish white crumbly stuff that turned out to be very corroded shot. That was followed by more crumbly wadded paper. Once that was out, I dug out some old black powder. No idea how old it was but it must have been well over a hundred years old. It could have been over 2 hundred years old, I don't know. Out of curiosity, I took the old powder out to my driveway and struck a match to it to see if it would still burn. It
did.......in a big flash and a big puff of smoke. What if, in all those years, someone had been smoking while they were handling the gun and a spark from their cigarette or cigar had fallen into the pan? It was a tragedy looking for an opportunity.
That is why I never bring a loaded gun into the house nor transport one in my car. What if I had an accident and the person who was removing my things from my car didn't know that it was a loaded gun? I just prefer to have my gun unloaded except when I am at the range or in the woods. It is safer that way and I like for my guns to always look as near the way they did the day I bought them as I can. Yeah, I may be a bit OCD about my guns but that's okay. :hatsoff: