Loading flintlock for a hunt

[Ben Meyer]

I did the molle pack frame too, and yes, its tge only way to go! I'm a big guy, had a Summit Titan, which was tge biggest (and heaviest) climber made.

I sold it, bought another ladderstand! And last year took 2 deer out of ut, a buck with my compound bow, and a doe with my Hawken.

 

[Art Caputo]

I will put a new flint in and test it for spark then load my patched ball and powder. I will leave it until a shot is taken. My pan will be dumped each day or when I think it pays to refresh it in damp weather. I will use a cows knee and plug my flash hole if conditions call for it. For a second shot, if needed, I use a loading block and powder horn with measured spout, and will prime from the horn as well. This all comes natural and works fastest for me.

 

[r00ster]

I’ve kept flintlocks loaded for a week or more during hunting season if weather is right, but doesn’t seem to happen often....

Side note, and a good gun safety story.

I hadn't hunted with my dad or my flintlock in years, like probably close to a decade. The gun had been in a gun sock in a fairly damp basement for that whole time. When I got married, my wife and I were back in town for the wedding and were going to be driving back to the west coast. This was my only chance to pick up the guns I'd been separated from for all these years.

So I grab the flintlock and a few other guns, put them in the back of the car and drive about a half hour down to my wife's parent's house. I decide before I pack it all up for the long haul that I should probably check to see if the flintlock is loaded right? Well turns out it is. SO I prime it, hammer back, took aim at a dirt backstop and let er rip. Went off first try after a decade of being loaded in a humid basement.

Obviously there was a big gun safety error made when we put it away like that which is why its always important to treat every gun like its loaded, because in this case it was.

 

[SDSmlf]

Side note, and a good gun safety story.

I hadn't hunted with my dad or my flintlock in years, like probably close to a decade. The gun had been in a gun sock in a fairly damp basement for that whole time. When I got married, my wife and I were back in town for the wedding and were going to be driving back to the west coast. This was my only chance to pick up the guns I'd been separated from for all these years.

So I grab the flintlock and a few other guns, put them in the back of the car and drive about a half hour down to my wife's parent's house. I decide before I pack it all up for the long haul that I should probably check to see if the flintlock is loaded right? Well turns out it is. SO I prime it, hammer back, took aim at a dirt backstop and let er rip. Went off first try after a decade of being loaded in a humid basement.

Obviously there was a big gun safety error made when we put it away like that which is why its always important to treat every gun like its loaded, because in this case it was.

While not foolproof, I attach a tag to the trigger guard stating the gun is loaded with a wire and place a piece of electrical tape over the muzzle of any muzzleloader I bring back from the range or field that has powder and ball in the bore. So far so good, but only the bride and I in the house, so really just for me - she doesn’t shoot. Plus I have a habit of checking every muzzleloader with a ramrod before handling or loading.