Maintain Hunting Load - How?

[bkisel]

Hi,

I'm an experienced bowhunter and have been out several times hunting with my handgun but am new to ML hunting. Awhile back I bought a used percussion .50 cal. T/C PA Hunter. The rifle has been sighted in and I'm feeling confident shooting it out to maybe 60 yards or so. What I don't know is how to prepare and maintain my load during my 3 day hunt. Do I load up Sunday night before Monday's hunt? Do I do a fowling shot Monday morning and then stoke the rifle? If I don't score Monday what do I do or not do with the load still in my gun? Any information/advise you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I clean and degrease my gun the night before going hunting. The morning of the hunt I run a clean patch down the bore just to be sure then load and hunt. Have shot the gun to unload at the end of the day,clean then reload the next morning. If you want to leave it loaded un-cap then leave it outside so as not to draw moisture bring it into a warm place from the cold. As for unloading you can use a co2 discharger. Whatever works best for you. Just somethings that have worked for me.

 

[BrownBear]

That's a good question with lots of personal solutions. It gets bantied around quite a bit here, and I don't think there's any concensus between folks that reload each day and those that leave a charge in for the duration.

I will say however that if someone borrowed one of my rifles, then made fouling shot and left the bore fouled for three days, they better be wearing a football helmet when they return my rifle. Cuzz I'd use the rifle to butt stroke them right up side the head!!!! :cursing: No one fouls my bores with black powder or sub and leaves it that way for three days!

Seriously, if you feel the need for a fouling shot, I'd sure be cleaning that thing each night. I go the route of working up loads that shoot well from a clean bore. I also sight in using "one shot groups." I fire a single shot, then clean the bore completely before firing the next.

I fall in the fresh-load-each-day camp and use my CO2 discharger to empty the gun each night, followed by a pretty thorough swabbing. That reflects the very wet conditions around here, but others have perfectly good luck leaving a charge in the bore for weeks at a time. Judgement call either way, and a measure of how much you are willing to accept even a slight chance of a misfire.

 

[Vaino]

I don't use "liquid" lubricants in my Mlers....only the waxy type. Prior to hunting, I snap off 2 caps, run 2 patches down the bore, snap another cap and run one patch. I then load 'er up and if I don't encounter game within 5 days, I take an aimed shot and then clean and reload. Have never had a misfire w/ this system even in 5 days of constant rains. Fintlocks are the same except a pipe cleaner is used to clear the TH......Fred

 

[roundball]

I always sight in a rifle with each shoit out of a clean cold barrel, exactly like it'll be for a shot while out hunting. The last thing in the world I'd ever do after I've gotten a muzzleloader squeaky clean is to intentionally shoot a fouling shot.

After getting home from a hunt, I always pull or blow out a load...then I reload fresh the next time I go out.

Indeed, you'd be sick if all you have is a 3 day ML hunting opportunity, left your rifle loaded overnight, then had a misfire on a good buck the next day...a set of components is only a few dimes & nickles, and 5-10 minutes of work.

So IMO, load & sight in fresh...unload / reload fresh for every hunt...good luck on your hunt !

 

[Trench]

My rifle failed to fire last season on a doe, so I now pull my loads every evening, swab everything out, and then reload the next morning before I go out. In dry conditions I'm sure you can get away with not pulling the load over three days. Last year it was raining every day of my hunt. Duh. Should have known better. :nono:

 

[roundball]

My rifle failed to fire last season on a doe, so I now pull my loads every evening, swab everything out, and then reload the next morning before I go out. In dry conditions I'm sure you can get away with not pulling the load over three days. Last year it was raining every day of my hunt. Duh. Should have known better. :nono:

Mine was a 6 pointer at only 50-60 yards back in the 90's....54cal caplock...had a delayed fire...after the hammer fell and the cap popped, I started to come out of my hold and the darn thing went off...missed the buck of course.

Never, ever, ever have I left a rifle loaded overnight again...I wait all year just to go out deer hunting a few times and its just not worth it...there is no redeeming benefit of leaving one loaded instead of just taking a few minutes and dealing with it. Just my .02 cents of course...

 

[bkisel]

Thanks for the quick replys :applause:, I believe I'll shoot the gun in the evening, clean and then reload in the morning. Is cleaning with just patches sufficient (using 777 substitute powder) for the 3 day hunt and then a complete cleaning when I get home?

Thanks again...

 

[roundball]

I'll have to pass on that question Bill...no experience with 777...have always been a little fanatical when it comes to cleaning a ML once its been fired...couldn't live with myself if I guessed it would be OK and then have you report a pitted bore.

I pull mine instead of shooting the load out then there's nothing to clean...if you just pulled the ball (or bullet) do you have access to any means of then blowing the powder charge out with compressed air?

 

[paulvallandigham]

Why are using a substitute powder? These are Black Powder Guns, Designed to be shot using Black Powder.

There is NOT ONE substitute powder that is the equal to BLack Powder, on a number of levels.

NO, using soap and water and cleaning ( cotton flannel or linen( patchs will not be enough. 777 is reputed to be quite hydroscopic, and draws moisture. While it contains NO sulfur, and you avoid the formation of sulfuric acid, and Hydrogen sulfide( the stinky smell) the chemicals it does contain form other acids. You need to use a modern smokeless powder solvent to get the 777 residue out of the barrel. Then, unless you are using modern primers( ie., you are using percussion caps to ignite the powder) you will need to ALSO use soap and water to remove the residue from the percussion caps. Then to dry the barrel, I recommend that you flush the barrel and breech with alcohol, and let the gun air dry over night. In the morning, just to be safe, I recommend running a dry cleaning patch down the barrel to absorb any moisture that might be down there. Run a pipe cleaner through the flash channel and visually check the nipple to make sure there is nothing blocking the small oriface there. Put the dry clean nipple back in the gun, and then load it again for the day.

If you are hunting in damp conditions, I recommend that you put a piece of plastic wrap over the muzzle before loading the PRB, or heaven forbid, a copper jacketed pistol bullet in a plastic sabot! Trim the plastic wrap at the muzzle so it forems a moisture barrier between the powder and the muzzle. ( the plastic sabot is not good enough to do this.) Then, when you go to cap the nipple, put a piece of plastic over the nipple before you put the percussion cap on it. Trim the plastic. This provides a barrier for moisture getting under the percussion cap, down the nipple, and through the flash channel to the powder charge in the barrel and contaminating it. You can be sure the gun will fire, unless its been under water for some time.

 

[BrownBear]

Thanks for the quick replys :applause:, I believe I'll shoot the gun in the evening, clean and then reload in the morning. Is cleaning with just patches sufficient (using 777 substitute powder) for the 3 day hunt and then a complete cleaning when I get home?

Thanks again...

777 residue is water soluble, but that's only half the game. Once it's out, you've still got bare metal down in the bore. Doing what you're trying to do, I'd follow the cleaning with dry patches and alcohol, then a few patches of plain old bore butter just to put a barrier between the metal and the air. In the AM I'd run a dry swab or two down it and pop a cap, then load. In theory seating the lubed patched ball should put a little more coating back on the bore, but if you was worried, you could always make another pass with a patch of bore butter once the loading was done.

I do that and have never had a speck of rust. Of course, PC or not, living here in rain country I'm a believer in a strip of electrical tape over the muzzle as a last step before heading out the door. You never know it's there when you shoot, but it sure keeps things including water out of the bore.

A young friend just learned (the hard way, of course) about keeping things out of the bore. He got a brand new lightweight 30-06 and scope last Christmas. Gun of his dreams. Huntng the brush last week, he drew down and fired on a nice buck. Who knows exactly what got down the bore, but I'm betting on a berry stalk. When he cracked the trigger the barrel split end to end. Lucky not to have been hurt, much less his hunting pard right next to him. Real trustworthy kid shooting factory ammo, so no other explanation.

 

[Emet Huntsman]

The same rule applies in our hunting camp whether cartridge or ML -- no loaded guns in camp!. If you are hunting with ML and do not fire it before the end of the day, you are required to clear the barrel. How yo clear it is up to you. Safety before convenience.
:v