ML hunting cold weather

[phoenix511]

I'm looking for advice on handling flinters and percussion on a multi-day hunt.

I hunt where temps may go down to 15F and to 60F daytime. I prefer to load in the AM and leave the firearms outside, while spending nights in a heated "shack." The dew forms on some nights.

Can they absorb moisture through the nipple or touch hole? Some disappointments in past years where firearms didn't fire, and sometimes they do. Should they be discharged at the end of the day and re-loaded in the AM?

 

[ebiggs1]

I would!

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I would recommend a CO2 EC Unloader to clear the guns each evening to avoid having to clean them after discarging. After blowing the ball and powder out, I'd just run an alcohol dampened patch down the bore and call it good until reloading in the morning.

It's a tough call on whether it would be better to bring the guns in for the night sometimes if you know that there will be dew or any rain/snow. I would think the best compromise would be somewhere unheated and protected from the dew.

 

[Rogue River]

On my capper I put a cardboard OP wad in end of barrel and a patch over the nipple with the hammer down and leave rifle outside in the vehicle or somewhere there isn't a great tempature change (dew is not good). In the morning I pull the wad and put the cap on. I've left them loaded for two weeks w/no problems.

 

[RC]

I don't unload mine for days at a time,,,,depending on the weather,,(if it rains then probably,maybe but) I make sure the gun is hung or standing barrel pointed down an plug the touch hole w/ a toothpick,(placed away from the stove)....it's worked for me for years in n.y.'s adirondack mts.,camped in a canvas tent...never had a problem with the load going off..(during rain a lil scotch tape over the muzzle and a cow's knee don't hurt... :thumbsup: )

 

[frontierman01]

I'd empty the gun at the end of the day and before loading on the day of the hunt, run a dry patch down the barrel first.

 

[rabjr]

I'm looking for advice on handling flinters and percussion on a multi-day hunt.

I hunt where temps may go down to 15F and to 60F daytime. I prefer to load in the AM and leave the firearms outside, while spending nights in a heated "shack." The dew forms on some nights.

Can they absorb moisture through the nipple or touch hole? Some disappointments in past years where firearms didn't fire, and sometimes they do. Should they be discharged at the end of the day and re-loaded in the AM?

Normally I don't but I take certain steps to make sure the gun fires. I can go up to two weeks sometimes before firing my flinter. Now you said two things that would make me recommend you unload/reload everyday. One the extreme temp fluctuation and your past misfortunes. I would think you can end those problems with a flinter by making sure it's clean and loaded every morning.

If a percussion is cleaned right, loaded and then the nipple taken off and 3F dribbled under it to fill the chamber under it and then replaced, you may get away from unloading every night. Hell I hunted in rain and some pretty bad weather and my percussion's always went off. Even after being left loaded in the safe for a year, just to prove a point.

 

[tg]

". Should they be discharged at the end of the day and re-loaded in the AM?"

I never have had to, you can plug the vent and put the gun in a truck cab I would think things would work well on the one occasion over the last 15 years we did have temps down to 12-15 degrees overnight my gun was in the pickup over night and it went off fine at the end of the next day,(seasons end)

 

[smokehouseman]

Having lived and hunted with a ML in Alaska for 30 years I've experienced a lot of severe weather and varying conditions. A discharger is probably the safest way to go at the end of a days hunt but make sure you use a scraper to ensure you get all the powder out of the barrel. I have left the charge in over night, but what I do is put my gun in a soft canvas case at night and leave the gun outside in a protected area but out of the heat of the tent or wherever you're bedding down for the night. My biggest problem which occurred a couple of years ago was my percussion caps failing to discharge after becoming damp from perspiration while they were hung around my neck and inside my shirt. Just moved them to a pocket and out of a sweaty environment. I also put duct tape or cellophane over the nipple during rainy or snowy conditions. Anyway that's what's worked for me.

 

[Trench]

For peace of mind, I pull my ball and charge at the end of every day. Like you, I had a bad experience once.

 

[rabjr]

". Should they be discharged at the end of the day and re-loaded in the AM?"

I never have had to, you can plug the vent and put the gun in a truck cab I would think things would work well on the one occasion over the last 15 years we did have temps down to 12-15 degrees overnight my gun was in the pickup over night and it went off fine at the end of the next day,(seasons end)

I pretty much do the same as you TG but the extreme in temp he is dealing with through out the course of a day would worry me. So I wouldn;t blame him for discharging the flinter for piece of mind.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I fire off the load at the end of each day. I don't understand the reluctance to do this. It doesn't spook deer. In fact, I was with 6 other hunters unloading our guns by shooting at a damaged apple tree that had to come down, when 3 deer ran across the meadow where we were shooting. It was dark, and of course, NO ONE'S gun was loaded when the deer appeared. It was the last deer any of us saw on the property that weekend.

I guess it comes down to not wanting to clean the barrel out after shooting out the load. Its very short work- much shorter than when I clean the gun after a long session at the range. I live and hunt in the middle of the country, where relative humidity can be quite high in November, when our firearms deer season takes place. Condensation is as much a problem as getting water down the barrel when it rains.

As to shooting flintlocks and percussion guns during cold weather, you can keep the powder dry by using an OP wad between the powder charge and your PRB, or bullet, or simply put some cellophane over the muzzle before placing the patch and seating the ball in the muzzle. Then trim off the excess plastic. The plastic will provide a good seal against moisture fouling the powder. The same cellophane can be put over your nipple on a percussion gun, UNDER the Percussion cap, to keep moisture out of the barrel from that end. Carried that way, the gun will fire in the worst rainstorms. With a flintlock, you can use the same approach to protect your powder from the front of the barrel. At the rear, you have to plug the vent hole with a toothpick to seal out the moisture. Use the round toothpicks often sold for birthday party use. Again, carried this way, so that you prime the pan just before you fire the gun, a flintlock will fire in the worst of rainstorms.

Do store a loaded, but uncapped, or unprimed, rifle out of your living quarters over night, when hunting in cold weather. The moisture and heat differential in the cabin or tent where you sleep will cause condensation of moisture inside the barrel, and even cause moisture within the powder charge to condense and foul the powder charge. That is why I don't take the chance of having a gun that may not fire the next day.

That hunt when all 7 of us discharged our guns, 5 of the hunters were shooting percussion guns. NONE of them discharged when the guns were first fired. We 2 flintlock shooters had to " loan" them all priming powder- and I had to get out my nipple wrench to remove and replace the nipple on one man's gun, because he didn't bring his nipple wrench with him!-- before the guns would fire. Both flintlocks fired the first time we pulled the triggers. :cursing: :surrender: :thumbsup:

Learn your "lessons" from other's mistake, not your own. Its far less painful. :haha: :hatsoff:

 

[Ken Rummer]

When a cold gun is brought into a warm room, water immediately starts to condense on the gun. If cold enough you can get ice. This condensate will also form inside the bore which is bad.

I cover the muzzle with a condum I bought from TotW, I think, and cover the nipple with a piece of innertube and the hammer down. Also put the gun inside a case or wrap it in saran wrap. This keeps the water off the gun and out of the bore while it is warming up.

While still outside, I put the rifle in a soft case with a plastic/rubber exterior to keep the water off it. Condensation in a warm room is immediate.

 

[tg]

"So I wouldn;t blame him for discharging the flinter for piece of mind"

No doubt, one should never hunt with a gun if they are not comfortable with the reliability of the gun in the conditions they are facing, I was just commenting that the one time I experienced a similar swing in temps all went well leaving the gun loaded.

 

[Dphar]

I'm looking for advice on handling flinters and percussion on a multi-day hunt.

I hunt where temps may go down to 15F and to 60F daytime. I prefer to load in the AM and leave the firearms outside, while spending nights in a heated "shack." The dew forms on some nights.

Can they absorb moisture through the nipple or touch hole? Some disappointments in past years where firearms didn't fire, and sometimes they do. Should they be discharged at the end of the day and re-loaded in the AM?

Make a leather cover for the rifle, elk weight cow hide is good. "Grease" with Sno-Seal. If its just cold you can leave it loaded for several days.
If the shack is cold when you get there you can take a
If its wet and you don't have a cover you will have problems with flint and probably percussion too.
Make sure the gun is completely clean and dry before loading. I wash the oil out with alcohol then dry that then load. Fouling sucks up moisture from the air if the humidity is high.

Dan