POLL - Why People Don't Unload a ML

[roundball]

I believe that the vast majority of hunters who use modern rifles/shotguns for hunting, routinely unload them after a hunt.
By contrast, a large percentage of ML hunters appear to do the opposite...leaving their MLs loaded for various amounts of time during hunting seasons.
What are the reasons for doing that?

 

[Mike Brooks]

I'll be the first to comment. :wink: When I hunt a stretch of 3 days to a week I leave the gun loaded if I've been hunting in nice weather and there was no chance of wetting my charge. Otherwise why unload it? It should go off (and does) just as fast after a week in the barrel as it does after a day.
So, I voted "none of the above".

 

[RC]

ditto w/ Mike...never had a problem....and circumstances,or location,,,, may be a bigger factor in decision to reload or not than preference.. .....
plus always have that "feelin" after I fire the gun to empty...wonder if it'll go off after I clean an reload.... :hmm:

dirt floor candlelight woodstove 3 mile carry.. :hmm: :haha:

 

[longcruise]

With the second highest response being "none of the above", there must be some missing options.

I'm a none of the above and my answer, after many hunts and having left my rifle loaded for up to three weeks before firing and killing an animal, is "why unload it?" There is no reason, at least for me, to unload the gun.

 

[greyghost]

Most of the rifle and shotgun hunters don't have to clean after a hunt unless they have fired a round or two, they just pop the shell out. But with black powder it's different. I have to clean my ML if I unload and never took a shot because of corrosion.
Like Mike said, it depends on the weather. :wink:

 

[Swampman]

What Mike said.

 

[Dave K]

When squirrel season is here, I may hunt and shoot it everyday. No need to unload and clean a gun everyday. Same thing with dove season. You can't be dumb about it, but there may have been more guns damaged by cleaning. Again, you can't be dumb about it.

 

[mrclean100]

I hope by " unload " you meant shoot . This I do just because I enjoy shooting . Someday , when I'm really really old I might dread cleaning the gun or stuffing one more round down it but I'm not there yet . :blah:

 

[CZMark]

During the season, I'll leave mine loaded for up to three days. I've got so many things going on during deer season, I don't want to take extra time to clean my gun if not necessary.

 

[roundball]

"none of the above", there must be some missing options.

Agree there could well be many more reasons...hard to think of all the things that every individual might have for a rreason so I listed the obvious ones that came to mind and assumed if anyone picked 'none of the above' they'd comment on additional reasons in posts, etc

 

[tg]

I agree with the missing options, "no reason to" in many instances, it is not a safety issue, it won't hurt the gun, if things are dry the load is good for the next day or next weekend.I have complete fait thta if I choose not to unload at the end of the day the gun will fire next time out if need be.

 

[Dphar]

I load a perfectly clean rifle and leave it loaded for as long as I want. But I also like to shoot.
So after a few days I generally shoot the load out.
Sooner if I see a rock that needs shooting at the end of the day and wonder "can I hit it from here". Or if its snowy/rainy.

Dan

 

[Roy]

I never gave it much thought. I shot my second flintlock deer after the gun was loaded for 5 days.. If its raining out I will shoot it at the end of the day. Never fails to go off though.

 

[Bob Gular]

I pull the ball, dump the powder, and use the breech scraper to make sure I get it all. Reasons being: I day hunt close to home, sometimes not consecutively, and have a problem with a loaded rifle in the truck or house. Maybe this comes from years of being a range officer, or it could be that I don't trust my memory. Although a long shot, an "unprimed" flintlock can still fire.

 

[hogslayer]

Hi All ,This is my first post but i thought i had to tell this story .Thirty two years ago i had trouble with deer in my garden so i kept my Enfield two band loaded and all i had to do was pop on a cap,i keep the gun in what i thought was a safe place,this day i got called away (trouble with cattle on the road) On this day my son thought it would be great to practice popping a few caps ,Dads away who's to no,when i return home i was greeted by my wife the local police and a DEAD dog.That gentlemen is why i ALWAYS unload my gun after a shoot.(yes my son did recover he's married with two wonderfull daugthers)

 

[Bill/Ms.]

After seeing all the responses, I thought I'd check out my .54 caliber. It was loaded on the day before the first gun season for deer which would be about mid-November. Aimed at a spot on a tree about 45 yds. away and fired- hit the spot. Cleaned the barrel and guess what? It was one shot dirty. I usually have reason to fire the rifle during the season but this year I didn't. There is absolutely no reason to get rid of the load every day and load fresh.
Be Well,
Bill Ridout

 

[rabjr]

I'll be the first to comment. :wink: When I hunt a stretch of 3 days to a week I leave the gun loaded if I've been hunting in nice weather and there was no chance of wetting my charge. Otherwise why unload it? It should go off (and does) just as fast after a week in the barrel as it does after a day.
So, I voted "none of the above".

Like Mike said. If you do everything right in loading your gun to begin with, unloading is unnecessary every night.

 

[sproulman]

when i was 12 ,after hunting buck with dad , i put the hawkins between my legs while we were on our way home.
i had the hammer at half cock with no powder in pan.

for some DUMB reason i squeezed the trigger and it went off in car. :nono:

i shot a hole thru the floor of car. :shocked2:

there was so much smoke and dust from carpet in car i could not see dad. :shake:

my brother was in the rear seat with a coat over his head. :rotf:

so, i believe its smart to unload gun at end of day . :thumbsup:

 

[aloyalistdawg]

OK Guys
It is actually smart to unload, one way or the other.. Safety speaks for it's self, but one can never tell if the powder is ready for the next use.. It only takes a few cents, and minutes to unload and reload.. after all who would want to give up a buck because moisture leaked in with temperature change from being outside in the cold to warm beside the woodstove... :cursing: :redface: Happened to once still red faced after hearing nothing but a fresh cap going off..
Best regards a loyalist Dawg :hatsoff:

 

[tg]

"for some DUMB reason i squeezed the trigger and it went off in car. "

This is where a plugged vent hole and a hammer stall are an important part of flintlock gun safety. and to unload or not is absolutely a matter of personal choice there is no high ground that the "safety p[olice" can sit on and preach( pretty good huh? they may share the same offices as the PC police) Darwin will sort things out in time and it is usually a better world for it.