powder in chamber how long can you leave it

[canuck4570]

when hunting if you load and leave the gun loaded a few days without thanking out the charge will it cause rust where the powder is.... thank you

 

[Heinrich]

I've left a charge of Wano FFFg inside my Ardessa Ranger with patched RB for 5 days during a hunting trip. No signs of corrosion.

 

[Mad Professor]

Not much of a problem if barrel/chamber is spotless clean to start with (e.g. sight in with a clean barrel) and all remians dry (piece of tape over muzzle and I wax my cap with drippings from a candle).

If you're not sure everything stayed dry and/or barrel had some fouling residue from previous shots I'd say fire/pull the charge and clean it.

 

[mbritt]

I used to have a 50 cal percussion pistol that I kept loaded with black powder for months at a time and it always fired okay and I never had any pitting in the barrel. I always started out with a clean dry barrel and used powder that was completly dry and I had a tight fitting cap.

When deer hunting this past fall I left my flintlock loaded for two weeks and it fired okay and there was no pitting in the barrel. At the end of every days hunting I brought the gun indoors where it was very warm and dry. I think it's important to load it with a clean dry barrel and use powder that is completly dry. I mention using powder that is dry because it's been my experience that powder that is kept in a metal flask in cold weather tends to absorb a little moisture from the air.

 

[Titus]

one of our clubmembers left a charge in his rifle for two weeks. shot went of first time.

 

[fw707]

I fired a shot today from my smoothbore that had been in the gun for 16 days. It went off the first time the hammer fell like it had just been loaded.
The barrel was squeaky clean when I loaded it, and I kept a wad of cleaning patches packed tightly against the touch hole and held tight by the flint when I wasn't in the woods hunting. I did that mostly for safety reasons, but I guess it kept the charge sealed off pretty well too.

 

[Rat Trapper]

During hunting season I leave my loaded rifle in a case out on an unheated porch over night. I do not bring it into the house until it is time to clean it. I put black tape over the muzzle and some leather over the nipple and let the hammer down on to the leather. Have never had any problems doing this. With all the deer around here I normally never have to let the rifle sit loaded for over a week.

 

[cheatherly]

Thompson Center Renegade 50 cal.It had been hanging in my gun rack for at least 4 years.I had regularly cleaned it, and part of my cleaning process is to spray rust preventative down the bore.Well I finally checked it one day and it was loaded.Fired on the third cap I believe.Looking back I should have just pulled the bullet, youth you know.The chamber was not damaged, and the shot seemed to be unhurt by the solvent. Now, I will not leave any thing loaded.Bullets are pulled after a hunt,or fired after a range day.

 

My son and I share a specific ML. He took it to the range to demo loading procedures to a friend and left a blank charge in the bore for a month (no ball - shooting blanks). When I went to clean the rifle I nearly freaked because I thought he had left in a complete load - the powder charge was hot and when dumped it burned with a match. No damage to the bore was done - but this rifle was stored in a dehumidified environment. We revisited safety procedures rather intensely after the incident.

 

[shmrck1]

Michel,
I know unless I shoot it my load during deer season has stayed for 5days and I have never had a problem with ignition on the last day. I have
never noticed a corrosion problem either.Just my
opinion.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. Mongrain Michel,
We have left a muzzleloader charged with 2F Goex for four or five months over the winter. Come spring it fired just fine and there was no sign of rust.
Best Wishes