Tooks my trade rifle out

[txcookie]

So I took my trade rifle out last weekend. It had been loaded back on Nov10. I had often wondered how long you could lead a load in well I caped it and dropped the hammer! Dead on at 50 shot just fine!

 

[Tony Logan]

I just never had the nerve to do it. I would forget it was loaded if i tried that. I would either double load it or wind up with on heck of a surprise when I busted a cap to clear the nipple.

 

[tiger955]

Here is a real clever trick... Take a piece of note paper, write LOADED on it with a red magic marker, and tape it to the barrel! JK :v
Actually I am in the habit of dropping my ramrod down the barrel before loading on a clean gun, easy to tell if loaded that way. Don't really know how or why, just a habit I picked up. I never leave my guns loaded anyway. I also do that when looking at a gun at a shop.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I used to do a lot of "repair" work for a good friend who never could learn the importance of cleaning black powder guns. He also had a bad habit of leaving his guns loaded! So it became automatic to check for loads in any gun I pick up to work on! :hmm: :hmm:

 

[CoyoteJoe]

A couple of days ago I shot my Zouave which had been loaded for two years with 100 grains of 2f, a fiber wad and a patched ball lubed with deer tallow. It fired off crisp and clean and shot center. I too use a Post It note secured to the barrel with a rubber band.

 

[Rhett Griffith]

6 months is the longest I have ever left one loaded (FFg Black Powder), but that one went off like it had been freshly loaded! I have had a little more trouble with Pyrodex that was left in for a couple of weeks, but that could have been oil in the breech. :idunno:

 

[Semisane]

I have one sitting in the closet that I loaded some time back in November on a squeaky clean barrel. I know it will shoot when I want it to. I keep a couple of 18" pieces of surveyor's tape in my shooting gear marked with a Sharpie to identify loaded guns.

 

[tg]

I have left MLs loaed for several months and they worked fine and took Deer having them completely free of water and oil at loading and keeping the internalsd that way is essential but if this is doen they will work I even hunt in a light or mild rain and just wipe the gun/lock/barrel down and run a lightly oiled patch, down to the ball followed by a dry one, out of curiosity, what kind of Trade Rifle do you have, English pattern, Lancaster pattern, Lehman,or other?

 

[rjgreen123]

how did you get that scope mounted on there? I assumed that you could not do that on a GPR or traditonal ML.