unloading

[Keppy]

Well Minnesota muzzleloader deer hunt started today. No luck, but still a long season. :grin: Anyways there has been talk about unloading after the days hunt on this forum. The temp here was 5 degrees this morning and got up to 25 today. So I pulled the ball and fired the cap. Don't know if I could have left it over till tomorrow. But the cold temps here, I thought it was the best thing to do. Any body else hunt in cold temps?

 

[Pittsburghunter]

Depending on the rules where you hunt If you can bring the gun home but leave it in the cold it should be ok. Up at camp we leave our m/l on the porch so the warmth of the camp will not cause them to sweat putting moisture down the bore and spoiling your powder.

If you don't want to leave it loaded shooting it off at the end of the day is a good plan because you get to see whether you were carrying a rifle or a cllub all day.

 

[roundball]

I don't leave a rifle loaded, always loading fresh for the next hunt.

The only difference is that I don't shoot it out so I don't have to do a complete cleaning...I pull everything and/or blow it all out with compressed air

 

[Pittsburghunter]

Roundball that is a good point if you, a) hunt from home and, b) have a compressor. Most of use folks don't and I like the club or rifle test anyway espesially if it was a damp day. It is nice to know your rifle will go boom when you pull the trigger.

You are right though you need to do a quick cleaning before the next day. I need to clean shot off rifles in the kitchen more often so my wife will buy me a compressor :grin:

 

[roundball]

".....I pull everything and/or blow it all out with compressed air....."


(and/or)

 

[Pittsburghunter]

You will love my latest bp tool. The blow dryer.

Yep I bought one just for cleaning and lubing my guns. First I bought it for drying out my .44 revolver then I found It worked great for blowing the oil in around all the tiny parts you can't get at. Well one thing lead to another and it works just nice as can be drying out triggers locks and all after a day in the rain. Spray a little Rem oil on and whoosh into all those little nooks and crannys. lol, You also use it to blow out the extra oil you put on.

My centerfire hunting buddy now has one for his shotgun and rifle lol. He asked me "What are you doing?" when I showed him he loved the idea.

 

[roundball]

Makes sense, especially the heat part

 

[ffffg]

for hunting in very cold weather or even below freezing you need to take all components that you use in the field that are liquid and put them in the freezer overnight.. if they harden, crystalize sepparate etc youll need to change these components.. i like for rifle and shotgun lube-- tc lube (yellow stuff in the tube,) bore butter i think its called.. youl need to put some in a cap box and keep it in your shirt pocket to keep it from resembleing a rock when you need to load.. for wipe/cleaner i use murphy soap oil and denatured alcohol, both should be availbale from wall mart. test in freezer for amount of mixture.. the colder it gets the more alcohol youl need.. ive used strait alcohol on occasion... . i dont wipe in winter unless i have to.. i work up a non wiping load.. you may need to load immediatly after you shoot as the muzzel fouling can get rock hard in the winter .. its soft, well kinda, for a very short while.. when im going home after a shot i always run 1-3 heavily oiled patchs down the bore....i started this after ruining a goodine barrel.. fouling, condensed water in bore, with a long ride home can mean disaster.. a well oiled properly fit patch will stop this problem..and then it seems to clean up just fine with soapy water when i get home.. below 40 degrees i have good luck with the wax type lubes like tc lube.. when it gets hot and starts to melt it gets pretty squirely in my opinion, so i dont use it for rifle in warm weather.... dave.

 

[Keppy]

Thanks guys. It's suppose to be colder tomorrow. I will try the air compressor trick. I have to work Monday and won't hunt til next Saturday. That way I won't have to clean much. Thanks again

 

[Halftail]

Hey,
I got me one of those C02 Ball Discharger rigs and used it every night after hunting this fall.I hunted probably 24 out of a possible 30 days,and every day started with a new load.Cabelas has them for a resonable price and you can get adaptors for flint too.

 

[leadball]

So are you saying you do not have to clean the gun if you pull/blow the powder and ball out?

 

[Shooey]

Hacksaw, I agree with the others when they said you can leave it loaded as long as you don't bring it in a warm cabin or truck. I've left them loaded for as long as three days, but leave it where it's cold. Went off fine at the end of the hunt.
I would not recommend pulling a ball with powder behind it! I'd much rather shoot the thing and clean it than risk it going off while I'm pulling a ball. If you must pull the ball, take the nipple off and dribble some water or oil in to ruin the powder.

-Shooey

 

[vermontfreedom]

If damp here in PA, especially during our early (October) season, I'll pull my ball after a hunt. In the late season (late December-mid January), I will leave a load in and leave my rifle out in the cold. A buddy of mine left his rifle loaded the entire season (never firing at a deer) and it went off when he fired prior to cleaning and storage. I won't do that because I'm nervous about it not going off during a hunt.

I used to fire my gun after each unsuccessful hunt, now I just pull the ball to save the hassle of cleaning. I use a fouling scraper to remove any powder at the bottom of the barrel and run as many dry patches as it takes to get the bore clean and free of powder. If necessary, I sometimes use a liquid lube (e.g., Lehigh Valley) to clean once before the dry patches.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with pulling a ball on top of a main charge! Really, is it any more dangerous than loading a ball over a main charge? I say no.

 

[roundball]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with pulling a ball on top of a main charge! Really, is it any more dangerous than loading a ball over a main charge? I say no.

I happen to agree...not trying to change anyone's thinking as each has to operate the way they are most comfortable...but I keep a piece of tape over my vent to prevent any possible external ignition source, and simply pull the ball...there is no internal ignition source possible, and IMO loading a rifle is far more dangerous than unloading one

My .02 cents

 

[No Deer]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with pulling a ball on top of a main charge! Really, is it any more dangerous than loading a ball over a main charge? I say no.

I happen to agree...not trying to change anyone's thinking as each has to operate the way they are most comfortable...but I keep a piece of tape over my vent to prevent any possible external ignition source, and simply pull the ball...there is no internal ignition source possible, and IMO loading a rifle is far more dangerous than unloading one

My .02 cents

I agree. There may be a hot ember left in there when reloading, not much chance of that when pulling the load. Just open the frizzen, lower the hammer and don't stand in front of the muzzle (never want to do that loaded or unloaded, just good habit to have).

 

[CrackStock]

Whether it is more dangerous to pull than to load depends upon where that muzzle points as you yank on the rod when pulling. I have seen some people get a friend to hold the rod at the business end. A scary tug of war then ensues. Pretty unsafe in my opinion.

I am sure that this is not what you envision, but since it does happen, I thought that I would mention it.

I use a variety of range rods with prominent ends that I hook onto something disposable to hold while I safely tug on the rifle. Tree crotches are ideal. One can also attach a self tightening knot with leather or twine to the rod and tie this to a sturdy branch to achieve the same effect. Quite safe for all involved.

CS

 

[CrackStock]

Whether it is more dangerous to pull than to load depends upon where that muzzle points as you yank on the rod when pulling. I have seen some people get a friend to hold the rod at the business end. A scary tug of war then ensues. Pretty unsafe in my opinion.

I am sure that this is not what you envision, but since it does happen, I thought that I would mention it.

I use a variety of range rods with prominent ends that I hook onto something disposable to hold while I safely tug on the rifle. Tree crotches are ideal. One can also attach a self tightening knot with leather or twine to the rod and tie this to a sturdy branch to achieve the same effect. Quite safe for all involved.

CS

 

[Keppy]

Well :shocked2: I just got back from hunting and looked at the feed back from last nights post. I thought I was doing everything wrong. I had never put any water on the powder when pulling the ball. But I did blow it out with the compressor. Wow was that easy.
I did see two does and little fawns,but didn't take the shot. It was about 50 yds. They entertained me for 20 minutes. There is a lot of season left. In Minnesota there's the song about the tirty pointbuck. I'm wait for him :rotf:

 

[roundball]

I had never put any water on the powder when pulling the ball. But I did blow it out with the compressor. Wow was that easy.

I never kill a powder charge to pull a ball or blow one out...IMO, it's not necessary and would just makes a big mess.

If have an air compressor you're in heaven it makes it so easy...at the beginning of the season, I set a cardboard box on the floor in the garage with a couple of old towels draped down into it like a hammock...I hold the muzzle down against the towels and bloop the load out into them....dry patch the bore, then after the barrel has warmed up inside the house, I lube patch the bore.

If you're seeing deer that's good...you'll nail one soon

 

[Barney]

I like the co2 discharger.