Went Hunting and Left my .54 loaded for 3 days

[Crew Chief]

Here is something I have never experienced before. I went hunting Thursday afternoon and did not shoot anything. I left my .54 cal John Bergmann loaded until Sunday afternoon. Decided to shoot out the charge since I was not going to be able to hunt again in the foreseeable future. A friend of mine was visiting and he has never shot a muzzleloader so I gave him a lesson and let him feel the trigger pull so he wouldn't be startled when the rifle went off. He fired but only the cap went off. This happened 3 times so I decided to get my pan primer with null B powder and put a small amount under the nipple. Percussion cap goes off but not the main charge. I put a bit more null B under the nipple and had the same results as previous. Finally I decided to put a bit more null B than the last time so I could at least get the ball out but it only pushed it about have way out. I decided it was time to pull the ball with a screw jag. This worked fine and had no trouble pulling it out.

My only conclusion was that the mink oil patch probably contaminated the powder or it absorbed moisture from somewhere. It is pretty dry in my gunroom and have a dehumidifier going 24/7 so what are you alls thoughts. I have never had this happen before but then I never have left a rifle loaded overnight either.

 

[chorizo]

Yes, your patch contaminated your powder along with whatever solvents/cleaning was left in the bore./breech.

Always pays to draw a little alcohol into the breech and swab the bore out then dry well before you load for a hunting trip.

I leave my percussion loaded for 5 to 7 days at a time if the conditions are not humid. Never had an issue

 

[chorizo]

I will after loading take a very lightly oiled patch and swab the bore a couple of times above the bullet to prevent corrosion.

 

[Some_Mook]

I'd say your conclusion is likely correct.

Wanna be careful not to abuse a .54 though, I hear they are being discontinued....

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/54-caliber-being-phased-out.156800/page-6#post-2227883

 

[64Springer]

Personally, I wouldn't put any product that starts with OIL directly on top of powder.

A product that will positively not wick into the powder would be my goal.

 

[hanshi]

I've always had the habit of putting an op wad as a barrier between the powder and the lubed patch. This is not done with a water containing lube however. I have left rifles loaded for months with no problems; and this was in the hot/humid deep South.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I've known hunters to leave a gun loaded for the entire season. Some had no issues, some did. When I hunt, or shoot targets for that matter, I load just before heading out. Before I come in, I will fire it into a snow bank if it is still loaded, then clean the gun and reload in the morning if I am going out again.

For the cost of one ball, one patch, one cap and one powder charge.... what, about twenty-five cents now... I will start with a clean gun and a fresh load and not count the cost. Sucks to have a gun get rusty because of moisture condensation on it or misfire for the same reason. Even worse for some kid to "find" your loaded rifle on the porch and shoot somebody with it. Damn porch pirates!

This is what Wild Bill Hickock did with his percussion revolvers at the end of each day... or so the story goes. It makes sense though.

 

[Gold Grizzly]

I've always had the habit of putting an op wad as a barrier between the powder and the lubed patch. This is not done with a water containing lube however. I have left rifles loaded for months with no problems; and this was in the hot/humid deep South.

Could I ask what an op wad is ? I am pretty new at this. Thanks

 

[Gold Grizzly]

I've known hunters to leave a gun loaded for the entire season. Some had no issues, some did. When I hunt, or shoot targets for that matter, I load just before heading out. Before I come in, I will fire it into a snow bank if it is still loaded, then clean the gun and reload in the morning if I am going out again.

For the cost of one ball, one patch, one cap and one powder charge.... what, about twenty-five cents now... I will start with a clean gun and a fresh load and not count the cost. Sucks to have a gun get rusty because of moisture condensation on it or misfire for the same reason. Even worse for some kid to "find" your loaded rifle on the porch and shoot somebody with it. Damn porch pirates!

This is what Wild Bill Hickock did with his percussion revolvers at the end of each day... or so the story goes. It makes sense though.

I heard that too about Wild Bill Hickok that he would religiously keep his gun clean and dry.

 

[nchawkeye]

Funny, I just returned home from unloading my flintlock, I loaded it the first week in December and haven't shot it since, I have left it locked up in my storage shed...I primed it, set the trigger and she went off with no problem...I do not believe your patch contaminated the powder...I lube with SnoSeal, no over the powder wad, no problems...

Now, I am going to open up a can of worms...This is where a flintlock has an advantage over a percussion gun, no nicks and crannies for oil, grease to gum up the works and cause a barrier between your flash channel and powder...The powder in the barrel is just a few thousandths of an inch from the powder in the pan...If you have dry powder and a sharp flint, your gun will go off...

My bet is the problem is in how you are cleaning your rifle and leaving something in the barrel or drum causing the problem...

Ok, let's see if we can get 8 pages of discussion on this one!!!

btw....Of course I use a .54 as my deer caliber and of course I mold my own balls and of course I have enough flints, powder, lube and patching to last me the rest of our life, doesn't everyone???

 

[nchawkeye]

Could I ask what an op wad is ? I am pretty new at this. Thanks

Over the powder wad...Useful if your patches are failing as it helps protect your patches from the heat from the main charge...

 

[S.Kenton]

I leave my loaded for the whole 4 day muzzleloading season, I simply clean the oil out before I load it, either alcohol or brake clean will do. I swab that out, then pop a few caps to make sure there aren’t any obstructions. Then I load for the entire 4 day season. If it’s damp or the inside temp is radically different than the outside I keep the rifle in my truck. I’ve left it loaded like that up to a month or so after the season, never had any problems with it firing when I need it to.

 

[Gold Grizzly]

Over the powder wad...Useful if your patches are failing as it helps protect your patches from the heat from the main charge...

Ok, now I understand. Thanks for explaining that for me !

 

[longcruise]

@Crew Chief

I don’t think it was the lube. It would have taken a LOT of lube to contaminate the charge all the way to the bottom. I have kept rifles loaded for more than a year on several occasions and they fired flawlessly. Many more times kept loaded for months without issue. I have two 54s loaded right now since September 10th. I guarantee that both will fire without a problem.

During the season my guns are kept loaded at least until the hunt is over unless fired at game.

It was touched on above but worth repeating. Before you load for a hunt use alcohol to eliminate any cleaning goombah that might be in the barrel. Plug the nipple and pour a couple ounces of denatured alcohol into the bore. Let it soak for five minutes or so and then slosh it aroud by putting your finger over the muzzle. Back and forth. Then let the alcohol out through the nipple. Then remove the nipple and patch the jag and run it vigorously in n and out the full length of the barrel.

Do all that the evening before you load for the hunt to be sure all the alcohol has evaporated.

I've seen that process fail only once. That when the hunter snapped several caps before loading the morning of the hunt. It cost him his antelope at the end of the day. Snapping caps is often recommended but while it is intuitively smart, it easily leaves enough residue to plug the nipple. When we shoot loaded guns there is blowback through the nipple which clears it with each shot.

I don't guarantee that this was your problem or that this is the solution but it all falls under learning from my own and other's mistakes.

 

[Okie Hog]

M y muzzleloaders are often left loaded for months. Two are loaded now, one since end of muzzleloader season end of October.

Those muzzleloaders will fire when the triggers are pulled.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Oil , why why why why don't they get it........if it wasn't the patch it was the storage juice.

 

[nchawkeye]

I have heard of guys that do use percussion guns of putting their cleaning rod down the barrel with a patch, then popping a cap, by looking at the patch they know the channel is clear...

Me, I'll stick with my flintlocks...

 

[SDSmlf]

I suspect your fail to fire issue has more to do with oil or cleaning solution left in the breech of your gun, not your mink oil patch.

My experience has been that with a clean dry bore prior to loading, the gun will go boom when the trigger is squeezed, unless the gun has been exposed to a downpour or went for a swim in a stream. I have left multiple guns and barrels loaded for extended periods of time (think a year or more) and they have so far all fired and POI had not changed, at least at 100 yards. For me it was just something to try out of curiosity.

Should also mention that I use a oversized (think .625” in a 58 caliber for example) dry hard felt wad between the patched roundball and powder charge. I know in my 32 caliber guns with a 12-15 grain blackpowder charge a damp or wet patch and ball load you can hear and see the effect the moisture from the patch has on that light charge after an hour or so. But the load still goes off.

 

[Sun City]

Some left loaded 100 years!

 

[Sun City]

I have heard of guys that do use percussion guns of putting their cleaning rod down the barrel with a patch, then popping a cap, by looking at the patch they know the channel is clear...

Me, I'll stick with my flintlocks...

Blow through the bore and watch smoke emit from nipple! Flash hole will do same thing! About 3 blows will soften fouling! Use a blowtube if you’re fearful of not knowing if you’ve just fired a shot!