Signs of unsafe shooting conditions

Pucker factor 1-10

What makes you think it's unsafe to shoot.

Loose parts would be the first thing I would look for.

Unsafe is much more a factor of the shooter than the rifle. If you aren't confident in your fire arm get some instruction from a fellow muzzle loader until you are confident in your rifle and abilities. I am always happy to take a less experienced shooter out one on one to help them gain the confidence and skill to shoot safely. There is no shame in asking for guidance... it is actually a sign of maturity and intelligence.

Is the rifle an antique? Has it been fired before? Has a qualified gunsmith taken a look at it?


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Barrel bulge?, heavy corrosion?, but pictures would help us help you!

Darth, a little more info would be really helpful.

I’d check for: Nipples not corroded and firmly in place. Cracked or otherwise damaged wood parts that may splinter under recoil. Smooth barrels. , no apparent bulges or dents, straight and unobstructed.
A bore scope would be helpful to inspect the bore and breech. They are surprisingly cheap these days.

Drive-by poster?

They start life safe to shoot. What’s happened to yours that makes you doubt it?

Darth-Vang said:

How can I tell if my muzzleloading rifle is unsafe to shoot?

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Look closely?

If it's a Lyman, then check out their recall notice. --->>> https://www.lymanproducts.com/recall/
Other recall notices were for all of the CVA Apollo inlines, and for some Knight Revolution rifles.

With my hawken I get down to near where the ball is seating and it loosens up I think this indicates a small bulge I still shoot it but only with small plinking loads. Its no longer a hunter.

Darth-Vang said:

Hey all. Thanks for the replies. Just asking cause I’ve never own a muzzleloader before until last year. I bought a couple small bore rifle. I might take it to a gunsmith just to be safe. Will they charge a small fee just to have it check?

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Some will some won't, some care more about safety then making a few bucks. Guys here want pics you sparked are interests.

You are asking for their expertise and taking their time. If they don't charge you I would certainly give them something for their trouble.

Extremely low humidity with lots of dry brush in an extreme fire danger area

Since you say you're new to muzzleloading, get some instruction from somebody who really knows what they're doing, not Ronnie Yahoo who hunts with an inline and uses a gazillion grains of powder. Small caliber muzzleloaders don't require large charges to shoot well if the gun is in good condition. Research and learn how to handle black powder safely. Know the rules of safe gun handling. Lastly, make the effort to get real black powder. The subs have issues unique to them.

Do you know the particulars of your rifles? Barrel length, twist rate, and groove type (shallow for conicals/sabots or deeper for patched balls)? And which granulation of standard Goex did you purchase? I have the Lyman 2nd Edition Black Powder Handbook which has Goex Lowe data I’d share with you if you’d like. It only shows patched round ball data for the .32 and both for the .36.

I just got a T/C Seneca .32 and am working up loads . I started with 15 grains by volume in my brass measure of 3f Goex and an .010" lubricated Patched .310 ball . It was ok but shot tighter groups with 20 grains and I could tell the ball was supersonic ! I will probably stick with .20 grains and try to get a couple eating rabbits . I mostly shoot a couple .50 " rifles and they use around 60- 70 grains FF Goex for hunting deer with patched balls, and it could go up a bit I am sure.but 70 works well in my 32" Hawken and my shorter Lyman Deerstalker . I have a .45 under hammer Target rifle and use about 30 grains of Goex FFF for targets to 100 yards, that is a supersonic load Most of the time so is about 1100+ FPS .
I am just trying to give you rifle load ranges to work with .

Back in the day (1950's) my father would frequent antique stores and bought a few original black powder guns, including a smoothbore Tower musket, a Springfield musket that had been armory converted to percussion lock, and an 1850's era Parker 10 gauge double barrel shotgun.

Before shooting one of them against his own shoulder, he would load them and tie them securely to a tire and connect a length of twin to the trigger so he could safely touch them off from a distance. Once they passed that "test" he felt confident to shoot them in the field. He has passed on but those old troopers are still in the family.

First off I do not see any indications as to what rifles they specifically are. They do state that not all posted data is safe in all muzzleloaders. With the many times I’ve read about people and their .32 I can’t say I’ve seen a load beyond 30 grns. I’ll be focusing on the 3F Goex loads as that’s what you have.

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