Leaving muzzleloader loader through season ?

[kyron4]

Plan on using my Hawken style (cap lock) rifle for the firearm and MZ deer season this year. Depending on when I fill my tag the rifle could be loaded for one day or 6 weeks. Plan on keeping it in the truck when not hunting so it doesn't sweat when brought inside. Will be using Goex FFG and Winchester Magnum #11 caps. Will it still go bang after 6 weeks ? After 2 weeks ? -Thanks

 

[troy fairweather]

It should but I'd pull the load and load fresh, be my luck to get a missfire.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I let my flinter loaded for the 3 weeks of the late deer season. I discharge it the last day. It's always fired for me.

 

[J-Bar]

Stuff happens. Illness, injuries, emergency trips—all kinds of things can force a person to change plans. Even though I may plan to hunt several days in a row, I will not take a loaded muzzle loader home from the field. Reload the gun if and when I get to hunt again. It’s safer.

 

[brewer12345]

Probably go bang 6 years later. I'd leave it uncapped but otherwise loaded and not worry about it.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

if you want to be extra careful about leaving it loaded and make sure if someone gets a hold of it they know what they are dealing with make a tag for it that says "LOADED" and any other tidbits you think will help keep them safe.

 

[hawg]

My ex's mom gave me a CVA Hawken after her husband died. IIRC it had sat loaded for 9 years. I capped it and fired it with no problems

 

[Thomasss]

I have never kept one loaded for that long, but I do know others that have with no problems. The problem with most miss-fires is an incomplete ignition through the fire channel. It is best to remove the cap when not hunting, but is is also important to keep the nipple covered so moisture or anything else doesn't get in. You might think of covering the nipple with a child's balloon when not hunting or possibly using a latex glove finger.

 

[hawg]

is also important to keep the nipple covered so moisture or anything else doesn't get in. You might think of covering the nipple with a child's balloon when not hunting or possibly using a latex glove finger.

You must run some mighty big nipples.

 

[Acorn Mush]

You could also put a 1/8" vacuum cap, available at almost any auto parts store, on the nipple to seal out any moisture. They are also very handy to use to reinsert nipples after cleaning and are especially helpful with revolver nipples.

I also agree with the above suggestion about making a tag advising the rifle is LOADED. A piece of masking tape applied to the barrel and a felt-tip marker would do the trick.

 

[brewer12345]

I also agree with the above suggestion about making a tag advising the rifle is LOADED. A piece of masking tape applied to the barrel and a felt-tip marker would do the trick.

I usually tape the muzzle when hunting anyway, so no big deal to write loaded on it.

 

[troy fairweather]

A toothpick works good to cover the hole in the nipple. Even outside id be worried on days without frost, when temps hit the Dewpoint moisture may still collect.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Just me, but...when I've hunted ML in the past, I'll leave it loaded for the weekend. Once that's over I'll shoot it off, run an oily patch and give it a thorough cleaning when I get home. If I go back the next weekend or later, do it all over again. Wild Bill shot off his Navy Colts every evening and started fresh in the morning for a reason. Why risk a dud shot?

 

[Armored farmer]

I leave mine Hawken loaded for the three or four day season, then ceremoniously fire it off on the last night when I get back to the truck.

 

[44 Dave]

It is not "loaded" until capped or primed only "charged".

 

[Fyrstyk]

I leave my muzzle loader "loaded" during the entire season (Mid Nov-Mid Dec). I put a party balloon over the muzzle and on my cap fired guns I pull the cap and place a empty .22 short casing over the nipple. On my flint locks, I place a feather quill in the touch hole. I have never had one of my guns fail to fire when and if I get a shot at game, or at the end of the season to empty the gun. Keeping your gun in the unheated garage or in your vehicle is a good idea so the temperature changes are gradual. Condensation can happen when bring a cold gun into a warm room, and that will contaminate your powder charge and cause a miss or hang fire.

 

[AK Hunter]

I do, my muzzle loader shoots better after a few shots. So I sight it in, load it & tape over the barrel's muzzle to keep out as much moisture as I can. The tape doesn't effect accuracy so I leave it on until I shoot it off or at the end of season (for two weeks) I take it off & push the load out the breech. Then I clean it & oil it to be put away.

 

[mcb]

My T/C Big Boar is still loaded from last year. If I don't get a chance to shoot it before this season (unlikely at this point) I will right before I head out for the first hunt removed the nipple and add a pinch of FFFg powder in under the nipple ensuring the hole over to the main charge is full of fresh powder. I will then double check my nipple is clean, reinstall, and put a cap on it. Doing this I have never had it fail to fire.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I've left my rifles loaded (both flint and percussion) from mid to the end of season (unless I kilt something) until later the next spring, probably around six months with no problem. They fire just fine. I have one rifle, a flintlock Jeager, that has never miss-fired under any circumstances and has been left loaded for months at a time. I don't leave them in a garage or outside, but that may depend on where you live.

I think the bottom line is how well they are cleaned before loading. I believe, right or wrong, that miss fires result from oil or moisture being left inside the barrel from cleaning, not from the outside environment. So I go through quite a long process cleaning my guns (starting with an already clean gun) before I load them for a hunt. I clean, clean again with dry patches, clean again generously with alcohol (denatured) and again with dry patches, getting every nook and cranny of the breech, let them "air dry" for a couple of days, and then load. !

 

[Lnf Crzr]

I like the Tc Encore- Open action ,Unthread breech and push out charge. Easy to clean also.

 

[whughett]

It’s my understanding that any black power firearm that requires an external means of ignition is not “loaded” if the source of ignition is removed, the proper term would be charged.
So with that in mind I wouldn’t think there would be any safety issues. In fact in my state one can transport such a fire arm legally.
The issue would be long term storage and it’s effect on the propellant. JMO.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

On weekends on the mountain I have observed unsuccessful BP hunters firing their unfired load into the creek bank before leaving.

Personally I would not leave my muzzleloader loaded or uncleaned. I am 73. Folks unfamiliar with BP have inherited loaded muzzleloading rifles left loaded or left uncleaned.

 

[hawg]

The issue would be long term storage and it’s effect on the propellant. JMO.

If the bore is clean when it's loaded there won't be any issues with long term storage.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

I was under the impression- a loaded Unfired Blackpowder charge would not cause corrosion… until ignited

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I was under the impression- a loaded Unfired Blackpowder charge would not cause corrosion… until ignited

Truth. Possibly not true with substitute powders such as Pyrodex or 777. I personally would only trust real black powder...although I don't know if the substitutes will corrode or not.