How long do you leave your rifles charged during season?

[CaptainKirk]

I keep my hunting guns clean. The revolver I keep loaded is for home protection.

Hmmm...wonder how our own jaded media would spin that headline?
" Tea Party Muzzle loader fanatic executes innocent home invader with antique cap & ball firearm in macabre fashion".... :hmm:

I'm right there with ya, brother...no better way to send a homey packin' than with a round ball & the Holy Black!!! LOL!

:rotf:

 

[Josh Smith]

My rifle, by default, is a defensive gun too. It has to earn its keep! It's sitting there right now with 70gns under a cotton ball under a PRB.

Gotta wonder though... has anyone actually touched one of these things off inside a house??? Would seem that it would be more effective than a flashbang.

That said, I really, really like the way the 1851 Colt Navy feels. Heck, I love the 1847 Walkers and 1848 Dragoons, but they're slower.

Did some testing once of a .380, and calculating things out, the 1851 Navy gives about the same raw power as a modern .380 or .38spl target wadcutter load. The article was meant to disprove the "stopping power" theory as it applies to handguns, instead relying on an expanding bullet as a mechanism for damage.

Been thinking about what might be the best load for a cap'n'ball revolver.

I wouldn't want to use Crisco to top things off. I've had Crisco run on me when was playing with lube for smokeless loads, and it contaminated the powder.

I use a proprietary hard "J.S. Lube" which actually looks a lot like a baked on finish, though it's not:

I just don't know how well it would translate into a cap'n'ball revolver, and even if it kept the bore from leading, wouldn't do much to protect the powder from chainfires.

Perhaps a wad of cotton like I use in the smoke pole, combined with the bullet's seal, would keep stray sparks out.

I just don't like to keep anything wet in a firearm unless the powder is well protected.

Josh

 

[roundball]

Never.

I only takes 60 seconds to pull a load, then wipe the bore...I save the pulled balls for plinking at the range so it costs less than a penny's worth of powder...load fresh for every hunt.

In my opinion, people who leave muzzleloaders loaded fall into two categories:
Those who have already had some sort of ignition/hangfire/misfire and missed a deer from doing that...and those who will...it's just a matter of time.

Roll the dice if you like...you've only waited a year to get a good buck (or a Tom) in your sights.

:wink:

 

[Billnpatti]

When hunting, I put a dry wad on top of my powder before loading the patched ball. This keeps the patch lube from getting into the powder as the gun is left sitting with a load in it. Aftere seating the ball, I like to run a patch dampened with patch lube down the bore to lightly coat it with lube to protect it from rust causing moisture. With this load, and a sealed flash channel (nipple), I will leave my gun loaded for the duration of the hunt. But, I never take my gun home loaded. I unload it and field clean it before leaving the hunting camp. Once home, I detail clean it and apply Birchwood-Casey's Barricade to all of the metal surfaces. It may not be harmful to my gun to leave it loaded for longer periods of time but I am pretty darned particular about having my guns as clean as the day they left the factory when I close the door to my gun safe. Each of my guns is custom built and represents a pretty hefty investment so I take extremely good care of them. I, no doubt, go overboard in their care but I just feel better knowing that they are in perfect condition in my gun safe.

But as to your question, I am sure that as long as the load is sealed so that no moisture or patch lube gets to the powder, you can leave your gun loaded for the whole season and be reasonably sure that it will go off when you are ready to shoot it.

This is just the ranting of a cranky old fart so take it for what it's worth to you. :haha: :thumbsup:

 

[Billnpatti]

Hey, Roundball, as you can see from my answer that I posted, I agree with you right down the line. Just my personal preference. But, I do have one question to ask......can I get in on some of that powder that you are buying? If you assume an average loading of around 80 to 100 grains of powder for a hunting load, at your figure of that being less than a penny's worth of powder, you are paying less than $1 per pound. Buddy, I want some of that action. How can I get in on it??? :rotf:

 

[roundball]

Should have read "only cost pennies"...(in my case, 14 pennies worth of Goex)...this early in the morning I must have been thinking about the practically non-existent cost of refreshing prime often and my brain got its hands crossed...good catch, thanks.
Hopefully the point came through, which IMO, is that its so easy and cheap to pull a load its not worth the risk leaving it no matter what the odds are...and by not firing it out there isn't even anything to 'clean'.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Do you pull the bullets and dump the powder out of your centerfire cartridges at the end of every day?

 

[George]

In my opinion, people who leave muzzleloaders loaded fall into two categories:
Those who have already had some sort of ignition/hangfire/misfire and missed a deer from doing that...and those who will...it's just a matter of time.

You may be right, and I understand the logic of you and all the others who don't trust leaving a gun loaded for even a couple of days because I did it that way, myself, for a long time. For me, that feeling was based on the assumption that the load is inevitably going to degrade in the bore. I no longer believe that is so. Everyone's situation is different, of course, and what works for me may not work for others. I shoot a smoothbore, now, and load a hard card wad over powder. Other things go above that, depending on my needs, but the hard card is always there to shield the powder from any oil or water from above. I shoot a flintlock, but I never plug the vent because I've never seen any evidence that the action of good quality black powder is degraded by humidity. I have routinely left my gun loaded for 2-4 weeks every fall for a lot of years, and have never had any kind of misfire a single time when the deer showed. I've purposely left a gun loaded to test my idea on 2 occasions, once with the smoothbore for 10 months and 3 weeks and once with a rifle loaded with greased patch directly on the powder for 12 weeks. Ignition for both was as normal as if loaded the same day.

I'm also not a big believer in contamination of powder by a lubed patch, but that may depend on the method and lube used. I cut patches at the muzzle and the strip of patch is always lubed beforehand with beeswax/lard. I saturate them, but remove all excess so there is minimal lube left. For me that has eliminated any problem I can detect. For others, using much more lube or much wetter lube, it might not.

Of course, I'm assuming the load to be left was put into a clean gun. If the gun has been fired even once before loading, I wouldn't leave it even overnight. First rule of muzzleloading, isn't it?

As far as the inevitability of that failed ignition when the deer comes along, the same thing can be said of the gun you loaded that morning, it will fail you one day, you can count on it.

Do you change the flint every day, too? :grin:

Spence

 

[roundball]

Do you pull the bullets and dump the powder out of your centerfire cartridges at the end of every day?

Of course not...and there's no relationship between that analogy and this discussion....try again
:wink:

And this thread isn't about what "I" choose to do...its answering a poster's question.

 

[roundball]

A poster asked a question...I gave my answer...prefaced with the following:
"In my opinion"
This thread isn't about what "I" choose to do...its answering a poster's question.

I make 'MY' decisions on 'MY' personal experiences:
I left one loaded overnight in '93, missed a 6 pointer the next morning.
I've never left one loaded overnight since, and have never missed a deer I've shot at since.

To me, its simple...other's can roll the dice all they want

 

[Dphar]

So I am hunting with a trad rifle this yr and have no idea what Im doing. Question is simple how long can I leave it charged and still expect to be able to shoot it on target?

This rifle was loaded for about a week, out one day then in the house while I was doing other things I shot this at the end of another day.
Shot the rock at a true 128 yards. Dead on hold, sitting position, 90 gr of fff, 495 ball, beef tallow on pillow ticking.

Rock was set on the large flat at the bottom. Ball stuck under the tape measure body. The other marks are natural flaws
This is close enough for big game hunting and would have killed a deer or elk.
Rifle is sighted for longest point blank range and is about 3" high at 60 yards.

I have left a FL pistol loaded for 6 months with no noticable degrading but it was indoors most of the time.
But I generally shoot the load out every 3rd day or so if hunting. If its been raining or snowing I shoot it out at the end of the day.

If kept dry the gun should shoot to point of aim almost indefinitely unless the patch lube degrades. Good BP will not degrade when exposed to the air so long as its not exposed to liquid water. Nor will good percussion caps degrade. So if kept dry the load will be viable for decades or even longer. In the bore is little different than in a container.

Dan

 

[George]

This thread isn't about what "I" choose to do...its answering a poster's question.

When someone asks a question and you tell him how you have answered it, I see no problem with pointing out to him... and to you... that my experience has been different and offer an alternative solution. That way he can sift through the responses and accept the one which suits his situation and his personality. I am always one of many voice and don't expect anyone to choose my solution, don't give a hoot if they do or not, because there is usually no wrong answer, just different solutions.

Didn't mean to get under your skin, Roundball. It won't happen again. It seems the days of lighthearted repartee have come and gone.

Spence

 

[hanshi]

Nice rock, Dan P. They can be tough so I'd recommend crock pot slow cooking. I bet field dressing that trophy took the edge off your knife. I shot a really nice rock a couple of years ago and had it mounted. :rotf: :grin:

 

[Jayhem]

If you clean your rifle well, dry the bore and flash channel well...and then load, the powder is going to keep loaded just as well as it would in the container it came in. Leaving it a few days or a week is not going to change anything. That first load of the season you really take your time doing right and being sure the bore and flash channel are good and clean/dry. If you reload every day, one of those days you aren't going to be as diligent in your loading/cleaning technique and your load may fail. I'm planning to leave my inline rifle charged all season (2 weeks) unless I get a deer before. The sidelock will get charged fresh only if it was raining at all during a hunt.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

This thread isn't about what "I" choose to do...its answering a poster's question.

When someone asks a question and you tell him how you have answered it, I see no problem with pointing out to him... and to you... that my experience has been different and offer an alternative solution. That way he can sift through the responses and accept the one which suits his situation and his personality. I am always one of many voice and don't expect anyone to choose my solution, don't give a hoot if they do or not, because there is usually no wrong answer, just different solutions.

Didn't mean to get under your skin, Roundball. It won't happen again. It seems the days of lighthearted repartee have come and gone.

Spence

I've noticed the sense of humor on this forum is a little thin. Is it against the rules? :idunno:

 

[txcookie]

so will the olive oil I used for lube on my patches fowl the powder?

 

[Pete Gaimari]

so will the olive oil I used for lube on my patches fowl the powder?

Ever see what it does to your salad?

 

[Stumpkiller]

so will the olive oil I used for lube on my patches fowl the powder?

Yes. Some argue not significantly and others more so.

I wad a little piece of waxed paper up and put it on top of the powder during hunting season to prevent just that.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Do you pull the bullets and dump the powder out of your centerfire cartridges at the end of every day?

Two sayings come to mind when I think of muzzleloaders;
1) "Watch yer topknot". Self-explanatory. Your scalp is pretty much useless without a head to set it on...and vice-versa.
2)"Keep your powder dry". Significant in regard to this discussion. If your powder is not dry (item #2), you're not likely to be able to comply with item #1.
What in blazes is the captain blubbering on about? Just this...
A modern centerfire rifle, loaded with a magazine full of modern centerfire cartridges, submerged in a stream or lake, will most likely fire every round after you fish it out of the drink. With me so far?
I dare anyone to get the same results with either a caplock or flinter. You might get lucky once or twice, but I wouldn't bet my life on it...
Loose powder is susceptible to contamination from gun oil, patch lube, condensation and "barrel sweat", and probably half a dozen other things I can't think of at the moment.
A modern centerfire cartridge has no comparison to a blackpowder load.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[ebiggs1]

Not trying to defend Mr. roundball but I admit I value his “opinions” above most on this forum. I shot a doe (last day of the season) for the first time this year with a flintlock and didn't refresh the load each day. I may now change, rethink, that method and reload each day.