Hunting in the rain

[Rifleman1776]

Do not prime with 4f in the rain!

Horse feathers! 4Fg does not absorb moisture any more than other granulations. It is the burned residue in a pan that absorbs moisture and turns it all to mud. When hunting I used my rifle only clean and never shot before trying to murder Bambi. I know all the arguments for using different granulations for priming but I am a 4Fg guy and always will be.

 

[Belleville]

I often wondered what it was like in the middle of a big battle when it started to rain during the American Revolution. ( FIX BAYONETS)

Actually as long as you keep up a fast shooing pace, flintlocks muskets will continue to function in a pretty hard rain. Got caught in a hard rain at Fort TI and was amazed at how the muskets continued to fire. Apparently brisk firing dries out the barrel. But if you stopped firing for a very short period your done. Now fix bayonets.

 

[Pirate's Son]

I have found this method the easiest and doesn't set off the wailing and clothing rending of messing up during a wet Black Powder hunt.

With dampness forecast, the first thing the morning of the hunt is to roust my hunting partner, my Grandbuddy.
Get some warmness on the inside. Make sure we are gear ready to keep the warmness on the outside. Load up and head to our stomping grounds.
Upon arrival make sure my Grandbuddy is set for a wet day. While loading the rifle I review the ways of staying dry with him.
I then hand him the rifle with the advice to "keep his powder dry" and tell him I'll pick him up at dark. Get back in the rig and return home and a warm bed.

That's how you hunt in the rain!

 

[SciAggie]

I hope this question isn't too much thread drift: If you hunt in the rain with a gun that has the stock pinned to the barrel, what concerns do you have about moisture under the barrel after hunting in the rain? How do you manage drying that out to discourage rust or other issues?

 

[Whiteoak15]

I take my hat off to you 'flinters' who hunt in the rain. I figured out a long time ago that keeping the lock mechanism dry was more work than I wanted to put up with. I use a T-C .45 Hawken caplock on Bluebird days and a .54 CVA Hawken caplock that was given to me as junk (but WASN'T) on bad days. Electrical tape over the muzzle and a very light smear of paste wax around the nipple before I seat the cap and I'm good to go. Again, my hat is off to you flintlock guys! Good hunting!

 

[Johnny Tremain]

After a while I checked my pan and the 4F was sludge. Wiped it all out, replaced it with 2F and continued.

You pan may not be flat, I use a crayon to make a seal about the pan.
I drop in the 4F (only) and when the frizzen is dropped it nests with the crayon seal.

Been working here in the Pacific Northwet.

Oh year, turn your tricorn around, or when you look into the pan, the water will pour right off your hat into the pan. Been there, done that.

 

[Ferret Master]

If you use Johnsons paste wax on the underside or all over the barrel for that matter of your barrel and you barrel channel you won't have to worry. Any use of grease or oil will hold the moisture and will facilitate rust. I like hunting deer in rainy weather. Animals on the move, your scent dispersed and almost no sound,

 

[SDSmlf]

I like hunting deer in rainy weather. Animals on the move, your scent dispersed and almost no sound

I agree with your statement about ‘almost no sound’, but find it very difficult to understand the advantage of your scent being dispersed in rainy weather. When I hunted over dogs I always found their ability to pick up scent in dry weather was greatly diminished or almost non existent, while in damp or rainy weather their ability to pick up scent was phenomenal compared to dry weather. Hard to believe wild animals scenting abilities are opposite of or that much different from domestic dogs. My experience says that damp air will carry scent a lot farther and longer that dry air. Don’t play the wind and those critters will know you are there, no matter how quiet the woods are.

 

[Zutt-man]

I agree with your statement about ‘almost no sound’, but find it very difficult to understand the advantage of your scent being dispersed in rainy weather. When I hunted over dogs I always found their ability to pick up scent in dry weather was greatly diminished or almost non existent, while in damp or rainy weather their ability to pick up scent was phenomenal compared to dry weather. Hard to believe wild animals scenting abilities are opposite of or that much different from domestic dogs. My experience says that damp air will carry scent a lot farther and longer that dry air. Don’t play the wind and those critters will know you are there, no matter how quiet the woods are.

I think what he’s referring to is your scent not carrying as much in the air. Damp air pushes your scent to the ground, or at least that’s what I’ve been told.

 

[Mike in FL]

Loyalist, great post.
I have used click wrap over the lock and a small balloon or piece of electric tape over the muzzle.

 

[Reno]

Use a cows knee. It’s a leather coverings cut and seen to cover the lock and pan. It can tie under the lock and pan at thevtrigger guard. I’ve used snow seal to treat Mi e and have also rendered deer fat down and ysed that as a sealant. They work well

 

[Stub]

For sitting in the rain or wet snow with a cap lock, I have found a 32 caliber auto empty cartridge case fits tight over a capped nipple. I tighten a small wire around the cartridge and attach a shoe lace then attach the other end of the shoe lace to the trigger guard. Sitting, I cock the hammer over the shell casing. When a deer comes in, I slip the shell casing off the nipple and drop it. The casing then hangs from the gun and doesn't get lost on the ground or make noise. Again, only while sitting, regardless of weather, using the shell casing is quieter than the noise from cocking the hammer. If by accident the hammer should drop the cap is protected by the empty cartridge.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I agree with your statement about ‘almost no sound’, but find it very difficult to understand the advantage of your scent being dispersed in rainy weather. When I hunted over dogs I always found their ability to pick up scent in dry weather was greatly diminished or almost non existent, while in damp or rainy weather their ability to pick up scent was phenomenal compared to dry weather. Hard to believe wild animals scenting abilities are opposite of or that much different from domestic dogs. My experience says that damp air will carry scent a lot farther and longer that dry air. Don’t play the wind and those critters will know you are there, no matter how quiet the woods are.

AH, but there are different "scents" involved.

Some animals smell the other animal. When a bird dog scents a stationary bird and then visually spots it and goes "on point" ..., that's the animal scent. This works even at hunting preserves where the area has been crisscrossed by several "guides" causing many "trails" from the soil, and who have placed birds for the dogs to find and the hunters to shoot (the bird didn't walk nor fly there, it rode in a burlap sack )

Some animals primarily track the scent of the animal having moved over the ground and disturbed the soil. Most police dogs are scenting this way when they perform a track, and only alert on the person they are tracking when they get very close. This is why a person crossing a hard surface like pavement or rocks are not tracked by scent..., no soil is disturbed. Some animals smell both, and they can combine the presence of freshly disturbed soil and a specific scent, and avoid being deceived by other scents trails crossing the path that they are following..., which is what bloodhounds can do, for example.

In very dry conditions, the disturbance of the soil does not raise much scent, but in damp conditions the soil is softer so deer or people will often form a track that goes through the leaf layer and into the loam of the soil, making a very obvious scent for a dog.

Rain scrubs the air of wafting scent from an animal, be it wild or domestic or human. When there is a high pollen count, and then it rains, the pollen count drops because the falling rain has hit the floating pollen and carried it to the ground. The same is true for any molecules in the air, that we would call scent.

Also air pressure from an incoming storm, or a storm that just passed, will force air downwards, and an animal scent is sometimes concentrated in a layer low to the ground, instead of normal dispersal. Think about the smoke from a campfire or chimney and it oddly doesn't go "up" but seems to curve down toward the ground and you get the picture. That smoke is reacting to a sudden increase in air pressure in a layer only a short distance from the ground.

LD

 

[stewart.leach]

I'll second the motion for black tape over the muzzle. Have done this for decades in all types of weather and all types of rifles.

 

[M. De Land]

I’ve been shooting muzzleloaders for over 20 years, but very rarely have I hunted in the rain. Even when I have, I had a percussion gun in hand. This won’t be the case this time around. There’s a massive cold front (40-50° drop in 2 days) moving through and you can bet I’ll be out trying to fill my deer tags. The rain it is bringing with it is projecting (not relying on the weatherman) to be light and widespread.

I might note I’ll be sitting for this hunt and not traipsing around the timber. Outside of a cow’s knee, what else do you folks do to protect your load, priming pan and gun in general, during these situations? Do you hold the gun a certain way? Covering it entirely? Just not go out?

Thanks in advance and happy hunting!

I don't hunt with a flint gun but wonder if not priming until time to shoot would be practical, especially from a tree stand or open blind. I realize the frizzen and cock area would still need to be kept dry but there would be no powder to absorb moisture this way.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Sometimes the extra movement to prime and the slight noise of opening and closing the pan is enough to alert the game. Of course, sometimes the sound of setting the trigger is enough to get the attention of a deer.

 

[M. De Land]

Sometimes the extra movement to prime and the slight noise of opening and closing the pan is enough to alert the game. Of course, sometimes the sound of setting the trigger is enough to get the attention of a deer.

I thought about that but then considered a flashless cock fall as probably being even more so.

 

[deerstalkert]

I thought about that but then considered a flashless cock fall as probably being even more so.

tried that 3 times last week on a bear. first klatch, up came his head. second klatch, he swapped ends. third klatch, he departed for one state over, followed closely by some old Navy talk!
a previous poster squacked on the idea of ffffg getting damp quicker. it undeniably does. i would suggest he try it in controlled conditions and see.
i keep my flinter's under a coat when it rains. as long as it takes to get home to the stove. did i ever mention i hate being wet in the rain?

 

[SDSmlf]

Sometimes the extra movement to prime and the slight noise of opening and closing the pan is enough to alert the game. Of course, sometimes the sound of setting the trigger is enough to get the attention of a deer.

I have taken maybe a dozen deer in inclement weather charging the pan after spotting the deer. Can not recall spooking any, but wasn’t really keeping score. And for what it’s worth, I keep pressure on the triggers while going from half cock to full and also while engaging the set trigger. Learned as a preteen/teenager with a 94 Winchester how to keep things quiet and safe while cocking and letting down a hammer to half cock. Old man always said those half hour or so early shots before daylight were from hunters attempting to put a gun at half cock rather than someone shooting early.

All comes down to practice and muscle memory plus what works for you.

 

[TDM]

Well, just call me a wuss. While I have a number of metal open stands on my property I don't use them anymore. I have 3 nice enclosed, raised box stands with comfortable chairs and enough room to move around a little and have a propane heater. Now not too many years ago I would have been sitting in an open stand in the sleet, but those days are done.