Deer Hunting With a Muzzleloader????

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Palmetto-Pride

New member
I just recently bought a Muzzleloader for the sole purpose of deer hunting with it. My question is if I am hunting and don't shoot is it common practice to unprime, but leave the power charge and bullet in the rifle for the next time hunting with it. As far as safety I don't see a chance of the gun going off without a primer in the breech plug am I correct on this? What do other people do when using a muzzleloader for hunting. Will it harm the gun with the powder charge being left in the rifle?
 
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Leaving the charge in the gun is perfectly fine. I have left my flintlocks loaded since the end of hunting season in January, and shot them during the summer. With out the percussion cap or pan charge, the weapon isn't considered loaded.

Just be sure to leave the gun in the same temperature as you will be hunting. If it is colder or warmer, and you take it out hunting,the barrel will sweat and make the powder wet. I usually leave mine in the garage or shed.

Antique Shooter
 
In my opinion, you should always discharge it. Not only to eliminate the possibility of an accidental discharge, but also to eliminate accidentally double loading the gun. Just a couple scenarios - 1) say you never get out hunting again for the rest of the season for whatever reason(broken leg, sugury, etc), then next year you go out to shoot it, forget you have a charge in it and put another one it.

2) Something happens to you, and the gun changes hands. The new owner would not know and may not check first, and double charge the gun.

It's your decision, but I would never put mine away charged.
 
If you are worried about forgetting, put the ram rod in the barrel and leave it there until you are going to use the gun. You should put a mark on the the rod right at the end of the barrel once loaded, so you can check to see if it is or isn't loaded. For me, I know that my muzzleloaders are loaded, because they are not on the rack, but in the corner of my shed.

Antique Shooter
 
robhof

I've also left my M/L charged for the entire b/p season and took a deer on the last day. Had no problem, went bang deer went down. I don't leave it charged after the season though, just because I don't want it loaded in the rack. I've kept my SS ROA loaded for over 3 months before shooting and no problems either.
 
Thanks for the info guys.

GDawgs I can appreciate your concern for safty, but I can say that forgetting it was loaded is not something that I would do (I know never say never) Also I plan on marking the ramrod once I figure out the bullet and charge I am going to use.
 
I keep mine loaded from blackpowder season in mid Nov. through the regular gun season in Alabama, so if I shoot one or two in black powder season, I'll load it again and may use it in the gun regular season also. After loading, I run down a lightly oiled patch a bunch of times to clean things up, store with the ramrod in, no cap, and always pull nipple before using again to see if it's clear and I can see loose powder. Havn't had a problem doing this in 25 yrs or more. I usually discharge it sometime in spring and do a complete cleaning. Havn't had a problem with rust or corrosion in the powder section either.
 
Moisture?

If you use real Black Powder (don't ask me about that new fangled replacement stuff) ......moisture can be a problem ...... particularly if you bring your cold gun into the house where humidity can be high (soup's on? If it's cold out, our stock pot is likely going!) .... condensation will happen. Some black powder can be really corrosive when damp..... and no black powder will ignite well when damp. I shoot a flintlock sometimes, so I know.....

I discharge ...... and clean the gun at the end of the day. I would not bring a loaded centerfire into the house and put it behind the kitchen door or hang it on the wall ....... just because something is a PITA to do does not mean you should shirk it..... if it's supposed to be done, then you oughta do it, no?
 
I don't discharge mine until after the end of the hunting season.
And I also store it in a cold place to avoid condensation forming in the barrel.
Under the law and generally accepted rules of safety, a muzzle loader is considered to be unloaded when it's not capped or the pan isn't primed. This means that it's considered to be safe to transport it in a motor vehicle, and is safe for when crossing waterways, roads or hazardous fences during which time a hunting gun is recommended to be unloaded.
Some people plug the vent of their flintlock with a feather or tooth pick, and take similar precautions with their nipple or 209 flash channel, and cover their muzzle with a barrier like a balloon or tape. These steps help to protect from moisture and errant sparks. But in most cases simply placing it in a gun case will suffice to keep sparks away from the powder.
Everyone has their own comfort level of safety.
But a large percentage of BP hunters do keep their guns in this "partially loaded" state for the duration of deer hunting season.
Our BP deer season lasts for 2 weeks and I can't imagine discharging the rifle at the end of every hunting day.
And removing the breech plug of an inline rifle with active powder in it is not recommended.
I recall when I used to discharge a load in the woods after a day of hunting. But I stopped doing that since target shooting in a state forest is not acceptable and prohibited for a reason, and disrupting the woods with a gun blast while other folks could still be hunting no longer seemed like the right thing for me to do.
So now I go to the range to discharge the load after the season is over. And that gives me an opportunity to check out how well my load would have performed right up until the end of the BP deer hunting season.
 
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I often leave mine loaded with no cap or primer, but if its been shot at all I usually try to clean it fairly quickly it doesnt take long for rust to start to form in a blackpowder rifle, however a charge in a clean barrel really isnt an issue it could be left loaded for a long time.
 
Not a problem but check you state's laws

The only input I can give, is that some states consider a M/L legally unloaded as long as it is uncapped. Theoretically you could spend the entire season in this condition. As far as any damage to your M/L, I once pulled a sabot from an in-line, after it had been loaded for five years. No damage and the powder still burned. Mightt add that I did this as a favor for a friend who had never shot it and wanted to sell it as un-fired. Go figure :confused:


Be Safe !!!
 
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#10
arcticap
Senior Member

Join Date: March 15, 2005
Location: Central Connecticut
Posts: 2,346

I don't discharge mine until after the end of the hunting season.
Click to expand...
Ditto, nuff said. Exception is if you get a good shot at your deer. Then you get to clean carcass and your gun, win win.
 
To each his own !!

I don't discharge unless I have something to shoot at. Instead, at the end of the season, I push or pull the rest of my shot string. ..... ;)


Be Safe !!!
 
Thanks for the input guys. I think mine will also stay loaded, but unprimed untill I hopfully get to unload it on this little guy.....
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