What do you do at the end of the day with your loaded ML.

gth

gth

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So youve been sitting in your treestand all day, terrible weather and nothings moving. You decide to pack up and call it a day. Theres always tommorow.

What do you do with your loaded ML.

Do you fire the charge into the ground? (expensive)

Do you decap and take it home. then simply recap the following day?(possibly not safe.......BP newbie here)

Some other procedure I dont know about.
 
Sometime yes and sometimes no...depends on whether they get any anti-sieze grease on them when i dump them out...but at least you save the bullet and sabot...you can go out and buy one of those little air blaster that blow them out i guess i not sure how they work.
 
Pick a safe spot to shoot at, check range with rangefinder and unload into it. Check to see where shot hit to see if I can still hit what I want to. Wipe with damp patch followed by 2 dry ones. Next day, run dry patch down bore and with it still in, fire off a couple of caps. Crud goes into patch and is withdrawn from bore. Reload with Goex 3ffg and patch and ball. Resume hunting.
I recall an Inlinefidal friend who called me one June and asked me how to unload his Remington Inline. I went over and took his rifle and tools for it and went home and unloaded and cleaned it. Yes it was pitted where the Pyrodex had been for the previous 6 months. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have muzzleloaders.
 
Shootinblanks
You can leave the load in all day. Changing the percussion cap may be a help. I usually toss them after I 've pulled them off. Put on a new cap and smear Crisco around it and the nipple to keep out moisture.
 
Depends on the gun. If you can pull the breech plug easily, then decap it and keep it dry, but don't plan on storing it long. If you CAN'T pull the breech plug and have to pull the ball/etc up the barrel - shoot it out, and then go home and clean it. There is no joy in pulling a ball, and it can be a LOT of aggravation. The longer the charge sits, the higher the chance it won't go off when you fire it, meaning you have to then get the load out somehow.
Many an old cap and flintlock have been found in the shed, still loaded, 100 years later. Black powder is hygroscopic and very corrosive to the gun. Not a good habit to get into, leaving in the gun, unless you're shooting later the same day.
 
If you pull the breach plug, empty the pellets and push the bullet out with the ram rod. Is it totally necessary to clean it the same way you would if you've shot it? New to the b/p scene. Thanks.

Dave.
 
I posted a similar thread earlier on this topic, I used to leave my ML loaded for the next day, till I did a thorough cleaning and found minor pitting in the breach area of the barrel. 777 pellets are not as corosive as BP but, obviously there is some corrosivness there, so now I I remove the breach plug, dump out the pellets and push throught the bullet, and swab everytime. I paid too much money to let my laziness ruin my gun.
 
triton said:
If you pull the breach plug, empty the pellets and push the bullet out with the ram rod. Is it totally necessary to clean it the same way you would if you've shot it? New to the b/p scene. Thanks.

Dave.
Click to expand...
I say no, you don't have to clean as though you would if you shot, but I would strongly recommend at least a swab or two with solvent or something to get the powder residue out. The base of the sabot with scrape some of the pellet and leave a bit of it in your barrel, if it sitis there for a time, it may cause pitting like I experienced.
 
Leave it loaded....

First of all...black powder is "hydroscopic" and corrosive...correct, BUT only when exposed to air. In a rifle barrel, held in by a ball or bullet, it is not and will remain shootable virtually forever. I recently shot the flintlock of a friend who had left it loaded from the last years hunt and it went bang similar to a freshly charged rifle. I shoot with black powder cartridge mostly and have never had a dud...so why should B/P in a barrel be any different. I am not suggesting that anyone leave a rifle loaded for a year! I also hunt with B/P and with Pyrodex and Triple 7 in my muzzle-loader.....this year I left the rifle loaded....uncapped when not hunting....for the whole week before firing it at my range and not only did it fire but it also hit the bull and cleaned up with no problems. Regulations here state that it is deemed unloaded when the cap is removed....so remove the cap and replace the cap with a pad of paper towel. It is not only safe but also within the law for taking home in the car and storing at your house. I do throw the cap away every time and use a new cap...and I do not grease or try to seal the cap in any way. I have always felt that if there was any break in the cap the grease or sealant would infiltrate and cause the cap to misfire. Hope this helps. Dave
 
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Don't disagree with anything Dantforth is saying, but while it isn't illegal, leaving a gun powdered for a protracted period isn't the wisest choice. Why risk damaging a good gun, or having a poof rather than bang when you go out next? My BP guns are not my "goto" choice in the middle of the night... :) The cost of flushing powder is pretty miniscule compared to cartridge guns.
 
I have a different take on this... I have seen modern M/L's left loaded from one season to the next with no problems with corrosion or firing ability.
My main concern is not remembering that it has been left loaded and failing to check before fouling the barrel with a primer... I know you should always check a firearm but complacency follows familiarity with frequency!!!!
Pull the plug and punch the load... don't leave it loaded after the season is over.
 
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