Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
i always pushed a patch on my cleaning rod all the way in and then popped a cap. if you don't see a burn mark on the patch when you pull the rod out, trouble ahead.
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How long can i leave muzzleloader loaded?
- Thread starter sharpshooter
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PillsburyDoughboy
Well-Known Member
Tony Knight may not have been the first to invent this idea but he was the first person to show me this back with the original MK-85 Muzzleloader I purchased from him. To this day after I clean I MZ and get ready to head to the field this is the first thing I do before I load it.
I read somewhere several years after R.E.Lee died they fired his service revolver Colt Navy and all 5 chambers fired. It had probably been loaded at least 8 years.
camoman270
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SeaBee133
Well-Known Member
From personal experience with a family gun, at least 90 years…
1870s or 1880s Moore and Harris double barrel caplock 12g, owner died in 1921. Father in law had it leaning in a bedroom corner of his, now our, 1840 built home. Barrels were full of spiderwebs and egg cases. So me being me, took it outside, capped it, and hit the trigger… My beagle headed for the orchard, twigs and leaves rained down on the driveway. I don't know what Tom used way back when, but in 2011, his powder was still dry.
Gun belonged to TN state senator TJ Watkins of Covington. My wife's great great grandfather. It is now in the county museum for conservation and eventual display.
That is cool!
Carlos
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I would have probably used a 25ft string, pulled from behind cover.
swampbadger
Well-Known Member
This for me!!! I've left mine loaded for a few years now, not ideal, but it's an old raggedy ML that Won't ever be worth much money. I will take it out clean it and fire it next month to make sure everything is on the up and up and I'm confident in her ability before ML season starts.
I'm cool leaving mine loaded for a week or 3 as long as she hasn't been exposed to rain or high moisture. I typically pile up deer like cord wood as soon as ML starts. I've gotten many same trip doubles (buck and doe) with a ML those first two weeks of November. Deer better not look back, I'm sending lead and smoke!
SeaBee133
Well-Known Member
I need to test a pair I inherited last year. T/C .50 Hawken, Lyman .54 Great Plains. I know the Lyman is dead on. Have not shot the T/C, generally do cap and ball with a Ruger Old Army, deepened cylinder, .457 ball over 35-40gr of Fffg or Ffffg, Triple 7 or Goex.
Can find ,490 and .457 all day long. But caps and .530 are elusive this time of year locally. Neither Memphis Bass Pro had had them in at least a year.
I typically unload it at the end of the season and clean it before putting up. Twice that I recall for some reason I didn't and sat for a year and fired just fine.
Well well... LOL I just cleaned my CVA Kodiak Magnum to get ready to shoot some with it, and decided to take the CVA Wolf as well, upon checking the breech plugs I found that I had left the Wolf loaded from last season. Went ahead and shot that load first, and had a FTF first try, then with the 2nd primer it fired, dead center of the bull at 50 yards. That was ok, kinda, the good zero that is, but the next couple shots were 2" left. Made the adjustment and back to center. So, at least with BH 209, no, I wouldn't trust leaving it loaded from one season to the next. Dang, getting old and forgetting things sucks. 
I can attest to this. I have had 2 misfires on two bucks with a muzzleloader due to wet powder, and let me tell you it does NOT take much for that powder to get too wet to fire. Heck just the moisture in the air here alone can get the powder wet... I always fire it after every hunt (away from the spot of course)
If you leave your gun loaded and have to bring it in, leave it in the case for a few hours to allow it to warm up slowly and do NOT open the case until you know it's up to room temp . This will greatly reduce the chances of condensation on cold metal. Doing this I've been able to leave a modern inline loaded for a few weeks without incident.
I also put my gun out in the vehicle the evening before a morning hunt so it will acclimate slowly to the colder temperatures.
I also put my gun out in the vehicle the evening before a morning hunt so it will acclimate slowly to the colder temperatures.
Had a muzzleloader i left loaded for at least five to six years, pulled the trigger and she broke my nose with my thumb!! Safe to say it was well seized up
Randy Wakeman is a fraud and a liar. His previous career was a magician. Look it up. 20 plus years ago he started a no smokeless/smokeless is evil thread on a cva message board. Then next year he's writing articles on how great the savage was. I pointed this out on Doug's board and they devoured him. Complete idiot.
Mental note to self: You have more experience than him. Do what you think; not his thinking.
I unload after the end of every trip. If between trips, I take a zip tie and tie the bolt shut and put a tag on it saying loaded with the date. That has worked for me since 2000.
