hi guys;  i have a question about muzzleloader hunting. what does most hunters do after a long day in the field hunting whitetail deer  and no shots fired. does he go back to camp and just remove the primer for next days hunt or does he remove the charge too. ?   thanks very munch     L.M.930.

As long as the weather doesn't have drastic changes in temperature or moisture, I just remove the primer and keep the gun stored outside in the truck or garage to keep it a uniform temperature. I have gone several weeks like that and never had a charge not go off. I use an "accra shot" in my sidellock that uses a small caliber primer and it is pretty hot and why it probably has never misfired.

Agree with Top Gun on that. Mostly depends on the amount of moisture.

as long as temperature remains constant and not raining just remove the primer. in fact I just fired a charge from my T/C Hawkin that I had left from last year the gun was put in the rack on the wall (this was a test by the way I don't recommend this as a practice) took.it to the range put a new cap in place and a had perfect ignition!

I leave it loaded -primer, After a week or so though I get nervious and fire it off and re-load, Never had a problem but just makes me feel better.

Also I keep the barrel covered to prevent moisture or rain from running down the inside. clear food wrap and a rubber band.  They used to make what looked like QM (ha ha) sized condoms for BP guns, and you can shoot right thur the wrap.

YEP THATS WHAT I DOES TO NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. I USE A PELLET CHARGE , JUST TAKE THE PRIMER OFF ,LEAVE IN TRUCK, GO OUT NEXT MORNING HUNT SOME MORE

i discharge mine clean it and start with a fresh charge in the am i dont want to take any chances bon it not going bang hank k

You just like to hear the big boom and see the sparks and smoke at night Hank....LOL

i discharge my firearm  clean it in the am ill reload it the cost of reloading is so cheap i would rather start with a fresh load so i know it will go bang when i pull the hammer down hank k

i never had that propblem. iv been muzzle hunting for only 2 years. and i got a buck on opening day for both thoes years. i hope i never half to find out. lol.

thanks for the great infor. i ll keep in mine about the temature.

hi brian you are rite i do like the flame and sparks and the smoke it smells like victory it sure as hexx is fun to shoot any firearm hank k

Just take the cap out when your done hunting for the day or just going back for lunch.

I guess I have to be the one to drop a 'boy that was dumb' out there for people to comment on. I used to leave my powder in and just remove the cap. One fine winter morning I went out early put the cap on and was ready to go. I spent all morning seeing nothing..sat down on a log ..did a couple calls...then waited. About 1/2 hour went by when out of the corner of my eye I saw movement..and I mean really close movement. About 8' foot to my left a little 6 pointer walked up and was going to share my log. He turned his head away...I quietly pulled the trigger so the tail-tail CLICK as the hammer locked back was silent. When he turned his head I raised my T/C slowly pulled the trigger and heard a "pop". He looked over ...laughed a bit turned and trotted about 40 yards. I gave him an 'UUUUPP' and he stopped. I had already put another cap on so I put the cross hairs on his pump station and squeezed another one off....'pop' again. Now I am frustrated and getting mad...why me ..and why twice now. My bambi ran down across the creek turned and stopped again about 60 yards away...still trying to figure out what the heck I was doing and what was that little 'pop' noise he kept hearing... Still well within my comfort range I put another cap on and said a hail Mary or two and squeezed another round off waiting for that blast of smoke to signal I had ignition...and some venison to process...'pop'. By now he was laughing so loud he walked off shaking his head stopping occasionally to look back and smile.
I ended up pulling the bullet (glad it was not a sabot). I started running my jig down into this 'tar' all black and sticky. I finally got as much as I could out. I dropped another small powder charge down the tube- patched it put another cap on and got a 'pop' again. I pulled the nipple out and drizzled some 4gr down the hole replaced it and tried again...'pop'. I tried this 3 times...same thing ..nada-no bang-no nothing. I was so mad and wasn't able to reach up and kick my own ass for what I was going through. I finally started adding powder down the tube ..lighting a cigarette and dropping it down the end. I remember saying 'fire in the hole' as the cigarette lit the powder and shot out the front.POOF A couple of times doing this and I finally did have FIRE IN THE HOLE as the charge dried out enough to ignite with a BANG. I wasted a couple of cigarettes ..heck that last one shot out real far...and nearly an hour of my hunting time but by God I had a clean barrel and a fresh load to finish my hunt with....
And I did watch the sparks that night as I discharged that round into the hillside....again ....and again.....and again...every night....no bambi that year.

so another oponent of discharging his black powder rifles changes his thoughts just glad you got the mess out of the bore without it corroding your rifle when i taught hunter education we always stated the charge could be left in we were only alowed to use the powder the state sent us which was goex but recommended that you fire the load and clean the gun that night starting off with a fresh load hank k

condensation can cause problems with BP , i.e. hunting in the cold and bringing the gun inside. I think the imitation powders are not as susecptable to that as BP is.
Again I keep the muzzle covered if it is raining or snowing. I have not had a misfire using 777 and leaving it in all week of the hunt.

I leave mine loaded as long as it takes . And i leave the gun in my truck in a case when it is loaded . Afriend of mine when i first started to use a ml to hunt with never take it in so it could warm up and get moisture

It was sort of a freaky winter that weekend. It started off cold and snowy all morning...then the sun came out and started melting things down. By the end of the day it was up in the high 40's. That night I laid my TC in the trunk...where it must have got cold again. The next morning it had condensation on the outside of the barrel....I probably should have known I was going to have a problem...but heck thats the way I had always done it.
I had another experience where my oldest came home for R&R after being over in the big desert. We went out and it was cold 14*. He started walking on a a small finger lake following bunny tracks. I had heard this particular preserve had 'deep' water with no gradual slope coming from the bank. We got about 2' from the bank and he saw bubbles coming up from the bottom blowing a small hole in the ice. As he walked over to look at it I told him don't get to close to that because the ice was ...before I got thin out he went through and disappeared ...gun and all. Now he is 6' 1" and the smoke pole another 4' as he thrust it up over his head as he went through. So it was well over 10' deep. As I was standing a couple a feet away from him when he went through I kinda felt that oh sh## factor go through me like I was next. I looked down and I could see the ice was 4"-5" inches thick as it bounced and floated above where he used to be. A couple of seconds later he surfaced like a whale coming up to blow. I took a step to get to the bank and grabbed hold of the end of his barrel. I was able to pull him up to where he could latch on to the bank with his hand. So now we had another problem...its 14* ...he is soaked...and the car is about a mile away. I gave him my gloves and peeled off an inner sweatshirt...tried to get his head gear off and swap that out. We started walking quickly toward the car. He had some of his marine cold weather gear on under his clothes and said you know what...I don't feel wet or cold. I knew he was ...had to be ...cause it was cold and he looked like a wet pup. Anyway we continued to walk toward the car. When we had it in sight he said I am dying to see if this will still shoot...I snickered because I knew how they sounded when the powder gets damp....and he had soaked his in water. He pulled the trigger and it went off. You just never know....and yes he was lucky...and I was thankful...I didn't loose him overseas...I did not want to loose him here.

Went out Sunday and shot my T/C RENAGADE that has been loaded since last Jan. Put a cap on aimed and BOOOOM, no problem. Cleaned it, now it`s ready for this season in two weeks.   

These are my pride and joy.

I hunt in South Jersey with my muzzel loader. The season runs for 2 1/2 months. Two years ago I shot a nice doe on opening day. I cleaned the gun correctly, dry fired it and then reloaded it. Did not shoot it till the season ended. I keep the gun in the garage and hunt behind my house. When I fired it from a rest at my range(50 yards) the shot was 10" off. What happened I do not know. Reloaded and it was right on. So now I shoot my gun every two weeks. Just my imput.
Joe Termite

where were you hunting in s jersey sounds like my neighborhood zone 51 i fire and clean my muzzleloader after each hunt hank k

Heh, Eagle 1953,
Just wondering, how can you tell a guilty animal from an innocent one?  My only determination is whether it's legal and in season.  Some parts of my state have antler count restrictions.  At a distance it's hard to count a 7 pointer from a six.

They are all guilty if in season.

Hi Dave.

I had left my Hawken in my truck during a move to TN from ND, and forgot it was in the back seat. A couple months later, I was cleaning the truck and found my .50 cal rifle-yup, side of barrel rusted all to heck! Now I have to strip the finish on that barrel to white condition, and redo the blue job. THAT sukked.. I just found my dremel tool, so I guess now I have to get that started now too.

I just got my reloading bench sorta done, so I guess the rifle redo is next! NEVER leave em in your vehicle, folks!

I've been shooting muzzleloaders for about 35 years and never leave a load in overnight, especially if I'm hunting. If you're shooting roundballs, as I do, all you need is a ball puller to extract your ball. If you want something easier, get a CO2 discharger. Both methods will allow you to unload without shooting your gun. I shoot only flintlocks of traditional style. Some of the new guns with removeable breach plugs may allow you to push the load out. This depends on the design. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction when doing any of this stuff, but we all know that. It's still worth repeating.