How long can you leave a Muzzle loader dirty?

[usmarine0352_2005]

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I want to sight in my deer rifle and muzzle loaders next week. If I do that it will be about a month to 2 months before I actually use my muzzle loader.


Knowing that a fouling shot is important for muzzle loaders should I sight in the muzzle loader next week and not clean it until deer season or should I clean it?





1.) Do you think the muzzle loader will be fine being dirty for a month to 2 months?




2.) Do you believe in a fouling shot?




.

 

[montveil]

Most ML powders are HIGHLY CORROSIVE--CLEAN IT AFTER FIRING
most folks do fire a primer before loading the first shot

CLEAN AND PRIMER FOUL

 

[dfariswheel]

Depending on the level of humidity in your area, the rifle will corrode in a matter of a few hours to a few days.

Because of the highly corrosive nature of black powder and all the substitutes I know of, a BP firearm MUST be cleaned as soon as possible after firing.

Popping a couple of caps before loading a clean gun will clear the nipple.
Make sure to thoroughly wipe out the bore to remove all lube first.

If you feel that this isn't enough, load a round and fire it into the ground the morning of the hunt.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Myself, I do not believe in a fouling shot, however, whatever floats people's boats is fine by me.

Any shot I might take with my 50 Caliber will be within 50 yards, and as such, I am not worried as long as my shot hits where I aim and the gun is sighted in for that distance, I have no issues.

After deer season, I clean the entire gun, even if I did not take a shot. If I take a shot, as soon as I get home, the gun gets dismantled and THOROUGHLY-CLEANED!

 

[P-32]

Even using 777 powder in a front loader all exposed metal will rust. Any thing the primer residue comes in contact rust almost the same day. One time I thought I did a good job cleaning only to find the hammer covered in rust. I'm only interested how and where a clean bore shot goes.

 

[Jonny V]

You could develop you sight dope for clean bore shots. Just set up a target, load and fire. Clean the rifle and wait 20 minutes, then repeat. Keep at this until you've fired 10 shots. Yeah, I know that 30 min in between each shot makes for 300 minutes which is a big 5 hour pain in the a$$. However, you'll have a good group of clean bore shots, and then you won't be worried about any fouling shot, you'll know where the first shot is going.

 

[hawkeye10]

I don't hunt any more but when I did I cleaned my muzzle loader after every day of hunting. At the end of the day I would fire the shot that was loaded and clean the gun. Don

 

[slowr1der]

The only way you could possibly get by with this is if you are shooting BH209.

If you are shooting T7, Pyrodex, Goex, real BP, or anything similar, you will have major problems.

This being said, I clean mine after each shot, and with the ones I've shot the first shot from a clean bore has always shot to nearly the same POI as the rest.
I usually either swab between each shot when sighting them in, but I have shot 3 shot groups before swabbing. I wouldn't just shoot and shoot with it super dirty sighting it in, and sight it in a a dirty barrel. As long as you swab between every shot or two when sighting it in, you should be fine hunting.

As for the rust, stainless holds up better, but will still rust. I had a blued muzzle loader one time that I shoot Pyrodex in. I shot it in the morning 3 times around 9:00AM. The evening I took it out and shot a deer with it. I spent the night skinning the deer, and getting it processed. That night it was 9:30-10:00 when I got around to finally breaking it down to clean it. To my surprise the gun had already started rusting. I got it mostly cleaned, but that just shows you how fast the rust starts. Imagine that for 2 months. I've got a buddy that never clean his, and the barrel is literally full of rust. It looks like it's set underwater for years. That said, his also isn't accurate at all, and he is the type of guy that says he just "shoots" out the rust. What scares me is someone let him borrow their muzzle loader and it's still sitting at his house uncleaned since they shot it last year. I'd never loan him any of my guns.

Now, my experience with SS ones is that they don't rust as quickly, but I'd still not let it go more than a day. If you do I suspect you will start seeing it rust.

If you use BH209, it acts similar to a smokeless powder and you clean it like you would a rifle. IMO you'd probably be okay to leave it for a month or two is this is what you shot in it, but that's just my opinion, and this is the only instance I think you might be okay. I still wouldn't do it, and I'd still clean it after shooting it though.

 

[P-32]

I might add, frist time cleaning gmy new to me front loader, I used the bath tub. The wife about killed me because of the rotten egg smell.After this, I would wait untill the coast was clear and used the kic. sink with boiling hot water and soap. I held the barrel with the hot dog tonges. The mess wasn't as bad.

 

[rori]

I simply fire one shot a day from a spotless bore just like I would when hunting. Once I load it for hunting be it 1 day or 3 months thats it and is never unloaded till it kills something. I do tape the muzzle and keep a scrap of leather over the nipple when not capped. Frank

 

[Jonny V]

P-32, windex gets rid of the smell, that way she won't know what you're up to!

 

[GooseGestapo]

The problem with the clean shot is the cleaning. Or more precisely, the lubricant in the barrels. Unlike a previous poster, I don't wait 20min. It doesn't appear to be a problem. After first shot, I run a dry patch to get loose "gunk", a damp patch (carry a 16oz bottle of water to range to dampen patch, or, just spit on it like the "old timers". Run a couple of damp patches to get most fouling and soften what is left. I then run a patch lubed with ancient equivalent to "Bore Butter". Crisco seems to work just as well. Don't over do the lube.
Load and shoot. Repeat.
This way, I'm close to replicating the clean bore shot, w/o the laborious cleaning. The problem with a "clean bore" shot is usually the lubricant in the barrel. This way I'm duplicating the lubricant "condition".
I use an MMP .50cal sabot with a .45acp 200gr SWC I cast from Lee mould and size to 0.450". Makes an accurate, effective, and very inexpensive load. Three shots, three deer, no recovered bullets..... Less then 0.10 per shot for projectiles. Bought out Wally World when they ran Pyrodex 1lb for $5.00lb several years back. Have a lifetime supply of Pyrodex. Almost as much 777.

After range work, I repeat the above steps. It prevents major rust/corrosion issues till I can "sink" -clean the gun with hot water. I then lightly lube the bore with the "grease patch" (actual name of tube of lube I've been working out of for 20+yrs.). I "condition" my bore for the first shot by running the lubricated patch in the bore. But, I don't run the patch all the way to the bolster, so I don't leave a "gobb" of lube in the flash hole.

My Inline is still shooting accurately. I last week gave it it's annual "check up" at the range. Couldn't get a decent group. Removed the cheap scope I put on it last year. Put Williams reciever sight back on. Voila, 3" groups at 100yds 2"+ POA @ 100yds. Ready for M/L season again......

FWIW, I've never had a hang-fire or misfire. Can't say the same for my younger brother who insisted on doing things differently. After having mis-fires on two elk hunts, he finally called, got my advise and actually followed it. Last two years.... two shots, two elk..... No misfires or misses.....

 

[sixgunner455]

You can leave a muzzleloader dirty until it rusts completely away ... but I don't recommend it.

Clean it. Always, always. You can get away with not cleaning modern firearms that are fired with non-mercuric primers and smokeless powder for extended amounts of time. You will regret not cleaning a blackpowder firearm.

 

[LeonCarr]

The old saying, "Never let the sun set on a dirty gun" is due to folks back in the day not cleaning their muzzleloaders/black powder guns at the end of the day and the guns end up rusted up the next morning from humidity.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[au_prospector]

Clean your rifles, Marine. They will not be fine stored dirty for 2 months.

 

[mdauben]

1.) Do you think the muzzle loader will be fine being dirty for a month to 2 months?

After two months without being cleaned, I would expect the barrel to be so rusted as to be totally ruined. I have always cleaned my muzzle loaders thoroughly as soon as I get home from the range. Even sitting dirty overnight will result in at least surface rust in the bore.

2.) Do you believe in a fouling shot?

IMO, the "fouling shot" is a technique best used by the bench rest target shooters in order to achieve the absolute minimum groups. Its not something that I have ever heard of ML hunters worrying about.

That said, if you are interested in disucssing black poweder tips and techniques, you would probably get a better response in the Blackpowder Shooting section of THR.