How long to trust a loaded muzzleloader?

[red rick]

I left my inline loaded for a year . I didn’t try to fire the sabot out . I removed the breech plug and the T7 was hard . I had to bust it up to get it out . It was like a pellet .

 

[mcb]

I left mine loaded all year in North Alabama and it went bang just fine this year. When I do this, just before the next hunt I always pull the nipple, put a pinch of fresh powder in the channel, double check the nipple is clean and put it back in. If I take the time to do that I have never had it fail to go bang.

 

[hawg]

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my query.

Since it does take an hour, what am I doing wrong? I do the water up the bore thing and it doesn't get the bore clean.

It might if I fired only a shot before cleaning. Firing 5-10, and it's an hours job. Black gummy fouling.

That sounds like you're using a petroleum based lube. That does take a minute of hard work to get out. If you loaded the gun with lube still in the bore it will contaminate the powder. As a long time user of Pyrodex I can tell you it cleans up just as easily as real black. It also has an undeserved reputation for rust and corrosion. I have left a revolver uncleaned for nine days and got no rust or corrosion. I frequently go two or three days without cleaning. In strength it's about the same as Swiss. As was mentioned black powder is only hygroscopic after it's burned. Staying loaded for decades won't hurt anything and it won't weaken with age.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Thanks for the replies.
Yes, I lubed the barrel. Is one not supposed to lube the barrel? How do you keep it from rusting if it's not lubed? My experience is, if you don't lube the barrel, you get rust in a ML.

Yes, you oil a barrel when the gun is in storage...EMPTY. The preceding posts referencing using an alcohol patch followed by dry patches and letting it air dry before loading and heading out for the hunt are good advice. Save the oil for post-cleaning. Yes, the lube from a pre-lubed patch can leach into the powder and weaken it. Think about it and I'm sure you'll agree. While the gun may "go off", a squib load will definitely change POI and penetration if and where you do hit. Again; not worth the risk in my book. You owe yourself and your quarry the best chance of a clean and effective kill. You only have one shot.
I unload either by firing the gun or pulling the charge after the hunt and start anew next time out. And as one previous poster mentioned, Pyrodex compressed in a bore turns into a solid block after a spell...certainly quicker than 2 years.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Cap, you know I respect your opinion but I have to disagree on this one. I've got a CVA Hawken that belonged to my ex's stepdad. He loaded it up with 90 grains of Pyrodex and a conical to go deer hunting. He had a heart attack and never went. About nine years later, not long after he died she gave the gun to me. I capped it and one pull of the trigger it went off with the recoil you'd expect.
.

Same here, Hawg!
Not saying it's not possible for a gun to stay loaded for several years and not go off, it probably has a 50% chance of going either way. What I am saying is that why leave that question in the equation when he can totally eliminate it by going with a fresh charge?

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Same here, Hawg!
Not saying it's not possible for a gun to stay loaded for several years and not go off, it probably has a 50% chance of going either way. What I am saying is that why leave that question in the equation when he can totally eliminate it by going with a fresh charge?

Yes what's possible and what's probable...I saw a revolver that was fired, (a .44 "Navy" no less!) and then put in a T-shirt drawer for six months. Not a spot of rust. However, I'd pass on that experiment!

 

[Gus Chiggins]

I can spend an hour cleaning a muzzleloader. The bore only takes me 10 to 20 minutes but I get a scraper and clean out the cup on the hammer (percussion.) I clean the flash channel with a brass wound guitar string. The nipple gets soaked in solvent while I'm doing all this then cleaned with a brass bristle brush. The area around the nipple usually needs some attention to get off baked on carbon. I clean the fouling off the ramrod tip and give the brass fittings a good cleaning.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

The old "hammer cup". ! Really easy to overlook.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

I wouldn’t trust a humane shot with a gun loaded for a month...

That sounds a bit dramatic.
A properly loaded muzzleloader loaded in a clean barrel should bee 100% reliable loaded for a month if your not fording streams in a rain storm or exposing it to other serious inclement weather.
The charge is sealed up pretty good in a caplock.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Yes it all depends. Cleaned and loaded properly by someone who knows what they are doing, the gun could be left loaded "forever" and fire perfectly. The way some guys clean and load their rifles, the load might go soft or dead in a week. !!!!!

 

[bassjam]

When I used to hunt with an inline muzzleloader I used Bore Butter as a lube. Supposedly it "seasons" the bore, and it certainly worked well for me. Cleaning was extremely easy using a couple inches of soapy water in a bucket and a cleaning rod with a thick cotton swab as a plunger to suction water into the bore and push it out. Took all of 3 minutes to get the bore spotless. Dry it out 100% and put a swab of bore butter through the bore as a rust preventative and it was good until next season. I stopped using petroleum based lubes altogether on my ML. After about 5 years I sold the gun to my brother 15 years ago and he's still using it and cleaning/lubing it the same way.

I can't imagine not shooting my deer gun before each season to ensure it's sighted in, let alone using the same charge of powder that's been sitting in that gun for any length of time. Pyrodex likes to pick up moisture, so just taking the gun from a warm house out in the cold weather and back in can cause condensate to occur. Even if the gun fires, the charge may have less power which could affect POA.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Oh yeah, the seasoning of the bore. Some swear by it. I've never tried it as I'm just too OCD.

For sure, even though I believe I can leave my rifle loaded for a long time, I won't load it up until just before season opens. And shoot it first to check zero, and just enjoy it. How long I leave it loaded through the season just depends on the weather. If the weather is dry and clear through the early seasons, I'll leave it loaded. A wet hunt, I'll kill the paper plate, take another couple of shots, maybe pop off a couple "quick loads" give it a good cleaning (with full-on OCD) and load up for the next hunt.

If I get skunked through the late seasons, that's when the rifle might sit for months after the seasons close before I empty it. I always take that shot carefully at a target, just to make sure it would have kilt the critter, had I got a shot. The only time I got a soft shot, or the load went soft, was when it sat for about six months with two wonder wads under the ball. Now I put one wax wad over the powder, and a wonderful wad on top of that, and she goes off with all her might (mite?) every time.

 

[gtrgy888]

That sounds a bit dramatic.
A properly loaded muzzleloader loaded in a clean barrel should bee 100% reliable loaded for a month if your not fording streams in a rain storm or exposing it to other serious inclement weather.
The charge is sealed up pretty good in a caplock.

I have data behind that hesitation. I reliably lose 200 feet per second after a month loaded in a thoroughly degreased and dried cylinder. I’ll need to replicate that a couple more months to be certain, but something is degrading powder quality more than would be expected in the same powder stored in the flask. Load fresh to ensure both reliability and stopping power.

 

[Bazoo]

Part of the cleaning problem is that I haven't ever been around any ML enthusiasts that really know what they are doing.

Could someone suggest a good article or video on how to clean correctly? I prefer an article.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

I have data behind that hesitation. I reliably lose 200 feet per second after a month loaded in a thoroughly degreased and dried cylinder....

What else are you putting in there?
Otherwise it's really just a can like the powder comes in from the factory, right?

 

[hawg]

Oh yeah, the seasoning of the bore. Some swear by it. I've never tried it as I'm just too OCD.

How pray tell do you season steel? You season cast iron and it leaves a buildup of carbon. Even if you could season steel you do not want a buildup of anything in a bore.

 

[Bazoo]

It just occurred to me. Maybe those patches my buddy has have some petroleum product in them tats causing horrid fouling.

 

[hawg]

It just occurred to me. Maybe those patches my buddy has have some petroleum product in them tats causing horrid fouling.

Sounds like it.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I've never been afraid of dino-juice, and have cleaned with Hoppe's #9 with no problems, but for sure I wouldn't use dino-goo on a patch. I'd be suspicious of any commercial pre-lubed patches, if that is what they are. You just don't know what's on them.

I'd be leery of vegetable oils too, even though Olive oil mixed into a lube works well, or causes no problems that I know of. I don't think I'd lube a patch with just olive oil, but if others have had no problems...speak up! I'd stick with animal fats, mink oil, stuff like that. I used bacon grease for a long time, hoping it would attract a bear. It did not. Long term it can get rancid, but it never gave me any fouling problems.

Now that I got a bear at last, I'll be using bear grease/oil and expect it to work great. Seems to be a wonder-substance. Treats leather like I've never seen before. In fact the Jeager is patched with bar-grease right now. But I'm sure there's a ba-zillion guys on this forum that will share all their patch-lube recipes.

 

[gtrgy888]

What else are you putting in there?
Otherwise it's really just a can like the powder comes in from the factory, right?

I load full chambers of real black powder, seat an oversized ball, then cap and carry just like Colt recommended. I will be testing further to play with different variables, since I haven’t determined the cause of diminishing power yet. (water tightness of caps and balls after weeks loaded to determine whether temperature shrinkage occurs, beeswax sealing ball and/or caps, use of nitrated paper cartridges/cornmeal filler as moisture buffers). I’ll post results as I get them.

 

[hawg]

I don't think I'd lube a patch with just olive oil, but if others have had no problems...speak up!

Olive oil is all I use but I don't use it wet. I cut a long strip of patch material, soak it in olive oil and let it dry. I also cut my patches at the muzzle. No trying to get a ball centered on a precut patch.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Okay, I'm probably thinking of cooking oils, like canola, things like that. That stuff will gum up. But yes, Olive oil is an old standby, mixed with bee's wax to get the consistency desired for patch lube or bullet lube.

I tried coconut oil not too long ago, I like the consistency but my accuracy seemed to drop off a bit. Wonder Lube 1000 plus has always worked well for me. But over long periods of time it seems to interact with lead and make it "funky". But, never a fouling problem.

Anyhow Bazoo, yeah good idea to know exactly what your patches are lubed with, and ditch any vegetable oils for any purpose.

 

[hawg]

Okay, I'm probably thinking of cooking oils, like canola, things like that. That stuff will gum up. But yes, Olive oil is an old standby, mixed with bee's wax to get the consistency desired for patch lube or bullet lube.

Sweet oil was a popular patch lube back in the day. Sweet oil is olive oil.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Okay then I'll just say stay away from vegetable oils. Hey...is an olive a vegetable? I hope not.

 

[hawg]

Okay then I'll just say stay away from vegetable oils. Hey...is an olive a vegetable? I hope not.

It's a fruit. Hmmm is that a thing? Maybe apple juice would be a good patch lube.