I've never held or even seen a working muzzleloader, so excuse my ignorance... But how do you unload a muzzleloader on the days when you are not successful and heading home? Do you fire it into the ground? Pull the bullet out, somehow? Leave it loaded overnight?

I assume success is not guaranteed just because your gun loads from the wrong end.

Fire it and reload it the next day for the best chance of it going off when you need it to. I have let them sit for weeks loaded...without the cap....and had them go off without a hitch. But I've also, more than once, left one loaded over night and have it not go off when needed.....even after one doe hung around and let me put on another cap. This happened last week. And that was the second time this year.

I do not unload mine at all until end of season. I never take in and out of the house where rapid temp changes can possibly moisten powder. Not sure if that is even true, but have heard it can cause problems. I leave it in my truck so it heats or cools slowly with the days temps. Also i shot a savage which means i do not have to mess around with black powder or pyrodex anymore, i can use regular smokeless powder, huge advantage in cleaning. I shoot 10 plus whitetails w year with this method. At end of season if i have not shot a deer on my last outing, i shoot out the ball as the previous poster stated.

"I never take in and out of the house where rapid temp changes can possibly moisten powder."


Doing this is probably the root of my misfires.

I pretty much always bring mine into the house but wrap it in an old blanket first. I used to use a beach towel but they flop open and expose something somewhere on the gun, then my wife was tossing an old blanket once so I use that now. If you wrap it up it will not get condensation on it and can also have any moisture on it dry off. Plus you don't have a freezing cold gun to hang on to the next morning. I should probably lie and say how I clean and inspect it after it has warmed up but unless I was in the rain or something I don't fiddle with it, just grab it the next morning and leave the blanket outside the back door.

Also, I leave it loaded for the length of the season. If I've been in the rain I'll shoot it which lets me load it fresh the next day and also lets me know if the gun still goes off.

If for whatever reason you cannot shoot your gun, there is a gizmo called a "ball puller" that is basically a wood screw that fits on the ramrod and screws into the bullet and you can pull it out. It helps to squirt some oil in the bore first.

Thank you for your answers guys! You have satisfied my curiosity, and I doubt if I will apply for a muzzleloader just yet :-)

This year I was lucky enough to unload my muzzle loader a min after shooting time the last day of season.

A .452 250 gr xtp at 1900fps does a real nice job on a porkupine.

Most states say that if there is no cap on the nipple, or primer in it, or powder in the pan (if a flintlock) then it is unloaded; so you can leave it loaded as long as you want. Then as stated above, use a ball puller or shoot it out. there is a CO2 thing which they sell; pretty much an expensive solution to a non problem to me. I don't know hard it is to get a ml in Norway (they aren't considered firearms in the US so you can buy them without any restrictions), but they are tons of fun.

The beauty of the new in-line models, just unscrew the breach plug, let your powder pellets drop out, then push the bullet thru.

The CO2 device works beautifully.
I have one which I keep for the caplock rifles.
Must admit though, I've only used it in the shop to practice.
I don't miss targets of opportunity in the field.
Always a good chance to exercise the rifle before making it back home.



Cheers
Tinker

There is no beauty in in-lines and I will let it go so as not to antagonize those in-line lovers. I just can't figure out where to put the flints in them. (No hate mail please; I actually own one)

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
There is no beauty in in-lines and I will let it go so as not to antagonize those in-line lovers. I just can't figure out where to put the flints in them. (No hate mail please; I actually own one)

I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder........

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
There is no beauty in in-lines...
I just can't figure out where to put the flints in them

Look here for an inline flinter. Scroll down that page for an example. Neat rifle too.



Cheers
Tinker

I usually shoot mine off, safely into a dirt bank.

A couple of years back my best friend and I hunted w/ traditional M/L's and we both removed the cap at days end, hung the rifles on the rack, and took them out the next day. I found an old "push on eraser" like you used in high school, and placed it over the nipple and left the cap on the rest of the time loaded.
Bob's rifle stayed loaded about 25 days til he killed a very nice 9 point buck, mine stayed loaded about a week longer til I took a doe. Both guns didnt hesitate to fire, but we did pull the nipples after a couple weeks and checked the powder. It was still dry so we left it alone.

Regards,
Eterry

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
I usually shoot mine off, safely into a dirt bank.

Me too. I've let mine sit with a charge in it for a few days and not had a problem, but I feel better with fresh powder for every hunt, especially since its usually 5-6 days before I can go out again.

I've left mine loaded for months with no ill effects.

Loaded mine Nov 14th 2011 shot it off at a paper target Jan 3d 2012. I leave it out on the screen in porch every night, place cling wrap over the muzzle with a rubber band, Keep a cows knee ovwer the cap if it is raining.

Al

I have the CO2 contraption as well. However, I don't use a MZ very often so I've yet to have a need to use the gizmo. Just killed my first MZ mule deer this past weekend. The rifle was loaded the first morning of the hunt and I shot him at about 13:00 in the early afternoon.

Good info here in this thread for a MZ novice like myself! My plan was to leave it loaded for the entire 5 day season if not fired, but blow the charge out with the CO2 prior to packing up and heading back home. Glad it worked out the way it did however!