I’ve never handled any BP firearm. What do you do with your BP gun at the conclusion of a hunt session in which you didn’t get a shot? Just fire it in a safe direction?

No you keep it loaded; if it was clean when you loaded it, it will stay good for 200 years. If it was dirty when you loaded it, then shoot it and clean it. Or use your bullet puller and pull the bullet and dump out the powder.
Now, that is for black powder; for substitutes and sabots, same thing.
If you want to shoot some flintlocks with real black powder the way they were intended, come on over.
Oh, muzzle loaders are only considered "loaded" legally, when there is a cap on the nipple, or a primer in them, or there is priming in the pan.
A charge in the barrel is not, "loaded".

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
No you keep it loaded; if it was clean when you loaded it, it will stay good for 200 years. If it was dirty when you loaded it, then shoot it and clean it. Or use your bullet puller and pull the bullet and dump out the powder.
Now, that is for black powder; for substitutes and sabots, same thing.
If you want to shoot some flintlocks with real black powder the way they were intended, come on over.
Oh, muzzle loaders are only considered "loaded" legally, when there is a cap on the nipple, or a primer in them, or there is priming in the pan.
A charge in the barrel is not, "loaded".

Thanks. It is something I have always wondered. I suppose that without an ignition source, the powder is really just dirt, sand, or whatever.

quote:

Originally posted by DCS Member:

Thanks. It is something I have always wondered. I suppose that without an ignition source, the powder is really just dirt, sand, or whatever.

Actually black powder is really potassium nitrate (salt peter), sulphur, and charcoal, not just dirt, sand, or whatever.

Saltpetre!
I have never left my BP pistols with powder in the chambers. I was always concerned about possible corrosion occurring in the chambers. Is this an old wives tale? I was also concerned about the powder getting damp due to moisture getting in, and affecting the ignition when I finally did get around to firing it. Was this also an old wives tale? I was happy with leaving the powder in the can with a good screw top cap on it. What did the civil war guys do?
Peter

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:

quote:

Originally posted by DCS Member:

Thanks. It is something I have always wondered. I suppose that without an ignition source, the powder is really just dirt, sand, or whatever.

Actually black powder is really potassium nitrate (salt peter), sulphur, and charcoal, not just dirt, sand, or whatever.

It was a bad analogy. Obviously, I know it’s not dirt, sand, or whatever. I just wondered what happens at the end of a hunt. It would still bother me, but it appears to be inert without an ignition source. I just
Don’t know if I could be comfortable.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
Saltpetre!
I have never left my BP pistols with powder in the chambers. I was always concerned about possible corrosion occurring in the chambers. Is this an old wives tale? I was also concerned about the powder getting damp due to moisture getting in, and affecting the ignition when I finally did get around to firing it. Was this also an old wives tale? I was happy with leaving the powder in the can with a good screw top cap on it. What did the civil war guys do?
Peter

I am with you Peter, I will not leave my black powder gun (TC Renegade) loaded as I have a hard time getting it to fire after it stays loaded a couple days in deer season, so I fire and reload .... most likely caused by the pouring rain or snow we always get that time of year. If I am using the 700 muzzleloader, I can remove the plug in the rear and push out the pellets and sabot. No problem here.

DCS: If I am hunting the next day, I'll pull the percussion cap and leave the charge in the barrel. If I am putting it away, I will either discharge the weapon or pull the ball and charge. You can also "unload" your ML using a CO2-powered discharger. I worry less about a real BP charge drawing moisture than I do some of the subs, particularly Pyrodex, which I simply refuse to trust. I just find it poor policy to have even a partially loaded weapon on the premises unless it is meant for defensive business.

How do you do the pulling of a bullet? Do you have a modern rifle system or a original/replica?

quote:

Originally posted by Nordic2:
How do you do the pulling of a bullet? Do you have a modern rifle system or a original/replica?

The old way is to use a ball puller which is a screw attached to a strong range rod. Do not use the weaker rod that comes with the gun.

The method is to screw the puller into the soft lead then pull it out. Make sure the rifle is unprimed before doing this! I only shoot traditional sidelock muzzleloaders so I have no idea about some of the new fangled inlines or their bullets if that matters. It's actually much easier to just use the CO2 method to blow it out however. In fact that's all I've done in years.

Now for those that have had trouble getting a blackpowder load to ignite after sitting in the rifle for sometime. The method I use is to place a piece of foam earplug over the nipple (assuming a percussion rifle) and let the hammer down on it when leaving it over night. It prevents moisture getting at the powder and tells me the load is still in the barrel. It's worked fine for me during late season elk hunts in western Washington (meaning constant rain and/or snow) the entire season. It's very rare for me to have a misfire doing this and the load may stay in place the entire season unless I shoot something. I suspect one other culprit that causes misfires is the bore was not completely cleaned of all oil before loading. It MUST be dry before loading and kept that way. Also cover the muzzle while hunting with some electrical tape. Misfires are usually caused by inattention to the basic rules and inexperience.

Muzzleloaders have been in use for centuries all over the planet. Its only been in comparitively recent times that cartridge rifles were invented. So it's pretty obvious people figured out little tips and tricks to keep them functioning reliably under all conditions. I doubt they would have put up with anything less. Remember most of the game in North America was wiped out by them before cartridge guns came onto the scene.

Unfortunately most of the tricks they knew has been lost after modern cartridge rifles came into common use. So we need to relearn ways to make muzzleloaders work reliably under all conditions. But it can be done.