I've loaded my muzzleloader but no deer in site NOW WHAT?

I have not shot a deer yet w/ mine I have left mine in for a season starts end of Oct./ Beginning of Nov. till mid Dec (that is muzzleloader/Rifle) w/ no problems I know people that have left it for almost a year & fired fine I don't recommend it.

ofdeputy2 made a good post no longer than a year I always shoot my gun after the season is over take it apart and clean it real good. I don't have to worry about that here in TN muzzeloader only last a week. You don't want to have that buck you scouted for all summer and hunted all year. Then your gun won't go off.

Thanks for all the imput, I like my guns in perfect condition like B&C with the short muzzleloader seasons in DE I can discharge at the end of each. Thanks again

I may be extreem on this but I discharge my muzzleloader every night and clean then start fresh the next day. Never would I leave a charge in a blackpowder firearm for any length of time.

Hunting Man, couldn't you remove the breech plug and push the bullet out the breech end after each hunt, it would be cheaper.

I shoot flintlocks and would be a bit of problem getting the breach plug off. To do it right you need a padded vice and wrench made for the plug. Shooting patched round balls is not too expensive to discharge.

wmi said:

:no:Leaving your BP loaded for a prolonged period of time will cause pitting in your barrel in the area of your powder charge. It does not matter if it is SS or not. Even a small amount of humidity will do it. This is first hand knowledge for I use to do it as well. Furthermore even a small amount of moister will cause a variation in the charge which could cause not necessarily a miss fire but a missed shot at longer ranges. This has happened to me. Fortunately my fresh follow up shot was on its mark. I still leave my round in good weather for a week or so but never longer. It cost me $200 to fix my gun from these practices and I hope to save you the same unnecessary expense. You can by one of those compressed air gizmos that will safely unload your gun without firing it. If you are like me and like your firearms in perfect condition please learn from my mistakes.

Click to expand...

I agree, short periods only in dry weather. Wet weather you need to load each hunt.

KTL said:

Hunting Man, couldn't you remove the breech plug and push the bullet out the breech end after each hunt, it would be cheaper.

Click to expand...

You can do this safely if you you soak(wet) the charge before you do it.

I agree, a week at the most.

i take it out the same night just remove the breech plug and out comes the pellets and push the bullet out

Using black powder multiplies the moisture problem 10 fold. This is why I discharge every night , clean and reload next morning. As wmi said leaving BP guns loaded for any length of time will at some point prove to be expensive. I can see where pellets would give you some additional hunting time without reloading, but for me I need additional assurances that the darn thing will go off. Also for us flintlock shooters the vent hole is a prime entryway for moisture to get to the main charge. On my TC firehawk I'll leave it overnight loaded and just put a a new musket cap on each morning. I don't hunt much with the inline anymore.