How long do you leave your powder and bullet in the gun

[mark3885]

How long do you leave your powder and bullet in the gun after a day or so of hunting? Especially in a closed breech like my TC renegade, I don't want to leave it more than a day, I'll shoot it, then a thourough cleaning that evening. My TC Triumph , I'll let it go 2 days if it hasn 't rained . I saw Stan Potts on North American Whitetail say that he left his ML go for 5 days then he missed a nice buck due to old powder.

[bubba]

It depends on the weather when I am out. If it is damp I shoot it and clean it. If not I will leave it loaded all week of early ml season, and even eave it until late ml season if I did not shoot it. If I shoot it, I clean it that night and get it ready for the next day. I do the same with my renegade as I do my encore.

[Single_shot]

I missed a buck and doe in less than 10sec because of damp 777 pellets during early ML. I hunted in rain but kept muzzle down and dry and figured I had done a good job at keeping everything dry.Not! When the time came to shoot,all I got was poof and not boom. I had time to quickly replace the primer after the buck walked by but then when the doe stood there looking at me,again,all there was, was a poof. I would say if you are in dry conditions,don't be too concerned with it.Raining damp ugly day....change it promptly and clean it thoroughly. I learned the hard way.

[bubba]

pellets are known to draw moisture easier than loose. And their shelf life is much shorter than loose. Another reason I don't use them

[Moosemaple]

Has anyone ever put a baloon over the end of there M/L in the bad weather, I had a person tell me that he does it all the time and it does not effect the accuracy of the gun when fired.

[tughillhunter]

moisture can still get in there. nature of the beast. for the price, just blast them out and reload. its better than a failed shot or miss.

[bubba]

agreed

[Pygmy]

Has anyone ever put a baloon over the end of there M/L in the bad weather, I had a person tell me that he does it all the time and it does not effect the accuracy of the gun when fired.

I have done this with both muzzleloaders and centerfire rifles. The expanding gasses blow the balloon off the muzzle and it never even contacts the projectile, and does not affect the accuracy.

I have used used balloons , duct tape, electrical tape, and condoms..All work the same. Duct tape is perhaps the most rugged. Put a strip over the muzzle and then wrap another strip around the muzzle to hold it more secure.

[Lawdwaz]

I use electrical tape on all my deer guns when hunting.

[Moosemaple]

Yes Pygmy, that is what I was told I know that this is not 100%, I am going to try it during the real bad wet days. During M/L I do not set much, Iam always on the move.

[Pygmy]

Yes Pygmy, that is what I was told I know that this is not 100%, I am going to try it during the real bad wet days. During M/L I do not set much, Iam always on the move.

I still unload, dry out and reload daily if it is wet weather.

If it is dry, I often go several days with the same charge in the barrel.I have been lucky and have never had a failure to fire when shooting at game. I HAVE had a couple misfires in wet weather when I was emptying my gun at the end of the day. I use an old sidelock TC Hawken with loose powder.

[deerpassion]

I'll change every hunt... May be a little costly but when that big buck steps out u've been waitin on since August u'll thank urself.. I don't shoot the unused powder , just pop the speed breech out , push everything out n reuse the bullet the next day, peletts r easy enough to replace... Like everything else in my life and I'm sure most of u have learned the hard way too, it's just not worth it to save a few scents on powder on a deer u put the time in on!!!

[bubba]

a trick I learned many years ago with side locks. Cut a small piece of suede leather and put it between the nipple and hammer when storing the gun in between hunts. The leather absorbs the moisture and keeps it away from powder. I have had my old hawken go off in a pouring rain storm using that method. I take a small piece of shoe lace and attach the leather to it and tie it to my trigger guard so I do not lose the leather.

[sits in trees]

i leave mine in all season, i gotta Savage m10-11 smokeless.

[Doewhacker]

a trick I learned many years ago with side locks. Cut a small piece of suede leather and put it between the nipple and hammer when storing the gun in between hunts. The leather absorbs the moisture and keeps it away from powder. I have had my old hawken go off in a pouring rain storm using that method. I take a small piece of shoe lace and attach the leather to it and tie it to my trigger guard so I do not lose the leather.

Thats a great idea, I usually try to cover mine with my hand in wet stuff which is a pain.

And I leave powder in for the whole season, never had an issue with loose black powder. My dad has left his in for a entire year with no issue before, Goex black powder rules.

[Nomad]

" I have used used balloons , duct tape, electrical tape, and condoms..All work the same. Duct tape is perhaps the most rugged ""

Hum not sure the Mrs. would go for the duct tape...

I shoot a MK 85, change out the powder for each hunt. I used to leave it in the garage, drive home with the heat off and so on, till one time when I changed out the powder and out came a damp slug of "powder" .

[Single_shot]

Will the pellets that got damp dry out ,so that they can atleast be shot at a target? Just asking...yeah i'm cheap. ~

[PREDATE]

Pretty much the same for me. It depends on weather. I've seen actual barrel "condoms" but I figure those finger condoms that are used for bandages would do the trick. Usually if I know I'll be hunting the next day I'll just leave the gun in the vehicle overnight so condensation won't build due to heat.

On the subject of breech moisture, do you guys dry fire a primer after swabbing the barrel? I learned that the hard way and had a huge delay between primer and powder. I shoot a Rem. 700ML and the flash channel is fairly narrow. I can say that hasn't happened since I converted it to use 209primers

I've been wanting to switch to loose powder for a few years and this is the year it will happen. So for those of you that use loose, could you recommend a good speed loader that I can carry pre-measured charges in?

[Nomad]

I always snap a cap or 2

[Gthphtm]

Balloon over the muzzle and bow string wax over the nipple,leave it that way all season,at the end of the season shoot it at a target and it hits the same spot as before the season.I use a balloon on my shot gun and centerfire also.

[Beaverkill]

I have always left the MZ loaded during the season, unless I thought moisture got to the powder...But a friend of mine missed an opportunity at a trophy VT buck last season when his shot didnt go off...He thinks it was moisture related...So I am rethinking keeping it loaded... I have a White Rifle in-line, so I just remove the breech and can remove powder without discharging...

I have also used balloons and tape over the muzzle with no affect to accuracy... As for condoms, save the ribbed for her pleasure

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Balloon over the muzzle and bow string wax over the nipple,leave it that way all season,at the end of the season shoot it at a target and it hits the same spot as before the season.I use a balloon on my shot gun and centerfire also.

Wax over the nipple? doesn't that plug the hole?

[PREDATE]

Hot wax and a nipple pick! WTF

[Elmo]

Wax over the nipple? doesn't that plug the hole?

Whatever fetish you have, keep it to yourself.

[mark3885]

Thanks for all the input . I like the suede leather trick , I'll have to give it a try. I'm convinced to shoot out the charge on a wet day but will leave it in for a few , if its dry out. Always used a balloon over the muzzle on all my guns when hunting in wet weather.Always snapped a cap before loading , caps are cheap. I don't want to miss a deer due to moisture.Powder and caps are cheap ,my time isn't.