Firing unused bullet/charge

wetpwdr53 · 11-23-2007, 03:55 PM

I've hunted for years with a t/c renegade but have yet to kill a deer. I always fire the weapon at the end of the day or hunt. Is this common practice for you experienced guys? My hunting buddies don't seemed too pleased when I announce the end of the hunting day with a blast from my 50 cal. Thanks

lemoyne · 11-23-2007, 04:14 PM

This is something you might get a lot of different opinions on.
If you are using a tightly patched ball and pyrodex or black powder I dought it is necessary I have hunted for many years with a renagade 54 cal. and have killed deer two weeks after I first loaded it with out a problem; the only thing I do is I find some neoprine or plastic ear plugs and pull them off the plastic band that goes over your head I put one of them on the nipple to keep moisture out right away when I take the cap off and let the hammer down to rest on it. Lee

cayugad · 11-23-2007, 04:17 PM

First off, Welcome to the forum.

I do the same thing. The problem with a Renegade is, you have to pull the projectile or fire it. You could get a CO2 discharger and blow the load out at the end of the day. Or, you can take the risk of storing it in a manner that might make it fire the next day. But if you shoot it or blow it out, and then clean it and load it fresh, you always know that your in a better position then a rifle you are not sure will fire.

My friends complained about the same thing to me once. I told them that was the way it was. We even had a place at camp where we could discharge the guns. So we walked out of the woods, and fired the rifle off. Cleaned them, and then reloaded the next day.

wis_bow_huntr · 11-26-2007, 06:49 AM

I leave mine loaded all season and if by the end of the 10 day muzzle loader season I havent shot. I always let one rip.

eldeguello · 11-26-2007, 08:04 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: wetpwdr53

I've hunted for years with a t/c renegade but have yet to kill a deer. I always fire the weapon at the end of the day or hunt. Is this common practice for you experienced guys? My hunting buddies don't seemed too pleased when I announce the end of the hunting day with a blast from my 50 cal. Thanks

I've done it that way, and also by using a ball screw on the ramrod to pull the charge. It seems to me to be harder to clean up after dumping out a charge of unfired Pyrodex than to just shoot it into the ground or some safe backstop then clean the bore when I get home....

Semisane · 11-26-2007, 12:27 PM

Those guys that think a shot will spook every deer for miles around are just plain wrong. We have a 300 yard rifle range at our hunting club. I have a box stand on a food plot that's about 100 yards past the end of the range and 100 yards off to the side. I've sat in that stand many evenings and watched deer feed as guyswere banging away on the range. They don't even lift their heads.