That is a pretty funny story. I too am from IL, but luckily was able to tag a buck first shotgun season so I didn't have to sit through the cold weather today. But, my dad went out today with his muzzleloader. The funny this was, he was at Gander Mountain yesterday debating on whether to buy a new muzzleloader.

He opted not to and choose to stick with his old muzzleloader. You are probably telling yourself, so what!

The hammer on his old muzzleloader doesn't stay cocked, so he was going to have to manually hold the hammer back then manually release the hammer when he wanted to take a shot.

The funny thing is I could see your story would fit perfectly with my dad's story if he would have had a chance to fire.

If those grenades don't work, you might opt for some trail side bombings. Just a thought.