cayugad,

I was using 90 gr 3f Goex and a .495 ball with .010 dry lubed patch and 3f for prime. Tom Fuller black english flint was in the jaws. I kept the vent hole plugged with a toothpick while storing at night and while on the stand. Whenever I heard shooting within 1000yds of where I was I would pull the pick and prime. If after an hour or so nothing showed I would dump the prime andreplace the t-pick. At night and for travel I would remove the flint (required by law here) replace the t-pick and put it in a soft gun case. We didn't get any rain but we had snow every day. I used a cow's knee to keep the pan dry and it worked quite well. One thing I noticed was that it didn't fit tightly to the stock, so I think I'll modify it some to tighten it up. The other thing I did was place some electrical tape over the muzzle.

I agree about the slugs. The doe was shot at 94 paces and dropped in her tracks. The buck was at 54 paces and was bowled over by the force of two slugs hitting as one. No tracking involved for either deer. 12 ga 1 oz rifled slugs.