ORIGINAL: FiremanWV
I love this season. I think I have more fun during black powder season that any other, at the least I enjoy shooting my blackpowder. I am hunting with an inline Rossi, so far it seems to be a great little gun for the price. I am 50/50 with it, missed a 6 point and took a doe with it last year. When unloading an in-line does it have to be shot to unload or can the plug be unscrewed and the load pushed out? If this can be done is there any danger of the plug sparking and igniting the powder?
No, they do not have to be fired to be unloaded...just creates a total cleaning job.
They can be "pulled" with a ball puller on a ramrod;
They can be blown out with compressed air;
They can be removed by unscrewing the breech plug and pushing the load out;
It's extremely improbable that unscrewing a breech plug could create ignition...BUT...the best, safest answer has to be that "Murphy's Law" can prevail at any time, and ignition might somehow occur...so if we always assume that and take appropriate safety precautions while doing so, nobody gets hurt, etc...just manage the muzzle while doing it.