Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

My friend just told me that he was hunting this last weekend of our ML season with a couple other friends. One of them had left the charge (powder and bullet) in his ML since last season. Thought it would be OK. They told him to dump it but he was too much of a bonehead and didn't.Of course you know the end of this story. Yep, nice big 8-POINT buck came right on top of him andall he saw out of his ML was asmall puff of smoke and barely a POP.

END OF STORY - END OF SEASON -NO BIG BUCK. WHAT A BONEHEAD:(

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

I'd say that was a classic bonehead mistake.. People have to live and learn. I would be razzing the devil out of that fool for a long time to come. Every time he'd walk by me I'd make a "puff" sound and smile at him....

I have a better one. I went over to a friends farm the second to the last day of muzzleloader season here,and told him to grab his smoke pole and we would try to walk one up. He then turned kind of red and said, he checked his Kentucky rifle theday before,and for some reason (unknown to him) it was all full of rust inside andoutside of the barrel. I told him cleaning them at the end of season is a good way to stop that. He told me he did, but I decided I did not want to argue with him. So I told him, grab your wife's little Bobcat and we can still make the afternoon. He then took me to the workshop and showed me the two rusted rifles...

I told him to have a nice day and went out on my own... Now that is a boneheaded mistake. People, after season ends, unload and clean your rifles.....

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

I've personnally done better (more boneheaded)than that:

With very little time to pack... I grabbed a 54 instead of a 50 caliber rifle.

Went hunting on a remote pack-in hunt and brought 54 caliber rifle instead of the 50 caliber I was planning on taking. My hunting pouch and loading block was all set for 50 cal. All my patches and roundball were .490". The other twofriends I went with had plenty of 50 caliber ball as that's what they had for rifles.

Needless to say, I even went so far as to usefourpatches around a 50 cal ball in my 54 only to find out it still shot terrible outside of 20 yards.

So, forfive days I loaded with a .490 roundball and my four patches and I waited for a deer to come and sit in my lap so I could shoot him. I was bummed. I still get ribbed from those two guys and that was almost 20 years ago.

Tahquamenon

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

You could always shoot them with your ramrod.. like a person I know did. Well actually he was target shooting his muzzleloader. And the mail man stopped and started talking to him. Well he got distracted. So there we stood talking to the mailman and finally the mail man left. I went back to loading my rifle, and he was loaded. So he took aim pulled the trigger and that rifle kicked the living snot out of him.

At first we thought he double charged the thing. And he was standing there crying about his brused shoulder. So I told him to forget it, and load again but be more careful It was about them he asked me, "you seen my ramrod." Every once in a while I will call him on the phone and tell him Cabela's is having a great special on ramrods if you buy six or more... He never laughs thought. :eek:

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

I welcome him to the club, Nothing in the woods mind you but, at the range, loaded and got to shooting the bull, loaded again, now the end of this story could be really ugly but the second charge never fired until it cleard the barrel, just a whopping kick and a really big puff, and 2 holes in the target about 1" apart, took me a few to figure out how stupid I was a few more to understand how lucky I was, but every now and then we really get lucky, Hopefully I"ve learned my leason and I will remain more attentive to what I'm doing. But I have left a charge in for a month just to see, and yep it went bang

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

It's examples like that which cause me tobe so fanatical about cleaning & lubing my muzzleloaders...I evenremovethefrizzen pivot screw & frizzen to 100% clean and lube that whole area too...it has to get pan flash residue down in there.

I believe it's just too easy to get sidetracked with work, or car problems, family emergencies, etc, etc...and before you know it, it's too late.
If I use them, I put them up showroom ready every time.

Some might call that overkill...but I promise if you even bought a rifle from me used, you woulnd't find oneany more pampered than mine.

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

there are documented cases where rifles have remained loaded for many many years. Some of them were considered antiques and wall hangers only to find out that it was loaded and could have killed someone or did. I remember reading a case of a grandfather accidentally shooting his granddaughter with an unloaded old family relic that everyone always thought unloaded. For that reason, I like to have them unloaded and cleaned. Then I know in my heart and mindthey are not a threat to anyone.

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

I read a book called "The Rifle" by Garry Paulsen. You should all read it. It is about a guy who builds this really really really fine accurate muzzleloader and about the muzzleloader and it's different owners. In the book a soldier used it in the Revoultionary war. He died with a load in the rifle. No one knew it was loaded.200 years later a guy had it above his fireplace. Then a spark got in the pan and the gun went off and killed a guy! I think this is a fiction story though. You should all read it. It is for young adults though but still a good book.

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

He needs to learn to listen to others...

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

I borrowed a friends 45 Optima for my youngest to use on our MZ hunt.I brought it home and as usual I started checking it out to see if it was clean and anything else that may need attention. I pulled the breech plug and couldn't see through the barrel. Yep, it was still loaded from whenever he had shot it last. I removed the 2 pellets and bullet and put them in a 35mm film canister and gaveit to him the next day at work. He opened the canister and said, yea, that's what I have been shootin out of the gun. Did walmart still have some left? He had no idea it was loaded. He kinda freaked when I told him where I got the load from. Maybe he will pay attention next time. At least I hope he does.


Rob

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

I could not agree more. Some folks complain that cleaning ML's takes so much time. I enjoy detail cleaning and caring for mine and never rush. I have many weapons, some of which are over 90 years old which were my grandfathers. All of which are in excellent shooting condition. The older ones are worn from use and field carry, but they are in excellent condition. I still have my very first ML, a T/C 50 Cal Hawken CapKit that is coming up 36 years old. It's worn from having several thousand shots through it and many years of carry, but the bore is like a mirror and mechnically it's in excellent shape with a really decent brownedfinish that still looks good. I have faithfully detail cleaned that rifle and every other one at the first opportunity after firing. Almost always the same evening or if I am remote, then I field clean the best I can until I get home.

;)

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

If a nice big 8-point buck ever came up to me, it would only be when something was going to keep my rifle from firing.

To date, I am still waiting for that dad-burn buck (whitetail)! Have gotten a couple onf nice mulies, though.....

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

Roundball, there is no such thing as too much cleaning. I completely tear apart mine even if I didn't shoot it but still loaded it. I lube everything etc. and always check with the ramrod to see if the gun is loaded before putting it back after the cleaning! Extreme but it works. As far as bonehead mistakes, I was at the range and the typical conversation of what do you shoot came up, well I had the pellets ready and bullet ready on the range bench. Well I loaded the bullet and forgot the powder, thankfully I marked the ram rod and figured out exactly what I did. I had to tear out the breech plug and ram out the bullet. I haven't shot out the ramrod yet and hope not to.

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

Well, I have shot the ramrod out of an ML. Twice in fact.

[:@]

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

One time, back in the early '80s ( I was about 15 then )I washunting during Pennsylvania's flintlock season. I got a shot at a doe and hit it. I watched it run about 50 yds. and lay down.I was all excited and started to reload the CVA Kentucky rifle.I broke the wooden ramrod. I had to walk all the way back to the truck and borrow my dad's ramrod and go back to finish off the doe.

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

[:@]Some idots shouldn't even be allowed to look at a fire arm period. Fellow I worked with bought a 50 cal Remington 700 had a nice Pentex scope put on it. Came to work the next day and asked if I had ever shot a ram rod. I told him not as yet, so he whiped his bent up ram rod out to show me. He said he did it to see just what would happen. I don't know if he ever got the breach plug out that had became jammed cross threaded in there. Good way to mess up a fine fire arm do some thing stupid just to see what happens.

:) Al

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

Brings to mind an old saying "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get".
Live and learn I recon!

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

this guy i know ,he in his 80s but it still kicking shoots every gun he trades for and thats alot. Hes is one of the richest guys i know and still lives like a kid he has lost his last two wives to sickness, but he still likesliving on the edge. He gets to go elk hunting every year and his soninlaw owns a bunch of land up north. He was out shooting his encore 50 cal one afternoon had it loaded with 3 777 pellets and a shockwave getting her ready for a texas hog hunt,his wife came out behind the house and gets him for a important phonecall. About an hour later he remebered what he was doingpicked up the gun loaded it for the sceond time with the same load took a fine bead on his target and let the lead fly. He said it was about dark when his wife came looking for him,he got a whole forehead full of stiches and still don't know what happened.

RE: Classic 'BONEHEAD' mistake!
 

I made a bondhead mistake this year. Took 10 days off to hunt the ML season here in NY.

Every day it was the same routine. Foul the barrel in the morning, load up, remove the charge in the evening, then clean for the next day.

One day I forgot to foul the barrel in the morning.

Missed an easy shot at 50 yards. Spent half looking for the deer I was sure I put down until I realized my mistake.

Got one a few days later, so it worked out in the end.