I do what I think is more middle of the road.
Once I load my Encore, I leave it loaded. But, not generally for more than 4 days. Here in Mississippi, you can have night in the mid 20s and then the next day get up to 65 and back down again. Some pretty big swings with high humidity as well. Using this method, I have never had a problem.

I am with 777, I like shooting my gun and I am blessed with the opportunity to be able tohunt almost every day, either before or after work.Also have a range about two miles from my office.So, it rarely goes more than 3 or 4 days for me to "have" to shoot a load out. Because where I hunt you have to use a shotgun or M/L, I use my Encore from the middle of November till the end of January almost every day. Keep it in the truck pretty much 24/7.. Shoot it a minimum of 2 to 5 times a week, in the past three years since I have been doing thiswith my Encore I have never had a hangfire, misfire or bad shot (keep in mind I have never let it sit longer than a week) By the end of the season, it adds up. I have never let it go longer than a week without shooting the load so I think that you would be very safe to stay within 4 or 5 days.

Hank

MOE,I have been using this unloader since they have come out. It works fine on a normal fitting Sabot, but not on Sabots that fit real tight. I have no problems with the XTP's, but the Barnes fit tight in my Knight Wolverine and I have to remove the Plug, dump the powderand push the load out.

Another thing I don't like to do is,remove the primer and leave the powder and sabotin the rifle. All it takes is a little Static Electricity and it will cause it to fire.

More times than not, deer don't even move when a real close shot is sounded.They seem to be more alarmed by movement they haven't seen before. Plus, plenrty of times I've seen deer shot at - watch them scatter - to only return to the same exact spot an hour later.

Unless one is hunting a small parcel, that recreation shot at the end of the day will not be the cause of a ruined hunt for the next few days. If a certain deer runs off after my recreation shot on vast state landand never returns, odds are he was just passing thru my area - enroute to another area - perhaps a mile away. The average deer in Michigan does not travel more than 2-1/2 square miles throughout his lifetime.

Smart hunters hunt near food and water sources - sometimes safe havens for bedding purposes too.Deer are always coming back to those spots. A shot once a day won't scare them off - when odds are, they aren't scared of the shot unless it provides bullet movement that they catch with their sight - like broken branches, dirt/weeds scurring.... etc. You have a less chance at a harvest hunting where pieces of snow are falling from tree-tops (or) the wind is creating movement-noise in the woods.

While im hunting and i feel i need to unload, i fire it off at camp. Noone in my area ever hunts in camp so its not a big deal. Ive never seen hunters set up camp in prime hunting areas, they either walk or drive closer to the area before parking and then walking the rest of the way. Plus, when you can hear your neighbors laughing and hollering to eachother, its a pretty good guess they wont mind you firing off your shot. I know where we camped and where the deer actually were, was a good 20-25 minute drive.

777, I understand what you're saying, but try to explain it to another hunter in the area you're in when you intentionally shoot to unload and they don't reason with what you're saying. You have just shot and unloaded, but they still have one in theirs. I hunt where there are alot of Bubbas that don't know how to reason or don't really know the habits of Deer, they just know about shooting them and getmighty nasty if they think you are messing with their chances.

I have no problem doing that on private property, but not on Public Hunting Land.

I understand, but in FL on WMA's (Public Land) you can't fire anyweapon in the designated camping area. You have to go to the designated rifle range if they have one. If there is one, it will be a couple of miles in the opposite direction than the hunting area. I'm talking about 55,000 or 65,000 acre WMA's.

I got a related question. Pardon me for being new to ML but I will be opening my new ML Christmas morning, I know this cause I picked it up last night and the wife took it to wrap up. Anyhow, There is pro vs. cons of leaving your load in over saya 3 day season (here in Illinois)but my question is.....if you decide to unload it (bullet and powder) in the evening and reload in the morning is saving the powder either loose or pellets and bullets OK for the next day? I guess the bullet would be ok if you use a sabot unless you use a puller?? I assume that the small cost of the powder charge wouldn't make it feasible to save? Sorry if this is a dumb question. I'm getting a CVA 50 cal wolf. A lower priced gun I know but it's something to start out with. I read the reviews of this gun on Cabelas and Bass Pro's web site and most everyone gives it a good rating. Thanks for any answers.

MO Archer

I am one of those that never unloads, unless I feel I may have a contaminated load from the weather... I remove the primer - tag the gun and it comes in the house with me. It sits in the rec. room with the barrel and the breech/nipple hole open so that it can breath. I use to store in the un-heated garage, but i could never prove I was accomplishing anything.

When it comes out of the house into the truck for the trip to hunting country it sits on the tunnel next to me. We do not heat the cab up very much but it is not cold in the cab. Maybe I have been lucky but never had a problem.

The real concern is contamination of the load... If you do anthing that might contaminate the load - get rid of it. The point at which most loads fail is right under the nipple - it takes very little moisture at this point to stop ignition. I do not use grease on my breech plugs so I do not have to worry about that - even if you clear the grease by popping caps - it still has a way to find its way out. If you feel you have allowed moister down the barrel then expell the load. I used to get very concerned about condensation - for me anymore it is not a major concern any longer - I guess I feel now that I know when I might be worried about condensation. The more you gain experiance with your gun the more you will trust your instincts.

The more you learn about this sport of modern day muzzleloading the more hooked you become.... I am hooked but i still figure I am learning also...