benhuntin

My brother loaded his freshly cleaned muzzleloader
at the end of Oct. and still has the charge in it.
He says no harm will come from it and he
will discharge it after the season Jan. 5th or after he
gets a shot at a deer. Will this harm his gun if left in
a gun cabinet in the house?

1950KID

Sometimes taking a BP rifle out in the cold, and then bringing it into
a warm house, will cause condensation to build in the barrel. That could be a problem.

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eldeguello

1950 and Coondog are right!! Unless you live in Arizona or New Mexico, I'd fire this charge, clean the gun thoroughly, reload it, and leave it outside (on the porch or in an unheated outbuilding) for the rest of the season, if it is to be left loaded!!

Keep yore powder dry!!

FlDeerman

OK stupid question,who would want to leave it loaded?Why?I've left mine over night in my truck when I was camping but other than that why leave it loaded?


Hunting is not a sport,it's a lifestyle.

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Silens_Venator

I'd say that you should "empty" and clean every few days, at the least.
Now, a story:
Despite my warnings, my brother in law left a charge in his gun from the end of one season to the other. More or less a full calendar year. He took the ML out, the following season, and fired it in three attempts. There was a little rust in the barrel, but nothing like what I was expecting. Heck, I figured that the charge would have never gone off.

Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish.
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (35 AD - 100 AD)

8mm/06

My blackpowder season starts the Fri of the 2nd weekend in Dec. and ends Sunday at dark on the 3rd weekend of Dec (10 days). I often leave my gun loaded from around Dec. 3rd to around Dec. 22nd or so. When that happens that means I either haven't had a shot or I have more than 1 tag left. Leaving the gun loaded below 40 degrees shouldn't cause much in the way of problems or corrosion....but as others have said the nipple or charge hole should be covered and the gun shouldn't be subjected to upward shanges in temp. A couple months is no problem as long as condensation is avoided and the gun stays cold.....preferably 35 and colder.

Steve F.in MD

Not usually a problem in Maryland. Of course right now, with the temperature extremes that we are having, I would agree with those who mentioned condensation as a problem. But GENERALLY our winters are so mild that it won't matter. I have left a load in for almost a year and the rifle fired just fine. Of course you would only want to do this with a clean bore. If you have fired it then you need to clean it...the sooner the better.

reallybigbuck

I've left a charge in for as long as 6 months and the gun has fired fine after. But if the gun has been fired and not cleaned when the new load was put in, I try to clean the gun the same day it was shot. I would never leave a charge in a dirty barrel for more than a day or two.