Cold Temps and Muzzleloaders
 

Last year, I cleared the breech by firing a round into a target after a late-season hunt with temps about 10F. I was shooting a Traditions break action muzzleloader with pellet charge square sticks by Jim Shockley. The gun was very cold and when I fired it there was a very subdued, almost silent report. It was late and I could almost watch the bullet go to the target; it almost seemed slower. But it did not drop much. Another fellow I know had a similar experience hunting cold weather of a subdued report and he stated that the bullet fell short and he missed a nice buck.

Will extreme cold affect performance?

Muzzleloaders work very well in cold weather when blackpowder is used. Some of the BP substitutes also work very well in cold weather.

IMO: JSG sticks do not work well even in warm weather. Can the sticks and go with JSG granular or another BP substitute.

I live and hunt northern Wisconsin. We are in cold weather constantly. I shoot a lot on the range and have learned a few things.. the powder you use is critical. You mention you were shooting Jim Shockey Sticks. I just am not a fan of American Pioneer Powder when I hunt. I shoot it, and on the range where you load and three minutes later you shoot.. it works fine. But even then I have had a POOF! load.

But I can not get myself to trust it after a long day of cold temperatures, snow, moisture, and especially humid ground blinds (ever been in one of them coated ground blinds for any length of time.. your breath will make it very humid in there. Frost even forms on the walls.). And my theory is.. if you don't have faith in the powder, why are you hunting with it?

If you want to shoot pellets I would suggest you change over to Pyrodex RS pellets. Use a good hot primer also. Also make sure to use a muzzle mit on the end of that rifle. Take it off at the end of the day, but you can shoot right through it. There are a lot of new powders on the market. But some I like and some I don't. I've shot Pyrodex RS in rifles for thirty years and it has never let me down. It is a good, consistent, accurate powder. Yes it is corrosive, and all that other stuff.. But I clean the rifle after I shoot it, so that has never been a problem.

Some will tell you to try loose powder. I agree with them. BUT if you like pellets, then shoot pellets. There are some excellent loose powders out on the market right now.

Spin the appropriate size drill bit by hand in the flash channel of the breech plug to ensure it is carbon free. Hot or cold I clean mine out after every range session.

I tested APP powder. I shot about 75 shots that day. temps were 50 degrees. Out of the 75 shots I took, 3 of them sounded like I loaded half the powder.

Crappy powder.

Use BH 209 if it will work in your gun.

This thread details some of things i do when i shoot my rifles in cold weather. When things are right, shooting in cold weather works just fine. Actually, shooting in cold weather means one doesn't have to wait, to allow the rifles to cool, and there are no bugs to deal with.

I am confused. In this thread you gave APP a great review???
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/blac...ldnt-do-2.html

I did, but when I tried it again I got those light charges. Maybe because I was working to the bottom of the bottle.

Also, I was shooting a sidelock and I was impressed by how clean it burned. It's ok to play with, but I don't trust the powder to hunt with.

Now that i'm back hunting with the Omega. I'm back with BH 209.

APP ignites pretty easy. If I were to hunt with it, it would have to be off a fouled bore. Fouled bore as in after one shot. Just snapping a primer is not good enough. This group shows 3 shots at 100yds with JSG 3f at 100yds.

X2 on that and and how important it is. Ray

I have found out that In really cold weather real black powder always goes off, anything else maybe. I have had really bad hang fires with Pyrodex, 777 seams as though it looses lots of power cold. Hunting partner was using 777 couple years ago and noticed that when cold like -20 the gun would shoot about 10 inches low at 100 yds, warm gun and powder up, shoot again and ok. last winter he used Goex black, checked cold and within an inch of when warm. Guess if I,m going to hunt when its really I want my gun and load to be reliable, I'll use black powder.

Firstly the sticks have more reports of problematic ignition compared to the loose APP 3F powder which is potent and reliable.
Secondly the primer should be fresh and the gun needs to be properly stored and sealed at both ends to keep moisture out between cold weather hunts and until it's discharged.
That includes protecting the bore from condensation.
The cold temperature shouldn't negatively affect anything if all is properly stored and sealed.
If there was a partial flash hole blockage then that's not a cold weather issue per se, but could have contributed to the problematic ignition due to the reasons above.

I'll never have to worry about that. At -20 my hiney is going to be inside by a fire.:woot:

Amen brother lol.. Amen.. Ray

Who makes the hiney? What caliber is it? How does it do with the newer powders? Is the breech plug removable? When one removes the breech plug does it require a tool? Does one need an FFL to mail it?............................................... ......................

You'd have to be a tool to remove the BP.

Thanks for all the replies!

I plan to switch to Pyrodex. I only used Shockley's square sticks cause that is all that was left at the gun shop right in season. Also will switch to muzzleloader primer caps - I would suppose they burn hotter than regular reloading primer caps I was using.

Interesting comments on blackpowder vs. pellets. Sounds like powder is more accurate. And I think the round 777 pellets are better than the square sticks I used.

The muzzleloader specific primers are mild. In cold weather I would use a regular strength 209 primer such as Win209, Rem STS, CCI.

Amen to that! Although I've never been in -20 weather in my life and hope to never be. Hell is not a burning hot place, it's a bitter cold place and the wind blows constantly.

That's not hell; that's Montana.

A nice place to visit - in June.

No, not June. June is too early to visit Montana. Much bad weather possible in June. Cold, and windy days common in June. July is the time to visit Montana. Some September days are beautiful.

:s2: That's hard for a Southern boy to even imagine. Cold in June just doesn't fit my frame of reference. :s8:

July and August is the time to fish the BitterRoot. June is too early in the year.

Back to the topic.

Personally I do not believe your problem was with the temp. I believe your problem is with the humidity. Or to keep it simple. moisture.

I have noticed drastic problems with the so called "superpowders" with moisture. So I have went back to black. Problem is solved.

Let the other guys argue about an extra 100 fps, or which powder drills the absolute smallest hole in a paper target at 100 yards from a benchrest.

Personally I do not care about bench rests, or the ittsiest bittsiest smallest hole.

I care about good solid ignition 100% of the time. And in all conditions. And the answer to that is black powder, and a big lead bullet!! Pretty simple. Tom.