If it could go wrong it did go wrong!!!
 

Took the GPR out hunting this evening for the first time in 2 years. Although it was -30 wind chills I decided it was time for it to draw blood lol. I still hunted my down to a point in a deep draw that has 3 drainage points coming together into one. Once I got to the junction I noticed a nice fat doe up ahead of me about 50 yards. Leaned across a tree and touched the trigger. cap went off but the charge didn't, 3 deer headed out of the draw and up over the hill. I sat down next to a nice oak tree to contemplate what just happen. About 3 minutes later I see another deer working its way up the draw right at me. Turned out to be a spike buck and I have an antlerless tag so he was able to go on his merry way. About an hour later I seen a doe working her way toward me from the bottom. She would have ended up 20 yards below me if it hadn't been for old mr. coyote. He spooked her out of the draw as he ambled past her. So she came across me on the other side of the draw. I had one open hole to shoot through with only one branch kind of in the way. It was about a 75 yard shot and Id be damned if the ball didn't glance off the branch and impact right above her lol. I should have just cut my losses and shot the damn coyote. He came past me at 20 yards in the open lol. Well better luck tomarrow I guess!

Awesome hunt though. you got to see animals and shoot. If you would have hit, the work would have started. Any ideas what happened on the firstshot?

no idea, I have never had a problem. The rifle has a hot shot nipple on it and I am shooting cci #11 magnum caps. I cleaned the bore, breech and nipple areas out with rubbing alcohol and dried them before I left the house. This evening is looking to be the same weather so maybe I will shoot off a few caps before I load the rifle and shove a few grains of powder into the flash hole?

Quite possible that some condensation formed in the nipple or flash channel seeing as how it was that cold, especially if you took the gun out of a warm vehicle or house into the cold and loaded it.

maybe I should case the gpr and let it ride in the back of the pickup on the way out to the woods and let it cool down before loading?

That wouldn't hurt. I usually take my ML out onto the deck or put it in the garage for a bit before heading out to let the steel acclimate to really cold temps and I do keep mine in a hard case in the pick up bed when going to and from my hunting areas. One thing I never do is bring the gun into a warm environment with a load in the barrel once I've been out in the cold. I lock mine in the shed or garage and leave it at the ambient temperature if I'm going to be hunting again in a day or so. Your chances of having condensation contaminate a load are much greater coming from cold to warm than vice versa. Think of it like this...if you are wearing glasses and you leave your warm house or vehicle and go out into the cold air, they don't fog up, but come out of the cold and back into the warm house and you'll be wiping them off in seconds.

BPS

While our temps don't get to -30 Wind chill; it's not uncommon to hit the high 20s for lows. I never leave my rifle(ML or otherwise) in a warm area overnight. It stays in a case inside my truck until I head for the blind and then it goes in the truck bed unless its raining. You don't have to worry about condensation in the gun or on the scope. I just finished a 5 day hunt in S. Texas where it was 24 degrees 3 mornings. I use BH 209 and didn't fire a shot or reload for 3 days and it ignited on the 4th day when I killed a nice sized feral hog.

I cleaned the mz last night so today I think I am going to clean it up with rubbing alcohol again and haul it in the bed of the pickup before loading. It is about a 20 minute drive so it should cool down enough by then. thanks for the advice guys!!!

if possible be sure to pop three caps through it to blow the fire channel clear and to carbon the hole up. Many times that can cause a misfire in cold weather.

Just had my first ever hang fire with BH 209 sabot load. Temp was about -3. Gun had been loaded cold and kept outside in garage. Delay was just long enough that I had pulled away from scope, so lucky for a clean miss rather than causing a wound. I suppose an experienced flint locker would have had the patience to stay on target for the delay between Ka and Boom.

Had been thoroughly cleaned just before season, including drill bit and nipple pick treatment. Had only fired primer, light fouling shot, and 2 shots that killed deer since clean gun. Had been wet, but fired, then dried and lightly cleaned 2 days earlier.

Checking after the hang, I found that the flash channel drill bit removed more than I would expect for firing one primer and 3 shots.

I wonder if these below zero temps cause more fouling build up? It seems like these below zero temps cause all sorts of things, from fouled ATV plugs, to broken back tag holder with lost license, and, maybe, hang fires.

Be careful out there . . . it's cold!

Bill308

You never said what your rifle is. Myself, i have never experienced a hang fire in -0 temperature with Omega, or modified CVA. The Triumph did hang fire a couple of times, but it was brief, so brief one couldn't have backed away from the scope. However, i did fix that.

A good breech plug won't hang fire in sub zero temperatures, i don't think. Myself, i don't use magnum primers. Make CVA breech plug look like Omega breech plug, and they don't hang fire. QRBP modified, don't hang fire. The made for Blackhorn QRBP shouldn't hang fire, but i cannot say for sure, with out having ever using one.

Just shot my 2013 deer with BH209, Winchester Blue Primer at -2 degrees. The Knight Elite 45 cal with a Lehigh conversion had been loaded for 3 days.

Instant ignition.

try RWS #11 caps, they have a hotter spark
RR

Condensation is what got me, as long as I keep my barrel cold before loading it fires every time. I am using cci #11 magnum caps and have never had a problem with them.

ronlaughlin,

My rifle is a TC Omega with the older style breech plug that is supposed to be good for BH209. It apparently is good, because I've never had an issue with 100's of rounds. I must have had condensation. Or, maybe it wasn't completely dry from the day it rained.

It's good to know that cold alone isn't the issue. Some years the season has a lot of below zero weather.

Bill

Condensation forms when going from cold to warm, and not warm to cold. I don't think loading a warm gun and then taking it into the cold will cause an issue.