I never heard of the pioneers unloading their rifles every night. If it is loaded properly and prevented from getting moisture in the powder then there is no need to unload. Just a waste of powder and bullet.

Muzzleloader rain gear:

https://www.traditionsfirearms.com/p...ain-gear-a1330

Obviously they had a better gun.

I'm sure they had lots of hang fires.



btw Bill Hickok loaded his pair of 1853 Colt percussion revolvers fresh everyday. When your life depends on it. You don't take chances.

You use that rain gear is the freezing cold all day, and then bring the gun indoors. See if condensation doesn't develop in the bore.

I use 'rain gear' in temps well below freezing but I do no go from cold to hot in a hurry - I warm the rifle slowly and then it spends the night in the house. My grandfather always brought his side hammer in the house after hunting - took the rain gear off and stood the rifle up behind the wood stove. With the gear off the warm air would pass through the rifle and suck all the moisture out of the powder. Now if he felt he got the powder 'WET' hunting that was a different story - he would pull everything - but for him pulling a PRB was a piece of cake...

Bang......swab.....no worries.

About $.50 to shoot a PRB.

It's not like i'm shooting off a $2.00 bullet and BH 209.

I'm sure I could keep it loaded for the whole hunt, but as I said. My way makes me feel better.

And that is what really counts the for the mostest... You need to do what you are comfortable with.

If one has the barrel sealed and brings the barrel in from the cold straight away, no condensation will form in the barrel.
Due to the properties of air and water or humidity, There is less moisture in the air outside in the cold. Therefore there is less humidity in the air.

If the barrel is sealed and maintained that way in the cold before bringing the gun into a warm house ( which has more humidity in the air) as the gun slowly warms up the humidity in the barrel will decrease even more. Due to properties of air and water at various temperatures. The chances of having any condensation with a sealed barrel is none. If you bring your gun inside out of the cold before sealing it you will have condensation in the barrel due to the warm humid air coming in contact with the cold barrel.

In the morning I like to leave the barrel sealed until I get to where I am going to hunt, it allows the gun to cool slowly. Although I have unsealed the barrel before leaving the house many times. If anyone has a failure to fire sealing their barrel and then bring it into a warm house there is something else wrong for it is not moisture as the cause.

I have practiced this since 1984 and have never had a failure to fire. If you could look at and understand the engineering data and charts related to the heating and cooling of air taking into account the humidity (or moisture) you would see that what I say is true.

What I said is based on sealing the nipple or primer area and the barrel of the gun.

I'm still shooting the load out.