i have always unlaoded mine at the end of a session, granted so far i have only shot at paper, i would concur with the earlier post of possible fouling causing problems.. for the cost of some pwder,wad and a bullet i would go for safty every day . good luck

this question has been posted several times in the past and i believe the results have been about equal, some unload and clean right away and some leave loaded.

i personally have a precussion stainless traditions deerhunter and only clean after i shoot. i will leave loaded all season with regular black power and patched roundball and the rest of the year if i don' t see any deer and put a cap on opening day of the following season ...never had a misfire.

i' ve been doing it like this for years and have not seen any corrosion or damage when inspecting the breech plug during cleaning ...hasn' t affected the accuracy of the rifle either.

i think it' s all in what you feel comfortable with.

I' ve left my GPR loaded with BP all season and then for some time after. I' ve never had a misfire. In Iowa a ML is considered un-loaded if the cap/primer is removed.

Im glad I read this post, I just remembered that my muzzleloader was still loaded since last Dec. It was cleaned before it was loaded last time, and out in the woods a couple of days without firing. I got it out tonight and cleaned it and there was no sight of rust at all. I am relieved about that and usually dont let it go that long (my bad)....Jeff