Especially when you consider how much water there is in the mountains. At least around here there's a creek everywhere.

Uric acid certainly would have not done the inside of the barrel any good. Not sure I believe that either.

Granted... it's not a good thing to do, but if you can't get any water because everything's frozen... what are your options?

nchawkeye,

Just so you know, I didn't make this up. I read it somewhere in a periodical or something along those lines... just can't remember where. I'm not making something up for the sake of a post.

BPS

Oh, I believe you, and you and I both know somewhere it might have happened, maybe as a practical joke...I just don't believe it was a common practice...

They cooked, they made fires, they had pots, seems to me they could have melted some snow, heated it and cleaned their guns with water...

There are many stories out there, like the one of putting a ball in your hand and covering it with powder to determine the charge...They had powder measurers and when you bought a gun the gunsmith knew what charge to recommend...Typical charges were about half the weight of a ball for that caliber, why pour powder in your hand to try to measure??? ;)

Ice + fire = water :)

Muley...

We all know that many times these fellas were in the vicinity of hostiles and building a fire could cost them their scalp! :(

nc...

I also don't believe it was a common practice, but desperate times (survival) can call for desperate measures. Disgusting as it may seem, how many of us have watched Bear Grylls drink his own pee?

My apologies to the OP for causing this thread to jump track. I'll end my thoughts and comments here and now.

BPS

So would shooting the gun you have to clean. :)

BP, I don't think the discussion went off track, te discussion simply expanded. Since the thread has reopened, I have read where urine was used in the browning process and was intended to cause the barrel to rust, thus browning the barrel, of course there was more to the process.

Overnight
 

I am a noob also, and asking about leaving your rifle loaded in the car overnight in sub freezing temps. Advice, opinions?

I understand that the primer would have to be removed, but can you leave the rifle loaded / charged? How about for several days?

Another question is electrician's tape on the muzzle. I am convinced that this is ok on a center fire rifle, how about with black powder?

Many people leave their rifles loaded over night. Leaving them in a car because of freezing temps is one way to avoid condensation forming in the barrel should you bring the rifle inside a warm house instead. You do have to pull the primer and the electrician tape off the end of the muzzle. Also something I do, but some don't ... is to "with a very lightly oiled patch" dry patch the barrel first to the load, then the oil patch. Also, wipe the outside of the rifle down with the oil patch.

I once forgot to pull the muzzle mit on a rifle I was storing in the garage over night, and the next morning there was very light discoloration. Not rust mind you but the start of the process.