Sorry if this is already out there, couldn' t find talk about this though.

Is it legal to discharge a muzzleloader after dark in order not to have a loaded gun or do you fellas/gals keep them loaded all season?

Thanks.
Badshot

Where I hunt, both in NY and PA, they are legally " unloaded" when you remove the cap from the nipple, or the powder from the pan of a flinter. You can then leave them loaded with bullet and powder, which I do, but I leave the gun in a case outside in a shed or vehicle until the hunting is over. Have left one loaded for up to a week, and it still fired O.K.

I see no reason why you could not legally fire the thing into a safe backstop after dark, if you wanted to unload it. As long as you weren' t firing at game after legal hunting hours... Ask your local friendly Conservation Officer!!

I can' t see why not. I wouldn' t shoot it at 12 midnight or into the air since you might disturb the peace. I would shoot it into the ground and not near anything so it won' t reichoche.

That' s my 2 cents....

Tomster

Check with your local Wildlife office. I load my muzzleloader the begining of BP season. Unless I shoot at game it' s left loaded until the end of BP season.Then I either shoot it out or pull the breach Plug and remove the charge.Like eldeguello said most states consider it unloaded when uncapped or priming powder is removed from the flash pan.I don' t see any need to shoot it out after a days hunt.
Ruger Redhawk

Why do you have to wait till after dark to fire it? Just shoot it into the ground at the last min. of legal hunting. Or a couple minutes earlier this way you won' t be issued a ticket and your gun will be unloaded. Check your local regs.

A lot of it depends on the State you live in and the attitude of the law enforcement officers in your area. In Wisconsin after legal closing hours I would guess if you were caught discharging that rifle, the warden could argue that you were shooting at game, even if you never hit anything.

Our State is very strict on ALL GAME LAWS. Some of the things people have been arrested for would shock you. I personally do discharge my rifle at the close of every day, but I walk out of the woods a few minutes before season ends when I do. I do not leave my rifle loaded over night.

Simply firing a gun has nothing to do with game laws. If you are not hunting then you are not hunting. If you are out of the city limits, a certain distance from housing structures and public access roads ets... etc... then you can pretty much shoot a gun any time you wish.

The folks you need to check with would be your local law enforcement, not the game wardens. Make sure that you are within the laws of your local city or county laws.

Yes, in Illinois and every state I' m aware of. After all, you are not " hunting" -- you are just tossing lead into the ground in front of you.