Following a shot in a hunting situation, how long do you wait (to make sure all the embers are out or whever) to poor your premeasured powder down the barrel?

i have poured powder down the barrel before the bullet hit the target.Not really but close to it. Unless your using cotton patches there should be no danger of a flash.

You can load right away, but take a second after you dump the powder. Look at the muzzle of the rifle. If you see smoke still coming out, it gives me the creeps. I sometimes wait a while before pushing a patch and ball or sabot into the end of the muzzle. I figure no use making a pipe bomb. I have loaded right away but there is always that thought in the back of your mind.

Many of the old timers before reloading would blow down the barrel with their mouth until all the smoke stops coming out of the nipple or the vent hole. That they claimed indicated that all the embers were out. Many shooting clubs will not allow this practice so don't try it on a public range. That is another reason why many people swab a barrel. It is not only to remove the fowling but to also put out any embers that might be in there.

I even have a funnel type thing with a plastic tube that runs off it. The idea is you put the funnel in the muzzle and blow into the tube, blowing out the embers. The reasoning is, you do not have to put your face over the muzzle of the rifle that way. It was a free bee from a large order, so I have it.. we will leave it at that. Although it does work. The other thought there is warm breath, cold barrel might make condensation......

So in a hunting situation make the first shot count. If you need a fast second shot, go ahead and load as quickly as possible just do not put any part of your body over the muzzle. Just in case it does blow out at least you will not have some part of a ramrod or projectile coming through you. Also, in all the years of hunting, I have never hurried a second shot. I made the first one count and took my time with loading the rifle properly for the second shot. I have seen too many mistakes with speed loading.

This a great question, something that I would never have thought about. Man, I am learning so much from everyone on this board.

I'm in with cayugad, "Make your first shot count". Then while you are waiting for the animal to lay down, properly reload without loading too rapidly.

Or equally important, if you really don't have a first shot then don't try to take one anyway.

I spit/wet patch, alcohol patch and dry patch inbetween shots.
As such, I've never been worried about an accidental ignition.

I've seen one barrel flash ignite at a range when a guy loaded black powder very quickly after a first shot. Thankfully no injury resulted, but there could have been serious injury.

I'm one of those that have always blown down the barrel. Soon as the smoke quits coming out the nipple I'm reloading. Never have had any incidents.

I used to do it all the time myself. I have friends that still do. Since I started swabbing I stopped the barrel stuff although I do have a cool tool to do it with now....

Under hunting conditions, I always reload as fast as I can. You just don't know what's going to happen in the woods. I'd hate to be holding an unloaded gun and have another buck come out.

Cayugad pretty much said it all. Whenever you are loading, that muzzle should be angled away from you so that no part of your body is in line with the business end of the barrell.

I'll wait two minutes if I'm paper/cloth-patching the bullet. Also wait two minutes if I'm pouring blackpowder instead of a sub. Otherwise... just a minute for everything else. That's just me - those are my safety rules even if they exceed the necessary guidelines. I'd rather keep all my fingers & barrel-holding hand - even if the muzzle is pointed away from my torso/face while loading hastily. Thousands of MLers have fingers missing... even non-use of one hand for some ---all over a deer with horns???... makes no sense to me. Better safe than sorry!!!! Make the first shot - the right shot!!!

Thousands??? Would you care to share your source for this tidbit of information?

I have poured blackpowder down a barrel immediately, for reloading sfter a shot, for more than 30 years and have never had a flash. I don't know anyone else that has had one either. I imagine I have a better chance that a tree would fall on me, during hunting, than have a flash during reloading.