How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

Does anyone know?????

Be a stewart of the outdoors. Help to keep our heritage.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

I have a friend that left a charge in his disc rifle all year. now the chamber area is pitted and in bad shape. he is going to have to replace the barrel. i clean mine constantly until i finally clean it for storage. then after a good cleaning i oil it and put it up. i will take it out on occasion and check it and even run a patch through it.
i wouldnt leave it charged for over a week. just remove the breech plug and remove the charge thats what i do on my encore.

SOUTH ARKANSAS REBEL

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

Alot of people say you should only leave the shot in for a day. I leave mine in for up to a weak. I also have a VERY DRY place to keep my gun. I do take the cap out safety first!!! This is really up to your judgement. If you leave the shot in make sure that your gun is in A VERY DRY PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Other wise it is best to unload after each day.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

Saskbucks, sorkrebel is bang on.

I have left my ML charged for up to 2 weeks, only if unfired and dry outside. If it is wet or fired clean it pronto. Is your ML stainless or blued? My experience has been that blued tend to pint or show signs quicker than SS. So if it is blued I would only leave it week in the dry unfired conditions. I always and mean always wipe down the exterior of the gun with rem oil after a day in the field. During off season I usually run some lube and dry patch it every few months and recoat with remoil on the exterior. My MLS is 5 years old and looks like new in and out.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

Up to a week, but keep your powder dry!

No problem to do this as long as you are careful. One hint: don't bring it in to a warm cabin at night or water will condense in the barrel. You can seal the percussion cap with nail polish to keep out water and a balloon or condom over the end of the barrel keeps rain out. Be sure and take the balloon off at night to let it breath.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

Electrical tape works good for the barrel, as well, when wet outside.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

two years ago i didn't see a single deer during muzzle loader season and ended up leaving the charge in the rifle. the following year (last year) i didn't even bother re-loading or cleaning, just put a cap on opening day and ended up shooting a deer. it fired just fine after being loaded for 365 days.

it's an older muzzleloader but has a stainless steel barrel so i can't look to see if there is any damage. i've never once had a mis-fire, even after shooting it 5 or 6 times at the range. it's been loaded this season since opening day which was a couple weeks ago.

you think i could have weakened the barrel ...any chance it might blow up, i'm planning on hunting with it this weekend.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

In the ole day's shot and powder were something you didn't waste and so the gun's stayed loaded,I own 8 black powder rifle's and one of them is very old was made in 1799 and is a manti bought from a guy who was moving and said that it was an old wall hanger that no one ever used and that he got it from his grandfather and alway's was hung up but anyway when i took it in to see how old it was the guy found out that it was still loaded,he removed the load and checked it out and said that I had something that the powder and ball were almost as old as the gun how he tested it I dont know all I know is he's a professor at a collage and teaches history and is in to old artifact's but the barrel is in great shape and I even hunted with it once.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

I left my blackpower gun loaded after I returned home from CO elk hunt for about three months. I use cleanshot and there is no sulfur and no damage to the gun.

RE: How long can I leave my charge in my muzzleloader?
 

i have left mine for three months also,alot of it depends on hot and humid it is,if it hot i clean mine that day.but if it is cool the corrosion doesn't seem to build up like on summer days and since most hunting is done in fall and winter you don't have that problem.i have doing it this way for the past 15 years and it has never failed me yet and is still as accurate as ever.