How long can you leave your muzzleloader loaded? Its been loaded for a week now. What could happen if you left it loaded for along time?

I leave mine in until I take a shot , hopefully before the season is done. If I dont shoot , once the season is over , I'll take the load out. There is a very good Blackpowder forum and there is a thread on this subject. Check it out .....

It depends on the conditions when used and then stored? If dry then it should be perfectly fine to keep it loaded for a period of time, mine was loaded for 2 weeks before firing and it worked fine with no effects (but it was dry and unfired!). If wet weather, high humidy or fired I would either shoot or dump the load clean as usual and then reload before your next use. With BP or subs always better to air on the side of caution!

All true , luckily my gun safe is in the garage ( & moisture proof ) , so all my firearms are exposed to the same temps I hunt with them in.

I agree with slugman... I leave mine loaded all season until I have a chance to shoot--UN-CAPPED when not in the woods hunting, though. I do unload and re-load with fresh powder if it rains. Probably not necessary but its good for my peace of mind.

here something of the m/ler page

http://forum.hunting.net/asppg/tm.asp?m=817869

Better to be safe than sorry, and not have a miss fire on a good shot, The weather conidations change so much in Canada. I dis-charge and do a total clean up every night. I will waste the powder, before I will waste a clean shot , due to damp weather.

If you have a traditional gun with a percusion nipple and side lock hammer, when you remove the cap. Take a roud ball or something lead and lay it square in the nipple and drop the hammer on it. It will deform the lead to match the nipple and seal it against moisture infiltration.

It's also a good idea to leave the gun outside in a constant temp. Going in and out warms and cools the gun causing it to suck in air and moisture with it which condences inside the gun.