Muzzleloader season is over

[DirkDiggler]

With 2 hours of daylight to spare and 2 freezing weeks spent hunting public land in Mass they payoff was at hand. While walking in to sit for the last few hours of the season I came across 2 Does and I had a tag to fill. 30 yards away, bounding across in front of me, got down on one knee, aimed, they stopped, looked, crosshairs on the vitals, squeeze the trigger, and... snap. The primer fired and the powder was fouled. My heart broke and is still breaking...

I broke the gun down and found, to my chagrin, that the powder had turned to paste from a hunt probably yesterday or the day before. Lesson learned; always tape your barrel and always change the load... daily.

Attached is a picture of what the load looked like when it was removed from the barrel.

 

[oldguy]

Dam thats to bad.
Me and my son hunted for a few hours during the snow today I slipped on some ice and went down hard still hurts but it was a pleasure to be out in the woods together.
Hope for better luck next season.

 

[mac1911]

man, that looks more like oiled powder. I will be getting into BP next season.

 

[Plural of Mongoose]

Wow.
Was that powder loose or was it pellets?
Are you using an inline or a traditional rifle?

A couple year ago I was using my old CVA Hawken and it was raining fairly hard .
As I was getting ready to cap it I saw a single large drop of water land on/in the nipple.
I had to go back home, pull the bullet and dump the powder. Uggghhh.
I always put a square of tape on the muzzle . It is also a good reminder that the gun is charged if you dont reload it every day.

 

[DirkDiggler]

Wow.
Was that powder loose or was it pellets?
Are you using an inline or a traditional rifle?

A couple year ago I was using my old CVA Hawken and it was raining fairly hard .
As I was getting ready to cap it I saw a single large drop of water land on/in the nipple.
I had to go back home, pull the bullet and dump the powder. Uggghhh.
I always put a square of tape on the muzzle . It is also a good reminder that the gun is charged if you dont reload it every day.

CVA Kodiak. I'd been hunting hard for the last few weeks. Rain, snow, etc. somewhere along the way it was fouled. That pic is a PowerBelt Sabot and 100 Grains of Triple Seven pellets.

 

[mac1911]

so is it not practical to remove a loaded round daily? I bought a used BP rifle and was shocked to see a round still in it when I got home? I have since replaced that gun with a NIB Omega Z5.

 

[Buck Nekid]

Dirk,
Thanks so much for posting that picture as well as the story of your hunt. I hunted with an in-line muzzleloader this year and gave some thought to whether I should discharge the load each day just to be sure of ignition when the moment of truth came. This was excellent info and very helpful to see the evidence. Thanks again.

 

[AKman]

Sad story. Nothing like taking the wind out of your sails! I've always thought about what I'd do if I the same thing happened to me. I used tape for years but have slacked in that practice. I use an Omega and started getting in the habit of taking out the breech plug and pulling the charge every night.

 

[HunterDan]

season over

sorry to hear about this.but using tape is an excellent,way of keeping your powder dry.Ihave had the same load,in since shotgun season.started and yesterday at4m worked fine.also if your out in crap like yesterday"dont zip your case.and open the breech to low heat like electric. for about 2 hrs. works wonders to dry moisture,inside &out

 

[Lignum Vitea]

Use a condom or cut a finger off a surgical glove and slip it over the muzzle. Keeps the rain and snow out of the barrel, shooting through the seal has no effect on accuracy.

 

[DirkDiggler]

Needless to say, from now on, I'll be removing the load daily next season and taping the barrel every time I go out. It was a learning experience for me and others that I hunt with. Last year I hunted in just as poor of conditions and the gun fired fine, power didn't foul. However, I figured I'd share it with you guys so we can all learn from my mistake.

Now, even though I don't have a freezer full of meat, having the deer in my sights and pulling the trigger made the weeks spent freezing, soaking, etc. totally worth it. It would have been way worse if I'd gone out and seen nothing the last day of the season. I'll be fully motivated next season.

Oh, as an aside, I saw about 100 turkeys. Think I found a good spot for turkey season...

 

[arlow]

I fire my black powder gun every day at the end of the hunt. A small price to pay to ensure you gun will go off when a deer is in front of you.

 

[pupchow]

After a coworker recently experienced three misfires (sidelock w/patch & ball) at the same group of deer, I do the same. He thinks oil may have contaminated the charge? Also, my ML's manual suggests firing a primer or two before loading.

I got out this past Sat, Mon-Thur. Spotted two moose, a partridge (in a hemlock tree), and jumped one deer that I didn't get a look at. The deer had been digging through the snow for nuts, but it seems many had moved into lower elevations when the temps got into the single digits.

I do like this ML though, and will likely use it during shotgun season this coming season. It hasn't cost me any shots so far...

 

[DirkDiggler]

After a coworker recently experienced three misfires (sidelock w/patch & ball) at the same group of deer, I do the same. He thinks oil may have contaminated the charge? Also, my ML's manual suggests firing a primer or two before loading. I got out this past Sat, Mon-Thur. Spotted two moose, a partridge (in a hemlock tree), and jumped one deer that I didn't get a look at. The deer had been digging through the snow for nuts, but it seems many had moved into lower elevations when the temps got into the single digits. I do like this ML though, and will likely use it during shotgun season this coming season. It hasn't cost me any shots so far...

The spot I was hunting was a low elevation. They forage before a cold front/storm system comes in and they move to lower elevations. It was a bit of knowledge and some luck that we came across them.

 

[DCunniff]

DirkDiggler, I was talking to a guy Thursday who was in Rocky Gutter in Middleboro and saw deer moving. He shot and had a somewhat similar problem. He did though get one in shotgun season.

I took a friend's Omega out the first day of BP, when it was the howling wind after the deep snowstorm. All the snow was blowing off the trees. I kep putting my glove over the barrel when I saw the snow coming down.

Dana

 

[Fixxah]

That looks like a scat. Condensation is an issue as well due to big temp change. My friend leaves his BP rifle in his truck to avoid this.

 

[speterson701]

I do believe if you do not unload the muzzleloader it is considered a loaded firearm even without a primer, not by mass wildlife standards, but by the state itself. Don’t jump down my throat, but may be worth looking into?

 

[NautiBuoys]

ML

That was changed a few years ago, so the two now match-as long as no ignition device (#11 cap, Musket cap or 209 primer, etc), it is considered unloaded.