# How long will muzzle loader charge last?



## Peck (Feb 1, 2004)

I have had my TC loaded for 1 week. I remove the primer after I hunt and keep it locked up in my deer blind. My blind is heated while I am hunting. Is there any reason I should re load with a fresh charge? Does heating the blind cause moisture in my gun? How often should I change the load? I will be using the gun for the remainder of rifle season and muzzle loader season. I do not want any hang fires.
Thanks


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## kozal01 (Oct 11, 2010)

if the gun goes through heating and cooling cycles it wouldnt hurt to check the load. it only takes one time of being cold and then getting warm or vise versa to create enough condensation to form to ruin the load. i made that mistake the first year with a muzzle loader. im not sure how your TC works but with my CVA i just take the breach plug out and drop the pellets out between hunts.


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## thumbgoodfisherman (Dec 6, 2005)

Peck, I have let my ML loaded both rifle and ML seasons also using heated blind and so far I have never had an issue. Just for safety sake you could shoot it after gun season or before on a deer if you're lucky, clean and reload for ML season. The biggest mistake made by the hunter is that they don't snap a couple of caps to burn the oil out of a clean gun which will be the reason for oil soaked powder causing the dreaded hang fire. Hope this helps ya and good luck.


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## Peck (Feb 1, 2004)

Good advise. I have a clean oil free breach plug for sure. I think I will add a fresh charge after rifle season and before Muzzle loader season starts to be safe.
Thanks


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## Sargeyork (Dec 9, 2004)

I have left mine loaded for a week and had varied experiences, one year the weather was stable with minimal variation in Temperature and Humidity and the gun fired no problem at the end of the week. Another year it varied from 60 degrees and sunny to 30-40 degrees and some rain over the week but I kept the gun outside and dry in a unheated shed except when I was hunting in a blind and the muzzle had a latex glove cut off finger on the muzzle when moving in the rain and at the end of that week it took 3 primers to set off the load.


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## bone (Sep 17, 2010)

had mine loaded for 2 weeks a couple years ago,wont do it again. left it in the truck so it wouldnt get warm. took a 60 yard shot at a 6 point and the gun went poop! not pop, not bang, poop. sounded like a spud gun. still hit him in the hind leg blowing it off at the knee. . was the worst hunting night of my life seeing that leg floppin while he ran off. luckilly we waited till the next morning and he bled out in a group of pines in the middle of the field. he was still alive when we found him but didnt get up.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

I've left mine loaded from bear season and into ML season. It fired perfectly in December. The barrel condensates when you take it from a cold area to a warm moist area. How bad does it sweat when you turn the heat up in your blind? If it sweats alot change the load if it doesn't don't worry about it.


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## bone (Sep 17, 2010)

ive left mine loaded many times and never had a problem. been using my inline for 5 years, ive even had it loaded from the firearm opener all teh way until new years eve when i killed a doe during late season.

that one time, is enough for me not to leave it loaded more than a few days without changing the charge


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## Bearblade (Dec 30, 2005)

I use black powder in a traditional muzzleloader. I'm real fussy about cleaning before I load and popping a couple caps before I load up. I put electrical tape tightly over the barrel and when I take the cap off after I'm done hunting I put something over the nipple (a small piece of leather, etc.) to keep moisture out. I leave the gun outside and over the years my charge has always gone off with confidence.


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## Peck (Feb 1, 2004)

Next question,
Will one of those cork screw lead ball pullers pull out a shock wave bullet? What about the wad? Would that be the easier cleaner way to reload? If I pull the plug the anti seize on my threads will be full of loose powder. I would like to do this in my blind. 
Thanks


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## Bearblade (Dec 30, 2005)

I wouldn't pull a ball or a bullet anymore. Why possibly put your guts in front of a loaded rifle or risk marring the rifling with the screw. Get a CO2 discharger and just burp it out. You still have to clean but it's a lot easier than if you fire it.


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## ENCORE (Sep 19, 2005)

Peck said:


> Next question,
> Will one of those cork screw lead ball pullers pull out a shock wave bullet? What about the wad? Would that be the easier cleaner way to reload? If I pull the plug the anti seize on my threads will be full of loose powder. I would like to do this in my blind.
> Thanks


Peck, if you don't mind me asking, why would you want to pull the breech plug and clean it in your blind?



Bearblade said:


> I wouldn't pull a ball or a bullet anymore. Why possibly put your guts in front of a loaded rifle or risk marring the rifling with the screw. Get a CO2 discharger and just burp it out. You still have to clean but it's a lot easier than if you fire it.


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## Darton78 (Apr 6, 2010)

I use jim shocks powder granules i have left min loaded many last year Dec 25 late doe season i loaded never fired i put in cabinet then took out July loaded cap and bam right were i was aiming never had any issues.


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## ENCORE (Sep 19, 2005)

Darton78 said:


> I use jim shocks powder granules i have left min loaded many last year Dec 25 late doe season i loaded never fired i put in cabinet then took out July loaded cap and bam right were i was aiming never had any issues.


A sad story about leaving them loaded after the season............

An old work friend had always hunted and just about everyone in his family. From the story that he told, one of his uncles that was getting up there in age, gave him a muzzleloader. This was long before in-lines were invented.....

As his story went, evidently this uncle hadn't shot this muzzleloader in a number of years. I guess one day at a family gathering, he gave him this muzzleloader along with all the supplies that he had. *Now...... in no way.. am I agreeing what what he said happened next.* However, it happened and after I heard his story, I knew enough to keep my mouth shut........ Evidently while looking through all the accessories, someone found the caps. Then......... someone thought it would be fun to let the kids fire the caps off like a cap gun!

As his story went, the "popping of caps" went on for quite some time. He said he wasn't sure how many had been fired but, it was alot. Then all of a sudden, one of the kids "popped a cap" and the rifle fired, hitting one of his daughters in the stomach!

Thank the GOOD LORD above, the child survived !!!

From that time on, he was done hunting and all firearms were taken out of his home. I can fully understand why. He told me that with the uncle, that he was getting forgetful and hadn't fired the last load. The rifle had been loaded for a number of years, with black powder and ball, and still fired!

The GOOD LORD was certainly present that day, in that house, at that family gathering. It took a long time but, his daughter did make a full recovery.

NEVER....... assume that any firearm is unloaded. Its one thing to have a personal defence weapon loaded and stored, its another to think any firearm is safe. IMO, putting any loaded firearm in your safe or cabinet is dangerous. Especially a muzzleloader.


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## Peck (Feb 1, 2004)

To answer Bearblades question,

Reloading in my blind would easier than hauling the gun home to re load. ( lazy I guess) I keep it locked in my elevated blind all season. It sounds like the the best thing to do would be to bring it home and pull the speed breech plug and clean it properly. Thanks for all the good advice


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## mmowen01 (Oct 24, 2010)

I leave mine loaded the entire season if I don't get a chance to unload it on a deer. I just leave it in the un heated garage while not hunting and while hunting I put it in the opposite corner of the blind than the heater. My theory wich may be wrong is that as long as you can keep the barrel away from a quick temp change the sweat should not form inside the barrel. But like in most cases you would rather be safe then sorry. There is enough variables while trying to harvest a animal ethically why add one that could be avoided.


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