Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Wet weather hunting

I just read 7mmbusters post and can relate. I just hunted yesterday in a down pour, and had my ML fail to fire (didnt cost me a buck). there was green sludge in the nipple and even after picking the nipple & a new cap it wouldnt fire. I did the CO2 discharge & came home & cleaned/dried.
what should I do when I have to hunt in the driving rain the next time?
Thanx
Mark

I've gotten in the habit of doing the following when I hunt with a percussion:

1) Seal the bore with a muzzlemitt, finger cot, tape, etc;
2) Seal the cap/nipple with a neopreme nipple seal and a "Kap Kover";
3) Keep the barrel angled down and the lock area up under my coat, raingear, etc;

In hind-sight, I figured out where my problem came from.

When hunting, I invariably balance the rifle over the crook of my left arm. I hadn't thought about it at the time, but this puts a slight muzzle up incline on the gun.

Being a full stocked PA long rifle, that pretty much created a
38 inch rain gutter back the stock, under the water proof baggy, and right into the lock! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> Even after removing the touch-hole and manualy priming the barrel, she still did a pretty bad hang-fire when I popped her off for cleaning!

Oh well, live and learn, right? I shoulda took my own advice. I just told a buddy last week that if it rained, I'd stay home and change the oil in my truck. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

This is one reason why I love rock-locks. You gotta be a little smarter than the average bear to kill stuff with one.
So much for that applying to me! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Bottom line, I had a good hunt and enjoyed myself even coming home empty handed.
7mm

Thanx guys. I already bought the finger cots & cap kovers. I did the left arm crook too AND was totally unprotected from the torrent of rain we had...

I too had a great time, even though I was totally soaked!

Saw a great looking coyote (out of range of ML) not that it would have fired anyway <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Mark <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I use "Quick Seal", they're a little silicone cap that fits right over the nipple. Have never had a problem.

I normally gun hunt with a hunter orange wool poncho. When the weather gets to expressing itself, I just put the lock up under the poncho and tilt the barrel down. I had a 2 hour downpour on Saturday, and the gun stayed ready to fire. However, through the worst of it, I just pulled my head up through the hole in the poncho and used it like a tent.

I did a piece on ponchos a while back, let me see if I can dig it up.

rummage. . .rummage . . . rummage


Ah! . . . No,that's not it. Anyone interested in a piece on funnels?

rummage . . . rummage . . . Oh, I was wondering where that got off to. . . rummage . . . rummage


Ah! here it is.

In Praise of Ponchos

Mark as a fellow wetsider, I hunt Wa St Olympic penninsula, i have tried just about everything immaginable to keep my rifle dry. About five years ago a buddy of mine turned me onto old rain pants. He would cut the leg off of one and use it as a sort of loose fitting scabbard. Slide the rifle down the leg using it as a cover grasp the leg on the out side and carry as per normal, muzzle down. it only takes a moment to get the cover off. Some folks say it takes too long but a gun that is wet and wont fire is worse than useless. With a bit of practice you can get your rifle ready to fire pretty fast. Works for me.

Bullwnkl.

I've used rain ponchos for sitting on stand, keep my hands and the rifle under it and it's fairly easy to bring the rifle into action, but all the body moisture condenses underneath on the inside of a rain poncho as they don't 'breath', etc.

Just this year I found a breathable, quiet, blaze orange & hardwoods camo raingear has been introduced...so I decided to treat myself and bought a top section in 3X Tall so it'll be huge (like a poncho) to provide enough material to cover the flintlock section of the rifle while sitting on stand. (whenever I'm walking I just hold the lock area up under my coat anyway so that's never been a problem)

O-Ball, I have never tried a poncho simply because I believe they would hinder my ability to sneak throught the jungle...I could be wrong. I usually just get wet, hunt for a couple hours then back to the truck for a dry sweatshirt and some hot chocolate. It can be counted on to rain here in November with temps in the low 40's. One must be aware of hypothermia. Good dry boots are a must as are wool pants and socks. Over the years I have established sever blinds around clear cuts. The blinds allow you to get out of the weather some especially the ones with tarps under the branch cover. after about 3-5 years you lose your shooting lanes and have to establish new sites. In a rain storm a dryish blind is a nice place to hang out. Put up two new covers this summer that i can get to with my quad a lot further from my truck than I usually go so perhaps this will be a good place to try out a poncho, Time for a trip to Sportsman ware house.

Bullwnkl.

I bought some muzzle condoms & the little plastice pieces that go around the cap...man do they work good.

Bullwinkle,
I went out Wednesday (it was dry) & nailed a 2-3 y/o forkie at 31 paces, thru & thru lung shot! we had a great time!!

Mark <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Good show...congratulations!

Is your stock sealed under the barrel? An oft-recommended procedure is to seal between the barrel and stock with furniture paste wax when you're putting the barrel back in. Did you use a bit of beeswax to form a dam in the angle between the barrel and forend just ahead of the lock? Those two things help a good bit in keeping water from running/seeping into the priming when one forgets to keep her muzzle down. I also put a bit of grease, paste wax, or beeswax in between the lock and the barrel to seal that potential wick. The excess squeezes out when I tighten the bolts up and is scraped off.

Then, as mentioned, there's the use by some of vaseline or grease to seal around the pan and/or between the pan cover and barrel, that some swear by. I haven't hunted in the rain enough to have a strong opinon on these, but they don't help much if water can get in from beside or under the barrel.

Joel

"Real men use flintlcks - in the rain!"