I'm fairly new to muzzleloader hunting, but here's my question. I was discussing backcountry colorado elk hunt with a friend. He told me on first day he added loose powder and seated bullet. Then would just add primer when shot opportunity arose - may be days later. Is it effective to do this or would you have to worry about seating issues after a day, 2 days, etc.?

It wouldn't hurt to check the seating every day to make sure bullet hasn't moved, but I never have and I carry mine in a scabbard for quite few miles.

What you do have to worry about, depending on the type of MZ is the damp conditions we usually are subject to during Colorado Muzzle Loader season. Probably these closed breech types do a lot better now days, and if you tape the muzzle, but the old side locks had a tendency to misfire from dampness getting in thru the percussion cap hole.

If I am out all day and it has been raining, I usually pull the bullet, take out the powder and run a damp patch of denatured alcohol down the tube followed with a few dry ones and then fire a cap or two before I reload. Of course,I use black powder though.

The old saying of "keep your powder dry", still holds true today.

I would worry about moisture creeping in from somewhere to contaminate the charge or oil from plug threads working its way in somehow. If the gun is moved around, you also have to check that the bullet hasn't crept forward, creating a gap that can cause a burst barrel. There are ways to prevent most of this, depending on your setup. Never heard of hunting with no primer. I have pulled a cap or primer and sealed the flash channel after the hunt was over so I wouldn't have to pull the charge.

The best setup would be a perfectly dry bore, a finger cot over the muzzle, and some sort of plug for the flash hole. Definitely, the flash hole needs to be thoroughly picked before priming.

Stuff happens though; it's part of the fun.

I leave mine loaded all week, but I'm not hunting in back country with it. I run tight fitting sabots and they stay put.

A few years ago I loaded my side hammer single barrel 12 gauge for spring turkeys, didn't shoot one then left it loaded and shot one in the fall, no problems. I did however use part of a Federal primer box (red) between the hammer and the nipple. Muddy

I have left a sidelock loaded, with the muzzzle plugged and a piece of leather between the nipple and hammer for over 6 months, and they always go BOOOOM when I shoot them.

I left a T/C Triumph loaded for at least 8 months, sabot over BH 209, nothing in the breech plug and it shot just fine when I finally got around to shooting it.

Tape the barrel, check the seating on the bullet at the start of everyday and you should be fine.

ive left them loaded for months with no problems.

A person only has to have them not go BOOM from dampness once and they get a little more paranoid about it. Especially if when they are lined up on a nice bull elk and all that happens is the primer goes off.

Personally, I don't get it. A person waits all year to go elk hunting. Maybe 2-3 years if they have to draw a tag. Then they don't take any and all precautions to make sure their ML goes off when they need it too.

I have never seen the need to keep a ML loaded 4-6 months.

Even my center fire rifles, when I know they are sighted in, I always go to the range and check zero before a season opens. Guess I am more of a dedicated elk hunter than some. The only firearm that stays loaded 100% of the time is my carry handgun.

I shoot my muzzleloader twice a day duing ML season. Once after the morning hunt and again after the evening hunt. We have hundreds of miles of public hunting land around where we hunt. Total cost for both shots is under $2.

Moisture owns the areas surrounding the Great Lakes region / Midwest. It's best not to take chances here in Lower Michigan. Besides, this is a fun sport and it's cheap to shoot. There's no need to spend more than 50 cents a bullet. (For instance) 240 gr. XTPs and roundballs have killed millions and millions of deer. There are plenty of options for inexpensive bullets that work, including conicals.

If you are hunting private land with no access to public land, then you have a good excuse to leave your ML loaded day-to-day. Otherwise, shoot it everyday and take advantage of this fine sport and all the fun associated with it.

If it is not raining, any moisture problems are probably from not getting your rifle perfectly dry before loading. Side locks are harder to dry than inline, but it can be done if you do it right. Again if not raining, a piece of leather over the nipple and the hammer let down, will be all that you need. If carried in the rain, no matter how hard you try to keep it dry, I would reload. Kept dry, I have killed deer with my inline loaded from the previous year. miles

At the end of the season, I used to empty my gun into a clay bank (to lessen the chance of fire), but now I just pull the charge. It's easy to do, especially with hollow points in sabots. I hunt on small tracts of public land these days and don't like to shoot unless it's at game.

Some character in Ohio killed an Amish girl a few years back by emptying his ML into the air. Freak occurance, but the girl's dead and his life is probably ruined.

I load my rifles on a clean dry bore, and leave them loaded until I shoot at an animal or the season is over. This can be days, weeks, or even months sometimes. I have hunted in the rain & snow, and even tested rifles drawing moisture purposely (going from real cold outside to real hot indoors) many times during the same season. Never had an issue with a rifle going boom. I am 100% confident that when I pull the trigger, I will get full and instant ignition.

If I was on a hunt, under most circumstances I'd keep her loaded and keep on hunting.

it is just so hard to discharge a ml and clean it.

Leaving Friday for my first muzzleloader hunt in many years.
It's important enough for me that I plan to pull the breech plug every evening in camp, dump the load and wipe down the bore.
Reload the next morning and try again.

I am hoping that you get to empty the gun the first day on a critter!

i load my tc triumph first day of the season and it will stay loaded til kill something. if we get really damp weather i sometimes pull the breechplug and dump the powder charge. i will tap the bullet forward alittle then reseat it after adding new powder and the plug from the rear.

Even if I do, I'll still have one tag left.
Going after a Bull and a Buck.
Thanks for the good wishes.

Good luck to you Tracks.

I'm headed for Durango Colorado in a couple hours for the mzloader hunt beginning Saturday.

I just recently bought a T/C Hawken, and discovered that it was loaded (you'd be really surprised how often that happens). Asked the guy I bought it from, and was told that it hadn't been fired in at least 20 years, so had unknowingly been loaded all that time. I put a cap on the nipple, pulled the trigger, and it went boom.

LMAO

I agree with you Miles. Many misfires are from poor cleaning, not from moisture in the air. I remember when we first got a muzzleloading season. Guys who knew nothing about muzzleloaders were having misfires on a regular basis. Many times I have left the woods at dusk and would hear the sound of guys firing their muzzleloader so they could go home to clean and reload it. I normally do not empty my muzzleloader until the season is over, unless of course I have fired it. There have been a couple of years that I left it loaded until a couple of weeks before the next year's season. It has always fired.

I use BH209 and leave mine loaded mid november, towards the end of december. Never had a problem. Just pull the primer when not hunting.