Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders How many extra loads do you carry when hunting?

I usually carry 3 quick loaders in a ziplock bag when hunting in addition to the charge in my gun. I was hunting with a bunch of other guys late last year during muzzy season and we were comparing notes. Most of them only carried one extra load. One guy had none which didn't make any sense to me but he said he's never needed a follow-up shot.

Depends on what gun and what game I'm hunting. Typically, I hunt traditional style and carry a shooting bag and powder horn. Small game, I carry more rounds than for big game, wing shooting the shotgun or smooth-bore offers more shots so, I carry more stuff.
Years ago, I would carry the rifle and one or two speed loaders. I gave that up a long time back.

Three speed loaders, but I have powder,bullets, primers in the saddle bags

5 speed loaders. Keep one in my right coat pocket with ball starter. Others are in my shoulder bag.

I carry 5 speed loads of powder, 15 primers and 15 extra sabots and bullets in my possibles bag.

Maybe 5, usually. Also carry enough stuff to give the barrel at least a quick and dirty wipe out so a reload goes in easy, after a bad experience hunting in a "wintry mix".

3 speed loaders and a tin with a few caps.

Never too many.
5 might be right. Probably have components for more.

Have been a main actor in 2 real [bleep]. Both ended up
with the very last round I had being reserved for what had to be
a killing shot. One, I started, the other fell in my lap.

Also know of 3 instances of guys running out of ammo
in the middle of a rodeo. One who isn't much of a hunter,
wounded a cow elk, and shot darn near a box of ammo trying to kill
her. Poor bullet performance/choice played a big part. He found
someone to give him rounds, then found the elk and finished it.

The other two?

Both experienced hunters that would brag that "One is all it takes,
never needed more than two."

When it went bad,
They came up short.

One never recovered his deer.
The other also found ammo, then finished an elk.

I carry 3 . If I cant do it in 3 shots, I should go home.

I havent needed a floow up shot in forever, but I still carry one in the gun, 1 in the pocket, and 3 or 4 more in the pack. I figure things go wrong and its better to have than not. Plus, nice to be prepared for random target of opportunity (coyote).

I carry 2 patched balls in a block around my neck. A flat horn in my pocket with the powder measure. That's all when I hunt.

So far I have never needed to fire a 2nd shot, but I ALWAYS reload as soon as I fire.

My ML hunting is exclusively upland hunting with a 16 gauge fowler. I carry half a dozen reloads. Chances are I will never need that many but “chance” being what it is, I still carry them.
Pete

3 speeloaders with inline, shooting bag for 58 cal has a horn with 1lb of powder, enough balls, caps and olive oiled ticking material for 50 shots, short of the buckskins and moccasins that would get you shot in the woods today, ii like to hunt and carry my Hawken the way the Mountain Men did.

I carry three, if I miss 3 times that guns getting heaved into the pond..........

I only carry two or three T/C quickloaders, but I have a small 1 1/2 oz container of FFFFG any time I have the flinter with me so I can change the priming powder if I even think it might rain about 2:30 next Tuesday afternoon.

A horn ‘carries’ quite a few!

Those who think they only need 1 or 2 shots should read my above post.
I have been been hunting a couple times and killed a couple deer.
Most with one shot, some took two.
2 of the 3 guys posted about have also hunted a bit.
With similar results.

Extra ammo, for me, isn't about how many times I miss.
Used to be my thought, until I experienced the first rodeo.

Now, it's about a wounded deer. One that, suddenly seems bullet proof.

My dad wounded one with a sabot. Angled shot, through the chest,
exit, re-entered the hind leg. Made her sick.

I went after her, figuring to dress and drag her out.
Got in the woods and found her by a rotten log, looking at me.
She jumped up and ran. A quick desperate shot hit, but she stumbled
and trotted off. Reloading on the run, I was losing ground, and it was
getting toward dark. She paused 100 or so yards out. Winded and
unsupported I took the shot. I think I missed. I shot once more,
She finally slowed down enough that I was gaining. The last load was
in the gun, and it absolutely had to finish her. And, at this point my
adrenaline was maxed, and confidence was 0. So, I chased until
I got within 10 feet or so. Whole show went far enough that I took her off
the opposite side of the ridge and walked to cell coverage to get picked up.

I NEVER want to experience that again.
But, if I do, I carry more ammo.

Depending on the area I am hunting I could end up being a long ways away from my vehicle so I do not want to chance hiking back to get more charges to finish off a wounded animal. The elk this year was 5 kms (3 miles) from my truck. It was a one shot but if something had gone wrong without carrying extra supplies I was a long way from my full kit.

I have had problems with caps / primers in the past so my spares are a special container of caps or 209's in my pack and three speedloader charges. In my pants or jacket I carry two speedloader charges and a little rubber sealed holder for about 10 primers / caps. I change out the powder and primers in the spares container at the start of every fall and so far I have not had to use anything in there. The container is small, light (compared to first aid, water etc) and gives me comfort just knowing it is there.

Good discussion. I think I'm good with the 3 speedloaders in addition to the charge in my gun. I carry extra primers, a nipple pick, a cleaning jag, and a few patches as well as a short bullet starter.

Five tubes with a premeasured powder charge. A thing that holds two tubes of 5 bullets ea. A little plastic snuff can looking thing with probably 20 209's.
Keep a couple .50cal bore cleaning mops too though I haven't used them. I'm bad for carrying more [bleep] than I need normally though.