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Yesterday was the opener for ML season here in Kansas. I’m hunting with an encore and triple 7 pellets. Once my ml is loaded, I usually do not unload it until I shoot something or season is over (9 days). I do bring it in the house when I’m not hunting. I’m just curious if this is the norm or do most people unload after each hunt and load back up again the next day or hunt?

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I don't unload. I pull the primer out, no primer and the gun is safe. I do not bring the gun in and out of the house. I leave the gun in the rack behind the seat of my truck. My truck is parked in an unheated garage. My thought is that bringing the gun inside the warm house from the cold might cause condensation in the barrel. I have kept my T/C loaded a couple weeks like that and it always fired perfectly.


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I fire it when I am done.
I hunt with a flintlock, and the longest it's ever stayed loaded was 9 days. When the elk showed himself it fired just fine.

I reload after every shot, but (so far,) I have not needed a 2nd one, so I simply fire when I am back at camp or the truck and then clean it.

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Shoot no, I run a light oil patch down the bore, cover muzzle with shooting bag strap, place a piece of leather under the hammer and over the nipple, GTG all year long, will pick the nipple, put on cap and fire a few rounds before season, after checking zero, clean bore with wet patches while still hot from shooting, dry patch, load, run light oil patch and wait for opening morning.

Have never had bores/chambers rust using 'real' black powder with the procedures listed above.


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Originally Posted by gunner500
Shoot no, I run a light oil patch down the bore, cover muzzle with shooting bag strap, place a piece of leather under the hammer and over the nipple, GTG all year long, will pick the nipple, put on cap and fire a few rounds before season, after checking zero, clean bore with wet patches while still hot from shooting, dry patch, load, run light oil patch and wait for opening morning.

Have never had bores/chambers rust using 'real' black powder with the procedures listed above.


Yep. That’s why I use REAL black powder.


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Originally Posted by chlinstructor
Originally Posted by gunner500
Shoot no, I run a light oil patch down the bore, cover muzzle with shooting bag strap, place a piece of leather under the hammer and over the nipple, GTG all year long, will pick the nipple, put on cap and fire a few rounds before season, after checking zero, clean bore with wet patches while still hot from shooting, dry patch, load, run light oil patch and wait for opening morning.

Have never had bores/chambers rust using 'real' black powder with the procedures listed above.


Yep. That’s why I use REAL black powder.


Yessir, keep air out and that steel will live a smooth life forever, the Mountain Men had it figured out, my Gramps sealed his muzzle with hard lard before a misty rainy day hunt when I was a pup, got me to asking questions! grin


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I have an Encore and I use 777 pellets. I'll load it and leave it loaded (without the primer) for up to 2 weeks, that's the longest time that muzzle loader season is open. If I shoot a deer, I immediately reload in case I need a follow up shot. If I don't shoot the follow up, I'll leave that one loaded until I shoot another deer and reload. After the second or third deer, if I get that many, I'll usually unload it and clean it. It makes it easier to reload the next time I shoot something. Mine has a stainless barrel, so I don't need to worry about rusting. If your's is blued, I might be hesitant to leave it loaded for more than a week or so.


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I hunt mostly with sidelocks and black powder, and use several different guns throughout our three-month long season depending on where I'm hunting and which gun I have a hankering to carry on any particular day.

Once a gun is loaded it stays loaded until I shoot something with it, or until the end of the season (or longer). So a gun loaded for three months or more is not unusual for me. And by the end of the season I may have three or four loaded guns.

But there is one thing I suggest for all. You never know when you will head for the big hunting camp in the sky. So do your family and friends a favor and flag all loaded guns when they are not actually in your hands.

[Linked Image from live.staticflickr.com]

Last edited by Semisane; 09/16/20.

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Depends. I once left a TC Greyhawk loaded (BP) for about three months. Went bang just fine. Wouldn't try that with 777.

Recently picked up a CO2 discharger. Works like a champ, and no packed powder to dig out like is often the case with pulling a charge the old way. Gotta make sure to have a clear field of fire when you use it! Need to figure out how to get it hooked up to my Knight too.


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I bought my encore in the mid 2000s. A couple years later TC came out with the encore pro hunter with better recoil pad and a different breech plug that takes less turning to get out and some other minor improvements. They were also significantly higher priced. I was at a very nice local sporting goods store about that time and there happened to be a TC rep at the gun counter. After hearing him talk about how great the “new encore” was I piped up to tell him that recoil pads could be replaced, the swiveling primer extractor was already available, and if had to get a tool out for the breech plug who cares if it takes a few turns less. He tried to tell me about how I should unload after every hunt. I told him I had accidentally left mine loaded for a whole year and it shot just fine. He looked at me like I was the biggest idiot he’d ever seen. That’s was fine, I thought he was selling snake oil and let him know.

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Originally Posted by Semisane
I hunt mostly with sidelocks and black powder, and use several different guns throughout our three-month long season depending on where I'm hunting and which gun I have a hankering to carry on any particular day.

Once a gun is loaded it stays loaded until I shoot something with it, or until the end of the season (or longer). So a gun loaded for three months or more is not unusual for me. And by the end of the season I may have three or four loaded guns.

But there is one thing I suggest for all. You never know when you will head for the big hunting camp in the sky. So do your family and friends a favor and flag all loaded guns when they are not actually in your hands.

[Linked Image from live.staticflickr.com]


Damn good reminder there Semisane, aint a man here that has any guarantees of even seeing dinner tonight. smile


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With my flintlocks, I am overly cautious. Mainly because the main charge is pretty well exposed to the elements. I pull my ball and change the charge pretty regularly. Sometimes multiple times a day if it's wet out.

If it's truly dry, I don't worry about it and leave it charged.

IMO it's cheap insurance and I've killed numerous critters in the rain with a flintlock...



I now have an Encore. I've been looking and it looks like it's MUCH tougher to get the main charge wet....so I will probably leave it unless I hunt in the rain. Even then, it'd probably still be fine...but again...cheap insurance.

I use the pulled bullets at the range...they always fly straight...but again...overly cautious...I don't wanna kiss cause I was cheap and lazy and reloaded a bullet...



As was said, I too try to avoid temp changes. Going from the warm house to the cold outside and back into the warm house....I've watched guns sweat big time when brought in from the cold. If that happens inside the bore, it could easily contaminate the charge.

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My buddy hunts with 777 pellets in his Encore and leaves his gun loaded entire Indiana season and doesnt have any problems.. But he doesn't bring gun in and out of a warm house, he leaves it in his unheated garage. Ive left mine loaded a couple days at most, usually unload at end of day and put fresh load in morning of hunt.


Making black powder smoke is a great thing..
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I don't usually unload between hunts and will often leave the Encore loaded from the NH season (early) until the Maine season (late) -- about six weeks total. If I've hunted in the rain or have concerns about the powder having gotten wet, I'll remove the breech plug and ram the pellets and bullet out the breech end. That saves a lot of work on the cleaning and I have the bullet to load again.

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Hell no! Leave it loaded until you shoot at something or like in my case, last day and aint seen nothing but deer and no elk! LOL

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Mine's a flintlock so I just empty the flash pan, but the barrel remains charged until the season ends. I plug the touch hole with a toothpick broken off at the outside edge of the pan and frizzen when the pan isn't charged.

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I use blackthorn once it loaded it remains loaded until the season is over. Here in Michigan if it’s deprimed it’s unloaded!


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Mine stays loaded and locked up in an unheated area for the season.

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I leave my Remington Ultimate Mz loaded 'til I shoot a deer, or the following season, whichever comes first. laugh

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If I shot 777, I’d load it atleast twice a day the way it draws moisture. I shoot blackhorn. My is only unload during the season if I kill something

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