Newbie needs advise (Another Question)
08-24-2004, 09:39 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 454
Newbie needs advise (Another Question)
OK,
I am relatively new to BP shooting. I have learned the hard way about cleaning out the oil before loading, and about hang fires. My question, how do you guys keep things dry in bad weather? I do not understand the condom on the barrel. If I put one on my CVA or my Thompson (both are side locks, no scope), it would cover over the front sight and make it impossible to aim/shoot. In addition, wouldn’t it interfere with the trajectory of the bullet (Powerbelt 348 .54cal)?
What am I missing here?
I am relatively new to BP shooting. I have learned the hard way about cleaning out the oil before loading, and about hang fires. My question, how do you guys keep things dry in bad weather? I do not understand the condom on the barrel. If I put one on my CVA or my Thompson (both are side locks, no scope), it would cover over the front sight and make it impossible to aim/shoot. In addition, wouldn’t it interfere with the trajectory of the bullet (Powerbelt 348 .54cal)?
What am I missing here?
08-24-2004, 10:10 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Wewahitchka Florida
Posts: 3,273
RE: Newbie needs advise
the condom will do the trick but I think its cabelas but it may be bass pro but they actually sell barrel covers that look like a condom but there smaller so they dont cover the sight and a single strip of electrical tape will actually do just fine, your only worry is going to be your action and cabeals or bass pro sells something to cover that to its like a water proofing kit
08-24-2004, 10:34 AM
#3
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Gouldsboro, PA
Posts: 548
RE: Newbie needs advise
bnhcomputing,
Hunting in the rain with a ML, is not an easy task. There are ML's, like the Knight Disc Extreme, that claim they kepp the moisture out but once the charge gets wet, nothing will happen. This happened to a friend of mine once. He was hunting out of a tree stand with an inline, when it started to rain. He already had the gun loaded, with black powder and using a 209 primer. When a doe walked under his tree stand, he took aim, poof, the primer went off and that was it. So, he loaded another primer, poof, and no ka boom, only the primer went off again. Even though no water went down the barrell, the black powder absorbed the moisture and it would not go off. BP does absorb moisture right out of the air.
I use one of those Ameristep blinds and when it rains, it helps to keep the rain off me and my equipment, except when setting up of leaving. It helps but only to a certain amount with the ML.
MY suggestion is try to not hunt during the rain, wait untill it stops, After loading the gun, seating the bullet, and adding the primer, run some electrical tape over the barrel and around the primer, hope for the best. Plus deer tnd to move more after a rain than during it.
Tom
Hunting in the rain with a ML, is not an easy task. There are ML's, like the Knight Disc Extreme, that claim they kepp the moisture out but once the charge gets wet, nothing will happen. This happened to a friend of mine once. He was hunting out of a tree stand with an inline, when it started to rain. He already had the gun loaded, with black powder and using a 209 primer. When a doe walked under his tree stand, he took aim, poof, the primer went off and that was it. So, he loaded another primer, poof, and no ka boom, only the primer went off again. Even though no water went down the barrell, the black powder absorbed the moisture and it would not go off. BP does absorb moisture right out of the air.
I use one of those Ameristep blinds and when it rains, it helps to keep the rain off me and my equipment, except when setting up of leaving. It helps but only to a certain amount with the ML.
MY suggestion is try to not hunt during the rain, wait untill it stops, After loading the gun, seating the bullet, and adding the primer, run some electrical tape over the barrel and around the primer, hope for the best. Plus deer tnd to move more after a rain than during it.
Tom
08-24-2004, 12:33 PM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kerrville, Tx. USA
Posts: 2,722
RE: Newbie needs advise
Cabelas and others do sell some muzzleloader condoms called Muzzle Mitts. They simply roll over the end of the barrel. I guess you could tape them in front of the sight so you didn't have to roll them over the sight, but I just roll them over the sight and cut a small slit to let the sight through.
If you have a percussion sidelock, you should buy a Kap Kover. It is a brass piece that attaches to your muzzleloader with a leather strap. Once you put on a percussion cap, you then put this over the nipple. It comes with a special nipple that has an "O" ring so that the brass cover slides down over the nipple, making it totally waterproof AND serving as a safety. With the Kap Kover in place, even if the hammer falls, it only falls on the Kover, and not the percussin cap.
As far as not hunting in the rain, I have gone hunting many times with a clear sky and it rained later in the day, so don't think that is practical, espeically when hunting in Colorado with a short season. With my percussion rifle outfitted with a muzzle mitt and a Kap Kover, I have hunted in rain and never had a missfire. I will be taking an Omega this year and will be using the muzzle mitts up front and hope their hype about the breech being waterproof is accurate.
HOWEVER, be sure to NOT bring the gun into a house or tent each night. Bringing it back and forth into warm and cold will cause condensation INSIDE the muzzle that will screw you up. I therefore leave it in a vehichle or another tent that will not be heated by heaters or warm bodies. We will be sleeping in a big tent and also have a 4 person tent set up next to it to put gear and rifles during the night.
If you have a percussion sidelock, you should buy a Kap Kover. It is a brass piece that attaches to your muzzleloader with a leather strap. Once you put on a percussion cap, you then put this over the nipple. It comes with a special nipple that has an "O" ring so that the brass cover slides down over the nipple, making it totally waterproof AND serving as a safety. With the Kap Kover in place, even if the hammer falls, it only falls on the Kover, and not the percussin cap.
As far as not hunting in the rain, I have gone hunting many times with a clear sky and it rained later in the day, so don't think that is practical, espeically when hunting in Colorado with a short season. With my percussion rifle outfitted with a muzzle mitt and a Kap Kover, I have hunted in rain and never had a missfire. I will be taking an Omega this year and will be using the muzzle mitts up front and hope their hype about the breech being waterproof is accurate.
HOWEVER, be sure to NOT bring the gun into a house or tent each night. Bringing it back and forth into warm and cold will cause condensation INSIDE the muzzle that will screw you up. I therefore leave it in a vehichle or another tent that will not be heated by heaters or warm bodies. We will be sleeping in a big tent and also have a 4 person tent set up next to it to put gear and rifles during the night.
08-24-2004, 12:50 PM
#5
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: Newbie needs advise
What I do and have done for years.. get some handi wrap out of the kitchen. That stretch stuff that kind of seals to everything. Take a small piece and a rubber band (the little ones you buy in a craft store work great. That also work good on my turkey box caller) and after you have stretched that plastic, put the rubber band on it, before the sight or after the sight it really should not interfere with the bead...
On the cap, a little more of the stretch wrap over your cap, and close the hammer down on it. Make sure the cling wrap goes all the way past the base of the cap. When your ready to shoot, cock the hammer and let fly right through theplastic that covers the cap. It will go off.
Also try and keep your muzzle pointed down when your sitting or walking. Why risk the water if it is raining or snowing. Some people carry a large piece of the handi wrap and if they are sitting will cover the hammer and the nipple area of the rifle. They also sell something called a cow-knee it is a leather (waterproofed) sleeve that fits over the lock and frizzen of the flinter to keep them dry. It will also work over your cap lock when your sitting. You can make one out of scrap leather or improvise....
For years I carried a chunk of waterproof leather that I used to cover the hammer and capped nipple with... I also tend to hold my gloved (waterproof glove that is) over that area to keep any moisture out of the way.
The part about hunting in cold weather and then bringing your rifle into a warm area, listen close to that good advise. When you walk in out of the cold wearing glasses into a warm house or car, what happens? They fog up. Well so will the inside of your rifle barrel, but then the moisture will run backward towards the powder charge. That is why they are telling you to be careful of your climate and temperatures....
Personally I do not bring a loaded rifle into the house. If I am going back out hunting I store it in the unheated workshop entrance, or if I am through for the night, I fire the projectile off, clean the rifle, and start fresh in the morning.. Many people leave them loaded all season without problems. The choice is yours.... If you do have to leave it propped somewhere, put it muzzle down, with the handi wrap off. Any water will then run out the muzzle instead of back into the powder.
By the way ... good question. This is an important topic this time of year and many forget the basic rules...
On the cap, a little more of the stretch wrap over your cap, and close the hammer down on it. Make sure the cling wrap goes all the way past the base of the cap. When your ready to shoot, cock the hammer and let fly right through theplastic that covers the cap. It will go off.
Also try and keep your muzzle pointed down when your sitting or walking. Why risk the water if it is raining or snowing. Some people carry a large piece of the handi wrap and if they are sitting will cover the hammer and the nipple area of the rifle. They also sell something called a cow-knee it is a leather (waterproofed) sleeve that fits over the lock and frizzen of the flinter to keep them dry. It will also work over your cap lock when your sitting. You can make one out of scrap leather or improvise....
For years I carried a chunk of waterproof leather that I used to cover the hammer and capped nipple with... I also tend to hold my gloved (waterproof glove that is) over that area to keep any moisture out of the way.The part about hunting in cold weather and then bringing your rifle into a warm area, listen close to that good advise. When you walk in out of the cold wearing glasses into a warm house or car, what happens? They fog up. Well so will the inside of your rifle barrel, but then the moisture will run backward towards the powder charge. That is why they are telling you to be careful of your climate and temperatures....
Personally I do not bring a loaded rifle into the house. If I am going back out hunting I store it in the unheated workshop entrance, or if I am through for the night, I fire the projectile off, clean the rifle, and start fresh in the morning.. Many people leave them loaded all season without problems. The choice is yours.... If you do have to leave it propped somewhere, put it muzzle down, with the handi wrap off. Any water will then run out the muzzle instead of back into the powder.
By the way ... good question. This is an important topic this time of year and many forget the basic rules...
08-24-2004, 01:23 PM
#6
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: Newbie needs advise
i hunted in rain with a flintlock no problems at all......one day it was an all day steady rain.......kept a cows knee on the lock.....kept changing the priming charge.....and it was fine........end of the day it went off like any other day........i keep my muzzle down so theres no water getting in the bore.....and if it does all the lube and the bullets tightness will keep it out for a while im sure.....unless i fill the bore with water......and id be up creek if it got in the pan and wet the main charge.....but i keep the lock covered with a cows knee and try to keep my arm over it.....works for me...........i never had anything over the bore.........
08-27-2004, 11:58 AM
#8
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: Newbie needs advise (Another Question)
If your shooting 80 grains of powder or more I see no reason why the 348 grain aero tip will not stop an elk out to 100 yards. Remember, the aero tip will get you deeper penetration from all the accounts I have read on its performance. Shot placement of course if the key factor in all hunting situtations, so I think your all set. We will be looking forward to hearing about your adventure...
08-27-2004, 12:16 PM
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kerrville, Tx. USA
Posts: 2,722
RE: Newbie needs advise (Another Question)
348's are probably fine. However, in my 54 caliber, I have always shot the 405 grains. I figure when you got a 54, might as well get its full value with a bigger bullet.
Bottom line is that I would shoot both at the range. If they both shoot well, I would use the 405's. If the 348's fly better, would probably go that route.
Bottom line is that I would shoot both at the range. If they both shoot well, I would use the 405's. If the 348's fly better, would probably go that route.