How long can a load be in a gun?
11-07-2004, 07:23 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Springwater, NY
Posts: 34
How long can a load be in a gun?
How long can a load be in a gun?
I've been asked this question and have wondered myself. I have alwaya gone with 1 day and then clean the gun. Also, is there a difference between Stainless and blued for this time period?
Thanks,
Chris
I've been asked this question and have wondered myself. I have alwaya gone with 1 day and then clean the gun. Also, is there a difference between Stainless and blued for this time period?
Thanks,
Chris
11-07-2004, 08:24 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,922
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
How long can a load be in a gun? [/b]
Sometimes only the morning hunt! It all depends on air moisture where you're hunting. Pay attention to the humidity reports in your local area & obviously any type of rain. I now shoot my load every night regardless. If the air is full of dew/fog/rain, I'll shoot it twice a day. Animals like deer generally are not disturbed by a single shot in the distance. They are more apt to run a mile after seeing/smelling you. Also... MLs in general shoot more accurately on a fouled bore than a clean one. A light swab with soluble gun oil like Ballistol or Birchwood-Casey Sheath between shots - then both sides of a dry patch in an already-fouled bore every night is all you need to remain accurate & keep the bore moisture-resistant -- plus have more fun actually shooting the rifle while out hunting for the week.
In most cases involving ML hunters, these frontstuffers are more fun & create additional conversations at the kitchen table when you shoot them everyday...lol
11-07-2004, 09:29 AM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Idaho
Posts: 11,703
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
ccicora
The real question is "how long can you keep it dry?" If you can keep it dry it will be there for you. I went four weeks, hunting on the weekends, during Elk season with the same load in the barrel and I went through some pretty nasty Idaho mountain weather. Last weekend was the last one so that evenening I sighted a nice chunk of basalt at about 75yds and touched it off if it had been a bull elk it would have been blown to pieces.
Another, thought an old guy up here that hunts with a sidehammer never pulls his load, he has left loads in at the end of one hunting season and shot that load the next. He considers himself a throwback to the old days - waste-not want not. He also is not near as particular about his barrel as I am - says it's not necessary in fact his sidehammer was his dads and it is older than the hills and if you look down the barrel you would agree. It is in tough shape - but man does it shoot well he can hit anything he wants to.
In reality here is what I do, I am shooting Remington SS barrels and a A&H Nickel barrel on the inlines and regular blued barrels on the sidelocks - I treat them no differently. Once the season gets here I will shoot a few rounds in whichever gun I am using to check either the scope or the sights. I will then clean the barrel with damp patches run a real light coat of a good gun oil down the barrel patch that several times to move it around and get the excess out. And it is ready for the season. Anytime during the season that I shoot it I repeat the process, but I never really strip it and regiment clean it until after the season. Loads may stay in all season, I hope not - I hope i get use them... but if I keep the powder dry I don't worry about it, whether it is damp, wet, or snowy out. If there is any question dump the load.
All this said this advice is with T7 in mind - if you are using real BP - that might be a different problem.
Good luck in what ever method you use....
How long can a load be in a gun?
Another, thought an old guy up here that hunts with a sidehammer never pulls his load, he has left loads in at the end of one hunting season and shot that load the next. He considers himself a throwback to the old days - waste-not want not. He also is not near as particular about his barrel as I am - says it's not necessary in fact his sidehammer was his dads and it is older than the hills and if you look down the barrel you would agree. It is in tough shape - but man does it shoot well he can hit anything he wants to.
In reality here is what I do, I am shooting Remington SS barrels and a A&H Nickel barrel on the inlines and regular blued barrels on the sidelocks - I treat them no differently. Once the season gets here I will shoot a few rounds in whichever gun I am using to check either the scope or the sights. I will then clean the barrel with damp patches run a real light coat of a good gun oil down the barrel patch that several times to move it around and get the excess out. And it is ready for the season. Anytime during the season that I shoot it I repeat the process, but I never really strip it and regiment clean it until after the season. Loads may stay in all season, I hope not - I hope i get use them... but if I keep the powder dry I don't worry about it, whether it is damp, wet, or snowy out. If there is any question dump the load.
All this said this advice is with T7 in mind - if you are using real BP - that might be a different problem.
Good luck in what ever method you use....
11-07-2004, 09:30 AM
#5
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
The major question is .... was the gun fired. If the gun was fired then it has to be cleaned. This includes a fowling shot for some, and even blowing through a couple caps or primers, although the primers do not seem as corosive as the black powder itself. For the protection of your rifle, if you have shot the rifle during the day then clean it that night.
If this is in reference to how long will the load in the rifle still be good... That is again influenced by the way the rifle was handled, weather proofed, and what it went through during the day. Then take into consideration what temperatures it has encountered during the day, and how it was or will be stored as to whether or not it will go off. This year I left a Black Diamond XR loaded for three days and it fired off fine... I normally shoot mine off at the end of the day, clean them, and then start with a fresh load in the morning. This year I was hunting further from home and walking out in the dark so I did not fire the rifle off......
Taking into consideration what weather conditions will do to not only a black powder rifle, but a modern rifle. How many times after hunting all day in a fog, mist, rain, whatever... you come in set the rifle up over the night and see some light surface rust trying to form. So again, if the gun was subjected to bad weather conditions, if you don't clean it, at least wipe it off and oil it.
As for how long can you leave a gun loaded... There are cases where a black powder rifle which was not fowled, was loaded and left loaded for years. When the rifle was finally checked they really found little or no damage from the rifle being loaded. The problem comes in when the burned powder has a chance to react with moisture and metal. It creates an acid of sorts that starts to eat away at the metal it has come in contact with.
Loaded rifles sitting on a mantal have been discovered to be not only loaded but very able to still fire after years of resting there. That is why black powder rifles especially the older ones we come across at gun shows and pawn shops and people's homes, where ever, should be handled with even more then normal care. It is too easy to take for granted they are empty only to learn they are charged. There have been cases where someone capped Grandpa's old musket only to discover that Grandpa left it loaded the hard way. I think we can all remember an incident last year where a person with an old black powder rifle was actingn stupid, capped it thinking it was empty, pointed it at I believe it was his granddaughter, and then shot her when he pulled the trigger and it discharged.....
If this is in reference to how long will the load in the rifle still be good... That is again influenced by the way the rifle was handled, weather proofed, and what it went through during the day. Then take into consideration what temperatures it has encountered during the day, and how it was or will be stored as to whether or not it will go off. This year I left a Black Diamond XR loaded for three days and it fired off fine... I normally shoot mine off at the end of the day, clean them, and then start with a fresh load in the morning. This year I was hunting further from home and walking out in the dark so I did not fire the rifle off......
Taking into consideration what weather conditions will do to not only a black powder rifle, but a modern rifle. How many times after hunting all day in a fog, mist, rain, whatever... you come in set the rifle up over the night and see some light surface rust trying to form. So again, if the gun was subjected to bad weather conditions, if you don't clean it, at least wipe it off and oil it.
As for how long can you leave a gun loaded... There are cases where a black powder rifle which was not fowled, was loaded and left loaded for years. When the rifle was finally checked they really found little or no damage from the rifle being loaded. The problem comes in when the burned powder has a chance to react with moisture and metal. It creates an acid of sorts that starts to eat away at the metal it has come in contact with.
Loaded rifles sitting on a mantal have been discovered to be not only loaded but very able to still fire after years of resting there. That is why black powder rifles especially the older ones we come across at gun shows and pawn shops and people's homes, where ever, should be handled with even more then normal care. It is too easy to take for granted they are empty only to learn they are charged. There have been cases where someone capped Grandpa's old musket only to discover that Grandpa left it loaded the hard way. I think we can all remember an incident last year where a person with an old black powder rifle was actingn stupid, capped it thinking it was empty, pointed it at I believe it was his granddaughter, and then shot her when he pulled the trigger and it discharged.....
11-07-2004, 09:39 AM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Kansas
Posts: 294
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
End of last winter I left mine loaded for about 3 months before I got out to do any shooting with it. Went off like it was supposed to. My cap-n-ball revolver stays loaded all summer and fall, never a problem.
11-07-2004, 10:10 AM
#7
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta
Posts: 1,118
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
I loaded mine friday morning, and just got back from shooting it off. I'll leave it in there until I get back from hunting. Then I'll fire it, clean it, and reload before my next trip. If you can keep from going in and out of the cold, so condinsation doesn't affect the powder, it is no different from having a loaded barrel, or a 30-06 cartridge sitting side by side. Good luck hunting this fall.
11-07-2004, 03:09 PM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: chiefland Florida USA
Posts: 5,417
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
at one time , I did all the stuff you all have mentioned.I have hunted all day fired and cleaned.hunt and fire the next morning , load and hunt and clean that night.it always shot and at the end of the season there was no damage to barrel.
Then one year I left it loaded for 4 mo. due to medical problems.it shot like new.My pistol was left till the next year.it shoot OK also.
This was guns that was loaded and not shoot(if you shoot that gun It Has to be cleaned;no mistake.don't clean and you got a messed up gun)!!
]
that being said,if it was shootin and not causing a problem ; Why was I doing all this cleaning??after that If I didn't shoot it I would leave it till the next year and shoot it befor the season and clean and load.(Never no problem) this was for 25 years or so.
For the last 15 or so years I have not had that problem.I have taken 2 or 3 bucks a year,so I have to clean and load again.
JMHO; if it has not been fired,it has been load properly,the powder should be just like in the can.it should not cause a problem.at least that has been my experence.I don't shoot my gun unless it is at a buck.or the next year,which ever come first.[8D]
Then one year I left it loaded for 4 mo. due to medical problems.it shot like new.My pistol was left till the next year.it shoot OK also.
This was guns that was loaded and not shoot(if you shoot that gun It Has to be cleaned;no mistake.don't clean and you got a messed up gun)!!![
]that being said,if it was shootin and not causing a problem ; Why was I doing all this cleaning??after that If I didn't shoot it I would leave it till the next year and shoot it befor the season and clean and load.(Never no problem) this was for 25 years or so.
For the last 15 or so years I have not had that problem.I have taken 2 or 3 bucks a year,so I have to clean and load again.
JMHO; if it has not been fired,it has been load properly,the powder should be just like in the can.it should not cause a problem.at least that has been my experence.I don't shoot my gun unless it is at a buck.or the next year,which ever come first.[8D]
11-07-2004, 04:27 PM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Springwater, NY
Posts: 34
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
Thanks for the replies,
I have been cleaning out the load fired or not every 24 hrs at most. It would be nice to load friday night and shoot it out Sunday night after the hunt. Provoding I didn't shoot a deer or three....
Thanks,
Chris
I have been cleaning out the load fired or not every 24 hrs at most. It would be nice to load friday night and shoot it out Sunday night after the hunt. Provoding I didn't shoot a deer or three....
Thanks,
Chris
11-07-2004, 06:44 PM
#10
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 501
RE: How long can a load be in a gun?
Because of being dedicated to keeping my rifles showroom ready, and because of horrible tragedies like the granddaughter incident above, I do not believe in leaving loaded guns laying around so I always unload daily.
But it's not necessary to go through all the trouble of shooting and cleaning the rifle.
At the end of the day, I either "pull" my load or "blow" them out with compressed air depending on where I am.
Then I just wipe the bore and vent liner, take the rifle inside the house to get it warm and dry...load fresh the next morning and go again.
And...never have to worry about that rifle again...if I wake up and it's raining, or an emergency comes up and I can't go, or I get busy with work, or get invited on a duck hunt, or decide to hunt a different caliber, etc, etc, etc...before you know it, weeks / months can go by as a result of a strange set of circumstances...but my peace of mind is that it won't matter to me because that rifle will be clean, lubed, and empty unless I'm actually hunting with it.
But it's not necessary to go through all the trouble of shooting and cleaning the rifle.
At the end of the day, I either "pull" my load or "blow" them out with compressed air depending on where I am.
Then I just wipe the bore and vent liner, take the rifle inside the house to get it warm and dry...load fresh the next morning and go again.
And...never have to worry about that rifle again...if I wake up and it's raining, or an emergency comes up and I can't go, or I get busy with work, or get invited on a duck hunt, or decide to hunt a different caliber, etc, etc, etc...before you know it, weeks / months can go by as a result of a strange set of circumstances...but my peace of mind is that it won't matter to me because that rifle will be clean, lubed, and empty unless I'm actually hunting with it.