cleaning during hunting season

[RU shooter]

Ive actually never had this situation so asking for advice . Went hunting this morning and fired one off at a doe promptly reloaded as I thought I may have hit her . No hair no blood clean miss But anyways . Now I have a loaded flintlock with a fouled bore .planning on going out in about another week its the end of season here in Pa . It's cool and dry in the house where I keep the rifle should I just let it be till the end of season or try to swab out the barrel above the ball . The patch was lubed with mink oil if it makes a difference when I reloaded .

[hawkenhunter50]

If it was me I'd fire off that loaded round and clean it. I wouldn't risk a week. Even if you clean above the ball, the breech will still be uncleaned. Just how I'd do it anyhow.

[Winger Ed.]

I was never comfortable leaving loaded & 'chambered' firearms around unless they were VERY well secured,
and there was no chance some soft head would pick it up and 'see if it works'.

If it was me, I'd fire & clean it.

[NSB]

If you’re shooting real black powder, you need to clean your gun. Just shoot it and clean it....it’s not a good idea to let it sit for a week with BP fouling in the barrel.

[Bazoo]

You could shoot it every other or third day and oil the bore out above the ball just to keep the rust down. If it's a fine rifle with no bore rust then I'd unload and clean. If it's a user and has pits already, ain't much to lose.

[RU shooter]

I was never comfortable leaving loaded & 'chambered' firearms around unless they were VERY well secured,
and there was no chance some soft head would pick it up and 'see if it works'.

If it was me, I'd fire & clean it.

No issues with that have a tooth pick in the flashhole and just me and the wife in the house so no danger of anyone toying with it

[Winger Ed.]

No issues with that have a tooth pick in the flashhole and just me and the wife in the house so no danger of anyone toying with it

Sounds like you're good. I'd lightly oil the bore though.

[indian joe]

No issues with that have a tooth pick in the flashhole and just me and the wife in the house so no danger of anyone toying with it

Nah ! shoot it and clean it -never know what the next week or two will bring

[wyofool]

You have an oiled patch pushed against the powder. Will that make any difference or will it contaminate the powder? Why take a chance.

[dondiego]

After having only fired 2 shots, it will be easy to clean.

[waksupi]

Nope, pull the ball and clean it.

[Jeff Michel]

I pull my charge at the end of everyday and the bore is either wiped if unfired or properly cleaned with water if it had been fired. Two reasons: If I had to shell out 500.00 to 1000.00 for a good quality muzzleloader, I'm certainly going to take pains to properly care for it. Second, I don't get misfires from contaminated/damp powder. You can bet that your chance at a 180 class whitetail will be at the exact instance when the misfire fairy swings by for a visit to remind you that a clean rifle is a reliable rifle. I learned that many years ago to my own chagrin.

[megasupermagnum]

I would reconsider taking it into the house. That is where the bulk of condensation comes from. I've taken multiple shots plenty of times. I would fire and clean the rifle as I always do. Once loaded on a clean bore, I will leave it until fired again. It is not uncommon for me to leave mine loaded for our entire season. Before loading I run dry patches to soak up as much oil as I can. Once loaded, they stay outside.

[Edward]

Ive actually never had this situation so asking for advice . Went hunting this morning and fired one off at a doe promptly reloaded as I thought I may have hit her . No hair no blood clean miss But anyways . Now I have a loaded flintlock with a fouled bore .planning on going out in about another week its the end of season here in Pa . It's cool and dry in the house where I keep the rifle should I just let it be till the end of season or try to swab out the barrel above the ball . The patch was lubed with mink oil if it makes a difference when I reloaded .

Do not bring in the house ,probably to late but in cold temps never ever bring inside !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ed

[Buzz Krumhunger]

I’m in the fire and clean it camp, too. At least pull the ball and clean it, if you can’t fire it.

[RU shooter]

Thanks all I'll shoot it off and clean tomorrow . I'm not too worried about bringing it in the house and the condensation thing it is pretty chilly in my basement and never had an issue in the past leaving it loaded weeks at a time and putting it in the same place .

[pietro]

Nah ! shoot it and clean it -never know what the next week or two will bring

Just think about how many old guns are found loaded, well after the owner passed away & the family then divested themselves of it.


.

[LabGuy]

Shoot it, clean it. Not worth risking next weeks shot, or your gun. You do want to harvest a deer, right?

[cas]

And buy a co2 discharger when you get a chance. So much nicer spending a couple cents at the end of the day, a nice "fffoooop!" blowing the charge and projectile out, rather than fussing with pulling it, or cleaning from firing it out.

[megasupermagnum]

And buy a co2 discharger when you get a chance. So much nicer spending a couple cents at the end of the day, a nice "fffoooop!" blowing the charge and projectile out, rather than fussing with pulling it, or cleaning from firing it out.

It needed to be cleaned anyway. Seems like a waste of time to me to blow it out. I'm not saying to not use a CO2 discharger, but using one on a regular basis seems like it is asking for problems to me.