Unloading and my concerns

[John McCorkle]

So I am going to make my first muzzleloader hunt this year.

Found a super accurate load and have been having a blast casting/shooting it! Using an inline but using loose powder...and as much as I would love it to never be the case but; I don't get a shot at a deer every time I go out.

Hunt in N Louisiana and it can get quite humid. I also get to hunt very close to my parents house....ie my stand and hunting locations are relatively short distance...have a couple spots in deep woods and bottom area but my most common spot is within 100 yards (though I obviously face away from the house)

Ive been curious about unloading after a hunting day of not finding one...I can shoot the load out (which sounds to be pretty common but I want to minimize lots of noise and activities once season gets close so not to spook the deer as much as possible)

It's an inline so I can remove the breechplug and dump it but will get powder all over because I'm using loose...not sure if there are other considerations that would make that a bad idea...

I could try and dig a hole and sandbag up around it to muffle the shot a bit but it's still commotion when I am really trying to keep the shooting to a minimum once season hits

Am I overthinking the whole matter and expecting deer to be more skiddish than they are? I shoot often in off hunting season so maybe they are used to it?

What do you guys do or what has worked for you?

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[Outpost75]

Use a CO2 discharger to blow out the load. Clean and degrease.

Reload fresh before you go out the next morning.

T/C used to sell them. I'm sure there are others now. Try Cabellas.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?179321-Silent-Ball-Discharger

[Camper64]

Here's a good read on some of your options.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?371979-Hunting-question

[John McCorkle]

Here's a good read on some of your options.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?371979-Hunting-questionThanks, that thread got my wheels turning...maybe pull the cap, out in an earplug (foam) and put one of those finger cot sized rubber sleeves (like a finger of a latex glove) with a dry silica packet too large to fit down the bore inside?

The dry silica packet may be redundant and you'd have to make sure you got one plenty large enough to not fit down the bore at all...but it would soak up any moisture that potentially exists inside the air in the bore trapped inside...

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[CastingFool]

I don't think the sound of the shot would alarm deer very much at all. I've been hunting, and have watched a doe feed when some close by took a shot. The doe barely looked up. When I hunted with a ml, and was done for the day, I merely removed the cap, most of the time I brought the rifle inside and stored in the furnace room. If I didn't take a shot at a deer, I simply waited until summer. Never had a failure to fire even after a year of being left loaded.

[Rick Hodges]

Why unload at all? I hunt Michigan and it is mostly humid, with cold rain and snow/sleet/slush. I unload after the season is over. I have hunted with traditional sidelock percussion cap guns, and TC Scout and Omega in lines since the early 1970's. Given reasonable precautions I have never had a misfire hunting. If I dunk the rifle....(fell in a stream) I will reload....short of that there should be no reason. Michigan law considers the gun unloaded if the cap is removed or pan empty on a flinter.

I keep the weapon on an unheated porch during the season....no need to take the gun in and out of warm to cold weather and the resulting condensation of moisture in the powder charge.

[country gent]

I would pull the breech plug and dump push the ball out with a heavy cleaning rod wipe and call it good. If using the CO2 or compressed air dischargers be aware of muzzle direction when using. Last is to simply fire at end of day and clean. Ive had more problems with the screw type pullers. In most states a muzzle loader un capped is considered unloaded SO you may just need to remove the cap/primer.

[Arkansas Paul]

It's pretty humid here in Arkansas, and I've never had an issue with getting my powder damp.
I've loaded on day one, and shot a deer a week later with the same load.