How Long Can You Leave a Load in a Muzzleloader?
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Start each day with fresh powder
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Muzzleloaders use black powder as a propellant. This powder attracts moisture from the air. The moisture degrades the powder and makes it less likely that the gun will fire perfectly. A muzzleloader with dry powder is already less accurate and has less range than a modern rifle. A muzzle loader with wet powder is much less likely to fire perfectly and therefore will make it even more difficult for a hunter to be successful. Hunters should start with a fresh load of dry powder at the beginning of each hunting day.
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Don't worry about daily reloads
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Muzzleloaders have been used for hundreds of years. American backwoodsman used muzzleloaders for protection and to hunt for food as they trapped in the American West. These outdoorsmen needed their weapon to work the first time and every time. They could not afford to reload a muzzleloader every evening. Yet, their powder stayed dry enough that they were extremely successful in defending themselves from Indian attacks and feeding themselves. Modern hunters do not need daily reloads any more than our own American woodsman ancestors.
Bottom Line
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Reloading a weapon daily makes good sense. Modern hunters usually get, at most, one or two chances a year for a trophy animal. A hunter who fails to take a few minutes to reload a gun could be making a mistake that is the difference between a successful hunt and a ruined trip. Reload the gun prior to hunting every day.
References
- Photo Credit retro gun image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
