Check Your Muzzleloader Before Loading

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It's getting to be that time of year when folks are hitting the range and preparing for this falls hunting season. Checking for a load or barrel obstruction only takes a couple of minutes and could save limbs or your life. When I load a muzzleloader and plan to use it later, it gets labeled. A double load could ruin your day.

Be safe and good luck to all this hunting season!!

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I told this story before on this forum. My sons friend asked me to sight in his TC Encore. I said sure. I took it to the range with my two grandsons as they were going to shoot their ML’s. Well when it came to load the Encore my ramrod only went down about half way? My grandson wanted me to just shoot it. I said no way there something wrong. When I got home I found out the idiot never unloaded or shot his Encore in two years. Turns out there were three loads in the bbl including the one I put in. Naturally I chewed the kid out . One for not knowing there were two loads in the gun. I’m just glad the kid never saw a buck the year before as he may not be alive today. Plus I learned a lesson to NEVER take the word that the ML is unloaded. I also instructed the kid to put a notch on his ramrod so he can tell if there is s load in his gun in the future. Had I listened to my grandsons that rifle would have been like a pipe bomb and I probably would not be here today. Not to mention what could have happened to my grandsons as they were near me and I spared them from seeing their grandfather getting killed .
 
Here's another real life story:

Going back 10 years or so, my buddy and I were just getting started with muzzleloading and taking advantage of the extra season to hunt whitetails. We hunted together occasionally but often hunted in different areas of the state.

One spring when we started to shoot at the range again we agreed to bring the muzzleloaders for fun. The first shot out of his T/C Omega was brutal with significant recoil. We had no idea what caused this to happen and we noticed that the bullet did hit the paper target.

With some trepidation, he decided to shoot it again. This time he noticed that the ram rod went down the barrel much farther. It only took a minute to realize that his Omega had remained loaded from the previous hunting season. There were two full powder charges and two PowerBelts in that bore when the 209 primer lit the charge. KA-BOOOOM

To the credit of Thompson Center Arms, that rifle held together and resulted in no harm to the shooter. A valuable lessen was learned that day.
 
I told this story before on this forum. My sons friend asked me to sight in his TC Encore. I said sure. I took it to the range with my two grandsons as they were going to shoot their ML’s. Well when it came to load the Encore my ramrod only went down about half way? My grandson wanted me to just shoot it. I said no way there something wrong. When I got home I found out the idiot never unloaded or shot his Encore in two years. Turns out there were three loads in the bbl including the one I put in. Naturally I chewed the kid out . One for not knowing there were two loads in the gun. I’m just glad the kid never saw a buck the year before as he may not be alive today. Plus I learned a lesson to NEVER take the word that the ML is unloaded. I also instructed the kid to put a notch on his ramrod so he can tell if there is s load in his gun in the future. Had I listened to my grandsons that rifle would have been like a pipe bomb and I probably would not be here today. Not to mention what could have happened to my grandsons as they were near me and I spared them from seeing their grandfather getting killed .
That is the best example for the worst thing to do with a ML. Glad you realized the danger of the rod height ain't right situation.
Thanks for sharing 👍
 
I tie a blaze orange strip though the trigger guard if rifle is loaded, also witness marks on ram rod.
Good ideas, practice & advice. Normally me personally I don't do or find need for double redundancy. Now that bein said, most things won't blow up, maim or kill you or someone next to you. So if one feels they need triple redundancy, then by all means do so.
I simply drop the ramrod down the barrel before I load it every single time & immediately I know 100% whether I need to proceed with the load or just put a cap/primer & fire.
I've never made a habit of leaving my ML's charged & primed, but durin deer season one could stay fully loaded the whole time.
I went to go shooting 3 days ago & I thought I loaded 1 of the 2 a cpl mo ago when I got new powder & bullets for both guns. I dropped ramrod a down them both & they were both charged but not primed. Done. Where that can bite ya is forgetting to drop those ramrod a before loading every single time even if you're sure ya didn't reload it after ya cleaned or shot it last.
 
Ninering62. I sent you a PM a few days ago.
Oh heck Snapbang, so sorry for not bein more attentive lately, plus I have a terrible habit of - if I don't reply to an email or return a text or phone call right away as soon as I read or hear messg. I completely forget. A change in pracitices vrs appologizing to the few close to me for this long ongoing issue is in order for sure.
 
Last Saturday while I was running the store I had a person bring in a ML for shipment to a relative. He assured me it was unloaded as he had not used it for many years. I ran a rod down and it did not go all the way. He still insisted it was not loaded, became grumpy when said if it was not loaded something else was in the barrel. He then tried to blow down the barrel, and that did not work. He left with the rifle saying he was going to shoot out whatever was in there!
 
I thought the best advice was to pull the breech plug and see what was in there. It could very well have been a load, mud daubers, or both. That was my suggestion. Heck, I even offered to pull the plug.
 
I thought the best advice was to pull the breech plug and see what was in there. It could very well have been a load, mud daubers, or both. That was my suggestion. Heck, I even offered to pull the plug.

You are better off storing your ML with the plug out anyway. Its damn hard to have a loaded ML when the plug aint in it. If you are storing it loaded for a short term, yeah. Put a tag on the trigger guard and something on the muzzle to indicate its loaded. You want to use a bright color if using a tape or similar material.
 
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