I Was Watching A Guy Shoot At The Range...

[Colorado Luckydog]

I finally made it to the range to shoot my CVA Optima for the first time. The weather was not very good but things went okay. I learned a lot.

After I packed everything up and was ready to go, I thought I'd take a few minutes and watch another guy that was shooting his muzzle loader to see if I could learn anything. I watched him shoot a couple of shots and he was shooting very good it seemed. He pulled up his muzzle loader, aimed at the target and pulled the trigger. He flinched a little but nothing happened. Then he lowered the butt of the muzzle loader a little and looked at it and then BOOM. The shot went up into the rafters. The butt of the gun recoiled into his gut and the gun cut his thumb and I could tell it hurt his hand. He was very shook up from the whole deal. I'm not sure what happened but I do know that it was at least 3 seconds (maybe more) from the time he pulled the trigger until the time the gun went off.

I was hoping that you guys could tell me what you think happened, so I never let it happen to me. Thanks for any input.

 

[GoexBlackhorn]

Did you recognize the make and model of his muzzleloader?

 

[Muley Hunter]

Was it a sidelock, or an inline? Do you know what powder he was using?

 

[cayuga]

My SOP for a misfire/hang fire ... maintain pointing the gun in a safe direction. Then a 101, 102, all the way to 110. And don't rush the count. The trouble with a muzzleloader is, if the ignition system ... in this case the cap went off. And lets say the powder was a little damp, or the vent hole a little plugged, but a small hot spark made it through. I have seen them sit in the powder for up to ten seconds and then suddenly find enough powder to ignite. Believe me, when it happens it can scare the devil out of you. It sounds like he had a major misfire/hang fire. Although when I think of a hang fire the time between the cap or flint ignition is not as long.

 

[gmstack]

Hang fire . both of the above posts are spot on make , model , propellant etc would help. but I am sure the poor guy was in no frame of mind to discuss it at the time. when a muzzleloader fails to fire a hangfire is always possible so the correct way to handle is to keep muzzle downrange and wait at least 60 seconds. I am sure others who a more familiar with this can add much more info. Cayuga has a very good explaination. guy

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

I did notice what powder he was using. It was Hodgdon Triple 7. He had an inline muzzle loader. The kind that when you pull the trigger, the firing pin moves forward and hits the primer. Sorry, I'm very new at this and I don't know all of the correct terminology.

 

[Muley Hunter]

T7 in an inline is usually pretty easy to fire off. If he was swabbing between shots he could have left it wet. He could have had a dirty breech plug.

It doesn't matter what the reason was. The important part as already noted is to keep the muzzle pointed down range when it happens for at least a minute. Muzzleloaders need to be kept dry and clean to function at 100%.

 

[rangerod]

Sounds like a plunger gun. It could have been a number of things that causes it. Powder moisture or wet bore my guess. Also can have problems if bullet/sabot not properly seated.

 

[Fmfdred56]

Seen this happen with a tc black diamond the plunger would hang up after the trigger was pulled. Layed the shooters stomach open pretty good with the corner of the rear sight.

 

[gmstack]

I had an episode with 777 when I left it in power flask sitting on work bench for 2 months evidently it absorbed moisture. when if fired rifle loaded from the flask it did fire but using 100grV it only had muzzle velocity approx. 1100fps no doubt it had taken on moisture which caused it to deteriorate. I never did that again. guy



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[gmstack]

should be when it fired. not if fired.

 

[WV Hunter]

T7 in an inline is usually pretty easy to fire off. If he was swabbing between shots he could have left it wet. He could have had a dirty breech plug.

It doesn't matter what the reason was. The important part as already noted is to keep the muzzle pointed down range when it happens for at least a minute. Muzzleloaders need to be kept dry and clean to function at 100%.

Agree.

With non BH209 powders, the only time I've personally seen a hang fire or ftf in any rifle has been due to excess moisture from swabbing. There obviously could be other causes...but likely most of the time this is the reason. When in doubt, always be safe.

Colorado Luckydog... good thing he wasn't pointing it towards you or someone else, or looking down the barrel (like some folks do :d'oh!: )

 

[Lee 9]

I had it happened with Black p0wder, and it does not absorb moisture near as bad as 777 and the APP powders.

 

[gmstack]

Amen, that's why I only use bh209. guy

 

[WV Hunter]

Amen, that's why I only use bh209. guy

BUT.... alot of people have hang fire or ftf with BH209 also. Its certainly not immune, in fact to an inexperienced user it may be more prevalent.

 

[gmstack]

never had it happen been shooting muzzleloaders for 40 yrs . but then theres always a first time. keep your powder dry and the touchhole clear. actually I do use black powder in my flintlock come to think of it. guy

 

[gmstack]

shooting a muzzleloader is somewhat like reloading center fire cartridges you need to keep your head in the game at all times and avoid distractions. and be meticulous while loading, shooting and cleaning . guy