Sorry for my ignorance, I have never used one but just curious.....If you have not shot at game during your hunt how do you unload a muzzle loader after the hunt?
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Sorry for my ignorance, I have never used one but just curious.....If you have not shot at game during your hunt how do you unload a muzzle loader after the hunt?
Some individuals just fire off the round at end of shooting hour.... Myself, I own a CVA Wolf with a hand screw in breech plug. So I just unscrew the breech plug and let the powder and slugs come out.... Mind you, I am using compressed loads (pellets), not sure how you would remove with plain old powder.Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
You could just take off the cap if you were using it the next day or use a ball puller, same idea as the video, if you were somewhere you can't just make a hole in some dirt. I have never seen the CO2 gadget used or had even heard of it before but that should work too.... probably so I will show that video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc9FDdhynU8&t=105s
Thanks folks much appreciated
You can unload with loose powder, but it's wasted as the grease from the threads for the breech on in-lines contaminates it.Quote:
Originally Posted by fratri
Old style Kentuckeys etc. have to be shot to unload. Then you run into laws against discharging a firearm after dark...
It's a stupidly drafted law, obviously made by people who don't understand or shoot them. Removing the primer makes the load inert. Leaving the powder and bullet in the barrel is not a safety issue. With the hammer left down or breach closed, it's impossible to accidentally ignite the powder.
That's why they teach..."Always assume the rifle you pick up is loaded" and handle it accordingly.
If you buy a muzzleloader buy a CVA wolf or something with a removable breach plug as mentioned. I shoot triple 7 compressed powder. Very easy to unscrew and drop the pellets into your hand.
I thought it is legal to leave the bullet and powder in the barrel, as long as the primer was removed and the gun is transported in a closed case? I know lots of hunters who will leave the gun charged for up to 10 days, as long as the weather is not damp.
That works for the purposes of Provincial regulations, but the Federal regulations for storage, transport etc., trumps Provincial regs….Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenelon
Let us know how that worked out...i have one,not worth a dime in my Omega-would not budge the properly seated SST bullet(but could be me only-so,hard to tell)Quote:
Originally Posted by mosquito
Anyone shows up in my house for it,can have it.
I've done and still do those tricks..but he barely scraped the surfaces of what is sometimes needed.Quote:
Originally Posted by mosquito
Those Co2 rigs don't work very well because they are still restricting the air ram thru the 'pin' hole in the nipple. You have to remove the nipple to get a greater flow of air to remove a 'botched' load.
I use my air compressor at 120 lbs...with the rubber tip air tool to make a good seal to push the air thru the drum. :)
We don’t unload during hunt week. But at the end multi shots are put through them. If you Gota clean make it worth while :)
It is not illegal to shoot after dark, it is illegal to hunt after dark.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
If you pull the trigger into a tree or into the ground right at last light, or at your truck after you walk out you are no longer hunting.
If you have a setup like you do, you can shoot all night on a range, just cannot be hunting.
I have pulled the ball and cleaned out the powder but I would have rather just shot the gun at the end of the hunt day.
If you're in Hunter Orange, in the bush , you legally required to have your firearm unloaded and encased AT last light. Hard to deny your not Hunting if you discharge AFTER last light..HaHa.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
I guess to avoid splitting hairs, legally; if you're are out hunting, you'd have to discharge the firearm before last light. HaHa..
I think the part in the wording…”in an area usually inhabited by wildlife”… or something to that affect, pretty well deals with discharge after hours…..( dealing with encased firearms)….Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
That is why your range would be an easy thing, same with back at the truck ready to go shooting into the ground.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
My point was, it is not the act or discharge that is illegal, we used to go shooting trap in the dark at the gun club, it is really gun.
Rick, that gun club had game around too and open seasons, but it was also a range.
A range is totally different than shooting a round after legal light, at your stand or truck out in the boonies. The shooting is not the issue, it’s having a un-encased firearm after legal time….but you can explain that one to a CO….Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
The point was, it is not illegal to shoot at night, it is also not illegal to have a gun un-encased after legal light, it is illegal to hunt after legal light and if you can make it very obvious that you are not hunting then you are fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by rick_iles
At our hunt camp it is right in the bush, would it be illegal to have the rifle, not in a case, on the deck after the end of legal light? I used to clean all the guns after dark after a rainy day out on the porch because there was not enough room inside and people did not like the chemical smell, not illegal, easily proven that I was not hunting.
You were also not out in the bush at or leaving your stand with the un-encased gun. Apples to oranges. Note the below section does not mention…shooting…specifically..Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
20 (1) A person shall not, during the period from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise,[COLOR=#505050](a) hunt wildlife;
[COLOR=#505050](b) have a firearm in the person’s possession in an area usually inhabited by wildlife, unless the firearm is unloaded and encased; or
[COLOR=#505050](c) shine a light for the purpose of hunting wildlife.
As Rick says,,,how do you get back to the truck with a loaded gun after last without breaking the law.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
It's asking a lot to demand that ML hunters have to discharge their guns before they go down the ladder from the stand. ..when it's legal you can just take the primer out and put it in the back seat and it's OK. :)
By the by ; I have a tree in front of my stand that has probably 5 lbs of lead in it after 20 yrs...HaHa..
The MNRF states that taking the cap off is considered unloading, as you said. You can walk out with it "unloaded" with a charge in it, but you at the truck with the lights on unloading into the ground is not the same as unloading into a tree in front of your stand.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
Some people cannot shoot at home, I get that.
It’s loaded when…
Under the provincial Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, in the case of a percussion muzzleloader, if there’s a charge of powder and a projectile in the barrel and a percussion cap on the nipple, it’s considered to be loaded.
In the case of a muzzleloader which is not a percussion muzzleloader, if there’s a charge of powder and a projectile in the barrel and the vent is unplugged, it’s considered to be loaded.
Under the federal Firearms Act (Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations) a gun, including a muzzleloader, is considered to be unloaded if any propellant, projectile or cartridge that can be discharged from the firearm is not contained in the breech or firing chamber of the firearm nor in the cartridge magazine attached to or inserted into the firearm.
Storage and transportation
Also, Critchlow notes, “Under the federal Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations Transportation of Non-restricted Firearms section, muzzleloaders must be stored and transported unloaded.
There are, however, some exceptions, including storage at a hunt camp in a remote wilderness setting, or while being transported from one hunting site to another,” he explains. “In the latter case, while the muzzleloader does not have to be unloaded, it must have the firing cap or flint removed. Note that this exception does not apply to transporting anywhere other than from one hunting site to another. For further information on the Firearms Act and its regulations you should contact your local police.”
Critchlow says muzzleloading hunters could be held to either federal Firearms Act or the provincial Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act at the discretion of the Conservation Officer. Similarly, hunters dealing with provincial police forces might be subject to either standard.
Therefore, the most prudent course of action is to unload projectile and powder from muzzleloader when storing them after hunts or during transport.
I just pull the primer out of my savage 10MLii and drop it in a case if outside legal hunting time.
Its not that complicated... :)
I have been harassed (checked) at the truck on my way out and as long as the primer is out I am good to go...
been checked multiple times in one week up on Manitoulin Island and all both the OPP and the CO has checked is the cap is out of the gun and stored in a separate case. it's never a matter of if you are going to get stopped on the island it's when and how many times and they've all given us the exact same directionQuote:
Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter