Every year we are asked "Can I leave my muzzleloader loaded overnight?", "Do I need to unload my muzzleloader after hunting?", and "How long can I leave my muzzleloader loaded?". I'll be leaving my flintlock rifle loaded for 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days to compare the results while documenting the experience for you at home.

In this test, I hope to answer some of those questions and provide some inspiration for your own testing as we let my flintlock muzzleloader sit overnight to see if it will shoot the next day.

As a baseline for this test, I’m cleaning between shots. After the 1-day test I clean the barrel, after the 3-day test I clean the barrel, and after the 7-day test, I clean the barrel before placing this muzzleloader back in the vault. I’m cleaning with Shenendoah Valley cleaning solution and thoroughly drying the barrel with several dry patches before loading to ensure a dry load at the start of each test.

This rifle will sit under cover on my cabin porch each night. Initially, I had hoped to leave the rifle at the loading bench for a ‘tougher’ test, but with incoming rain on day one, I didn’t want to totally ruin the test and decided to bring the rifle to the porch for a more eventful test.

The load for each test is 70 grains of Swiss 3F blackpowder and a .495 cast roundball with a .015 patch lubed with RMC Oxyoke Wonderlube. I chose 3F blackpowder because it is a finer powder and presumably more affected by moisture than 2F would be. I chose RMC OxYoke Wonderlube because it is what I had handy on some .50 cal muzzleloading patches.

Weather Conditions for the Test

This test was conducted in October in the Midwest, we saw rain, sleet, fog, and temperatures as low as 30 and as high as 70. That being said, it was perfect weather for the test, I think. We had variety and some seasonal extremes. Check out the daily weather in the images below.

The 3 Day test saw dryer conditions each day, but temperatures yoyoed up, down and back up again.

Test Results

Overall, I enjoyed doing the test and hope that it provides some information for you to begin your own testing at home. Like all of my tests, this was not meant to be all-encompassing or a definitive test, just a single data point for you to reference in your own muzzleloading journey.

The 1-Day test took 2 primes to ignite the load, not bad considering we didn’t pick the vent before shooting.

The 3-Day test took a single prime to ignite, but we had a full second of delay between the pan igniting and the rifle going off, a classic ‘hang fire’.

On the 7-Day test, I ran into difficulty through several factors that affected a ‘true’ result to the test. I hadn’t picked the vent before each shot before and wanted to stay consistent with the 7-day test. After several ‘clatches’, I picked the vent and dislodged a rather large piece of wet debris from the touch hole. Add to that a dulling agate in the jaws of my lock and we had a recipe for a missed deer on a hunting trip.

I’m impressed with the performance of traditional blackpowder in these conditions. I’ve heard a lot of negative things about it over the years, but it performed well for me in these conditions. If anything, this test shows that it’s a good idea to plug your vent hole with a feather or toothpick before letting it set over night. This will keep moisture out of the vent and will keep your touchhole clear for priming. A ‘Cow’s knee’ or other lock cover could be used as well to keep moisture off your lock.

I’d say it’s safe to say that leaving a toothpick or a feather in your touchhole while leaving your rifle loaded overnight is a safe bet to increase the odds of your load working the next day. I hope this test provided some value for you. As always, please share any feedback you might have and do some testing on your own to see how your components perform.

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