|
Forum Rules | Firearms Safety | Firearms Photos | Links | Library | Lost Password | Email Changes |
Register | FAQ | Calendar | Today's Posts | Search |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
May 27, 2009, 02:46 PM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: December 24, 2008
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 40
|
Ever Have That Sinking Feeling
I have an older model of the Traditions Buck Hunter that was given to me by my father a few years back (maybe 7 years). I was visiting him in MI and he said to take it because he wasn't going hunting any more. I bought a locking case so that I could fly it back to AZ with me. I have never shot any BP weapon.
I have been getting discouraged with lack of big game drawing success here and thought that I might put in for BP hunts that have better odds of getting drawn. After reading up a bit, I thought that it might be nice to convert it over to use the 209 primer so that I could use the pellets or whatever. There are a lot of 209 primers around as I load shotgun. The conversion kit arrived and I started the process of change over at the kitchen table. I pulled the nipple and then the breach but to my surprise, I could not see any light looking down the breach end. Yep - there is that sinking feeling knowing that you just dismantled a live one. I don't know how likely an old charge would be to discharge if you got a spark unscrewing the plug but I would really rather not find out. Second thought was that I had flown a live one. Well that was old history but unscrewing the breach on a live one was not a happy thought. I soaked the breach end in soapy water and pushed out the wet plug of powder along with the sabot/bullet. Dad always claimed that he shot it after a day in the field. I guess that didn't happen this time. Heck he hadn't been hunting in about 5 years when he gave it to me, so I guess that the load was about 12 years old. I now have the ramrod marked for empty. |
May 27, 2009, 02:55 PM | #2 |
Junior member
Join Date: December 10, 2006
Location: MANNING SC
Posts: 837
|
not to worry
That is a common way to empty a stuck load.if you are in habit of smoking when your play with powder,you need more insurance.if you dont smoke your good to go.
|
May 27, 2009, 03:21 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 15, 2005
Location: Central Connecticut
Posts: 3,166
|
That's a nice story with a happy ending.
A little bit of breech plug grease on the threads helps too. At least it didn't take a torch to remove your breechplug which reportedly happened recently with a BP rifle that was found in the trash by a guy who brought it home. Except his young son was standing in front of the muzzle when it went off and killed him. |
May 27, 2009, 03:36 PM | #4 |
Member
Join Date: December 24, 2008
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 40
|
Teddy - I did not know that was a legitimate way to undo a load. Educate me - why would a load be stuck where you couldn't just clean out the nipple, reprime and fire?
|
May 27, 2009, 03:49 PM | #5 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 15, 2005
Location: Central Connecticut
Posts: 3,166
|
One answer can be found on the Traditions technical advice - frequently asked questions page:
Quote:
|
|
May 27, 2009, 05:28 PM | #6 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 8, 2006
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 2,772
|
Quote:
Never, ever fire an unknown powder in a black powder gun. |
|
May 27, 2009, 07:32 PM | #7 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 2, 2009
Location: Northeast for now
Posts: 266
|
Quote:
__________________
Olmontanaboy No good deed goes unpunished. A loaded gun, a faithful dog,,, consider yourself lucky. |
|
May 27, 2009, 10:15 PM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 28, 1999
Location: In a kornfield in kalifornia
Posts: 1,161
|
Rule #1- Always treat all guns as though they are always loaded.
Rule #2- Never allow your muzzle to cover anything that you are not willing to destroy.
__________________
When Banjos are outlawed, only Outlaws will have Banjos The Bible is my lawbook. I turn the other cheek when applicable, and spend the rest of my days resisting evil at every front, until I have breathed my last breath. |
May 28, 2009, 07:50 AM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 8, 2006
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 2,772
|
A little calming is perhaps in order -
A black powder gun charged with powder and ball is not 'loaded' in the sense of a smokeless powder gun with a cartridge installed. In most, if not all, states, a percussion gun is not considered loaded by the authorities until a cap is installed. Black powder (including synthetics) is very stable absent a heat source of considerable magnitude. Those are the facts. Having said that, the rules in fastforty's post are still the best protection against an ND. The discovery that a black powder gun is charged should not change the way the gun is treated, nor should it change the judgment about how it was treated before the discovery was made. That same sentiment applies if the word 'charged' is changed to 'loaded'. What should be different is the intensity of the reaction. Curses and hysteria about a charged and uncapped black powder gun are inappropriate hyperbole and do not promote an image of responsible gun ownership. They should be saved for the events in which the gun is truly loaded, as opposed to charged. The transgression by olmontanaboy's neighbor was not in giving him a charged gun but in not telling him the gun was charged. olmontanaboy is absolutely correct in blaming himself for not checking the condition of the weapon, and his displeasure with his neighbor is warranted, although misdirected and perhaps overstated. |
May 28, 2009, 08:11 AM | #10 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 2, 2009
Location: Northeast for now
Posts: 266
|
Quote:
__________________
Olmontanaboy No good deed goes unpunished. A loaded gun, a faithful dog,,, consider yourself lucky. |
|
May 28, 2009, 07:04 PM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 8, 2006
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 2,772
|
I understand why you'd be angry with that. He put you in a bad position.
|
|
|