It was a warm October afternoon in
central Pennsylvania. The sun had just dipped behind the hillside adjacent to
one of my favorite hunting spots. The breeze created a light rustling among the
corn stalks in the field my tree stand overlooked. It was the perfect kind of
day to just sit and use my beloved time in the woods to ponder issues of
interest, but little importance. I may have meditated myself to sleep if not
for the sharp snap in the underbrush that signified the approach of a critter
for my freezer.
I had planned everything out and
situated my tree stand so the trail passed by at an angle giving me a perfect
shot on my left side. Naturally, the patch of brown I saw coming through the
brush had left the trail and was approaching from my right side. Not only was I
Not in a good shot position but the excess movement to switch angles would have
easily alerted the little deer of my presence. I had but one choice, which was
to make my shot left handed.
As the doe turned her head to look
off into the underbrush I presented my rifle and took aim. With the snap of the
hammer a bloom of smoke belched from the muzzle. Those seconds feel like an
eternity while any muzzleloader hunter waits for the smoke to clear. But sure
enough, when the smoke cleared I saw the doe laying right where I had made my
shot. She had expired quickly and I thanked God for another quick, humane kill.
Whenever I reflect on this hunt I
am always glad I decided to invest time in muzzleloader hunting. At one point I
had a flintlock that I had not used from years, but it was love when I finally
did. I then went on to purchase an inline muzzleloader, which turned out to be
equally as enjoyable to use. However, being a novice in the world of
muzzleloading my rifle didn’t fare well as I didn’t know how to properly take
care of it.
So, when I realized there was more
to it than hunting with a regular rifle I set out to improve my skill. I was
convinced you could use one of these style rifles for anything. Though they are
only a single shot, an inline muzzleloader has a wide range of ammunition
available. After you select a different size or style of sabot it is a simple
matter of adjusting your powder measure to accommodate the hunting you are
doing. A heavy powder charge can be used for larger game, such as elk and bear,
while smaller charges are good for short distance deer hunting.
When shopping for a bullet to fire
from your inline you should consider the terrain you are planning to hunt. At
the time I hunted a lot of corn and grass fields, so inline muzzleloaders were
perfect for punching a bullet through thick cover. For this reason I always
elected for cheaper, more flat nosed sabots. Still, I know of other fellows who
use higher end, more conical shaped bullets and get fantastic accuracy beyond
the two-hundred yard range.
Your powder and primers are pretty
basic. If you intend to go crazy and spend some big money on your new found
hobby then you’ll get better performance from more expensive products. But for
the skinflint’s purpose cheaper and efficient win the race. Any inline
muzzleloader will offer enough kinetic knockdown power that even a moderately
well placed shot will yield positive results. But, caution is still needed.
Often, the powders you will use will leave a corrosive residue in your barrel
that will quickly turn to rust if not cleaned in a timely manner.
Not only does this residue draw
moisture, but the powder itself will also get damp if a hunter is not cognizant
of the conditions. It is the voice of experience that will tell you one of the
most sickening feelings you will have is to have a deer in your sights and only
get a snap from your rifle rather than the report of a muzzle blast. This can
obviously happen if the powder is exposed directly to moisture, but it can also
happen as a result of condensation.
The best practice to avoid this is to store your powder in water
tight containers and store your rifle at the temperature in which you intend to
hunt. So, for those in colder climates you wouldn’t want to take your rifle in
the house after a day in the zero degree woods. The resulting condensation
would render your powder useless. It is best to make sure your rifle is secure
from theft or accidental discharge and leave it in the weather it will be used
to hunt in.
There are a few extra safety concerns about muzzleloaders, while
I’m on the topic of accidental discharges. By most state’s laws a muzzleloader
is technically unloaded when the primer is removed or the flashpan is clear and
the frizzen is open (See my article on flintlocks). However, you still have to
remember that metal on metal can produce a spark and you have a projectile and
propellant in the rifle. As far as I am concerned, no muzzleloader is ever
unloaded, ever.
You also need to remember that after each shot there can be
smoldering embers in the barrel so when you attempt to add more powder there is
a chance of a flare up. I will often blow down the barrel from a safe angle to
help burns these out quicker. If you’re shooting from a bench you can eliminate
this danger, and greatly improve your accuracy, by running a mop through the
barrel between each shot.
If you happen across a muzzleloader used, which I recently have,
you may notice it is not in the greatest of shape. The combination of many
companies not making the best product and most owners not spending the most
time will often leave barrels pitted or finishes rusted. That’s not to say you
should walk away from a rifle that just needs a little tender loving care.
Plus, you’ll be able to make a cheap gun buy that your significant other won’t
have a litter of kittens over.
Regarding the bore, most used inlines that haven’t had the best
care will be slightly darker. They’ll still work fine for a brush gun and may
still offer some accuracy at a distance, just not as great of a distance. To
clean up the bore you can use your regular gun cleaning kit, a power drill, gun
solvent, and some steel wool. For a .50 caliber muzzleloader I affix the
shotgun cleaning rods with the twenty gauge brush to the power drill. Wrap the
brush with some steel wool and saturate it with gun cleaning solvent, I use
Hoppes 9.
From there it’s just like going out on a nice romantic date. You
need to start slow and pick up speed from there. After you have made a few
passes through the barrel with the drill operating at a slower speed you can
begin to pick up pace. Desaturate the brush as needed since you want a lot of
solvent in the barrel at this point to carry away the rust and dirt. After a
number of passes with the drill running at full throttle you can mop out the
barrel and check. Then you can repeat the process as many times as you like
until you bring some luster back to the bore of the rifle.
Now you can turn your attention to
the finish of the rifle itself. Many economy priced inline muzzleloaders do not
have a great finish and will often rust if they receive anything less than
ultra-supreme care. Even if you’re going for cheap you still want something to
look good and be effective.
You could re-blue the rifle, but
since it’s a cheaper gun why not have a little fun? It’s always neat to have a
piece of equipment that is unique to you. Okay, so I’ll never have anything as
cool as my Grandfather’s ivory inlaid 6mm, but a swirl-painted inline
muzzleloader is a good enough of a start for my simple little self. That’s
right, I said swirl painted. It’s an easy process and the finish will keep rust
at bay for a good long time. It allows you to customize your gun and stand out
among your hunting buddies.
The internet is literally filled
with videos on how to swirl-paint anything you can think of. I’m pretty sure
you could even learn how to swirl-paint your first born if you looked hard
enough. The process for a muzzleloader is relatively simple. With the gun
disassemble, tape off all the parts on the receiver you don’t want painted. Use
some wooden rods to plug the breach and muzzle ends of the barrel.
Fill a large tub with water and
select several colors you’d want to swirl on the finish. Spray the paint in
stages directly on the top of the water. Use a stick to swirl the paint around
a bit. Dip the parts in the tub of water with one fluid motion, clear the paint
away from the surface by blowing it away and remove the parts from the water.
Allow the freshly painted parts to dry before adding a thin coat of lacquer,
which will add another layer of shine and surface protection. Viola, you now
have a uniquely customized rifle.
Reassemble it and sight it in. The
beautiful thing about inlines is most of what you’ll need is on the internet.
YouTube is loaded with videos which can show you how to do an excellent
swirl-painting job. Most companies which produce inlines will have their owners
manuals posted online in PDF format for you to download. This way you’ll be
able to have the exact powder tables so you’ll know just how to load your new
toy. It’s all right there, and nothing needs to be complicated.
The best thing about inline
muzzleloader hunting is it gives you another opportunity to be in the woods. I
once talked to a “person” who claimed it was better for kids to be on drugs
rather than be in the woods killing animals. I’m still not sure what planet
this chick was from but why wouldn’t you want another chance to get in the
woods. The time of year is usually comfortable and the game hasn’t been pressured
too hard, so there’s a lot of opportunities to make a kill or just sit back and
take some nice close-up pictures of the animals that happen by.
Muzzleloading seems to be
complicated, as I’ve been told, which often causes people to steer clear of
trying this form of rifle hunting. But I am here to say the benefits far
outweigh the expenses. The first time you have a deer in your sights, only to
lose all visibility when you pull the trigger is a moment of sheer anxiety. The
moment that smoke clears and you see your harvest is like no other in the
hunting world. So, take the chance the next time you have an occasion to pick
up a muzzleloader. Whether it be new or used it will almost certainly change
your life as an outdoorsman.
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