Muzzy misfires

[ZapMan]

What causes most misfires. My 15 yr old had 2 chances tonight at a big one and he has a "fizzel boom" both times. I on the other hand had a "fizze", reloaded and a spiker came in and I took it. Good bang on this one. So far this muzz season I'v had 2 misfires and my son had 4. Whats the deal?

[walleyehunter80]

if you dont unload your gun each night after hunting dont bring your COLD gun in your WARM house its sure to condensate and get your powder wet. also if your powder has been in a high humidity area like a garage or shed ore basement it will absorb moisture. Here in southern minnesota we had 94% humidity this summer, not good for powder.

Are you using 777 powder?

also might need to clean breach plug spark hole

[ZapMan]

Using triple 7 pellets, winchester 209. I always leave gun in garage. We put new powder in before we left today. Although the powder was stored in the garage since last year. We shot many times this summer and not 1 misfire. We took powder out of the same factory box today and those misfired

[Gordie]

Moister is a blackpowder worst enemy I've had a bit of snow go down the barrel and no go just the pop of the primmer and have had the primer not go too.

sometimes if you have any solvent in your barrel you can have mis-fires so I usally pull the trigger with just a primmmer in the gun to help burn up and residue from the solvents.

I have heard that touching the blackpowder pellets can make them mis-fire or do the fizzle thing because of the oil in your hands but that has never happen to me.

Blackpowder hunting is not a guarentee that the gun will go off when you pull the trigger to many varibles that can happen.

I have a few friends that hunt with flintlocks for the challenge and now if you wanna talk mis-fire the flint doesnt spark or the powder in the flash pan doesnt go off or it falls out. thats the risk we as blackpowder hunters take each time we go out.

I had numerous mis-fires most of them were due to moister and percussion caps but I quickly learned that moister was the enemy

.

snow down the barrel a couple things to help prevent this is a piece of scotch tape over the end of the barrel will help or saran-wrap and a small rubberband and even a condom over the barrel will prevent most all the moister from going down the barrel.

Temp has alot to do with also leave your gun loaded outside dont bring in the house or shack after you huntis done leaveit in the truck or garage where it cant go thru the warm / cold thing cause sure enough condensation will destroy the buck of a life time also. I Have one buddy that this happen to and he still will not admit it and even after I proved it to him by bringing my gun in the cabin after the hunt was over and left it in that night went out the next day and pulled the trigger and the snap of the primmer was all he and I heard.

I loaded my gun one morning and by that afternoon it got really warm as I sat in the stand that evening a doe came with in 40 yards of me I took aim pulle d the trigger and nothing not even the snap orf the primmer. just the warm cold of the day which was an extreme temp swing that year drew enough condesation to not let it fire.

Sorry for ramblin on but it does happen

Hope this helps you out

Good luck hunting

[walleyehunter80]

I have been very luck to have never had a misfire but Im sure my day is coming.

Good luck hope you get this figured out before your next time in the woods.

[HunterLee]

wet powder more than likely, i always put a primer or two through it after i clean to blow it out clean

[mabr]

Me too, I hear others say clean the nipple with a pick. I dont trust it. Im going to POP a cap everytime before I load my muzzy. Never had a load not go off. Bad primers yes but not the powder.

[highlife4me]

I have learned a few things from past experiences muzzleloading. Keep your gun cold, never bring into a warm house or garage. Loose powder is usually more reliable than pellets and if you need to hunt in wet conditions use black powder not any of the substitutes. Black powder has a much lower flash point and ignites much easier than any substitute. I usually use 777 powder but if hunting in wet conditions it is strictly Goex FFG black powder.

[Realtor Boy]

So if you have been hunting and your muzzy is loaded and you know snow went down the barrel, what do you do?

Do you shoot it at some point to put a new load in?

[Archerysniper]

So if you have been hunting and your muzzy is loaded and you know snow went down the barrel, what do you do?

Do you shoot it at some point to put a new load in?

I put electrical or scotch tape over the end of the barrel so this will not happen.

[Realtor Boy]

Yeah Im going to start doing the samething.

My problem is Im pretty sure I know some snow went down my barrel this wknd..

[Archerysniper]

Shoot or push it through and clean it then tape the barrel. Mine after I shot the doe last night I had a bunch of snow go down the barrel before I reloaded so the only thing I could think of to get it out was shooting a primer so I shot 2 and reloaded it not knowing if it would go off but I shot it tonight to clean it and no problems.

[Gordie]

I have cut the fingers off of surgical gloves and pulled them over the barrel with great results and you can also use non-lubricated condoms they do work very well.

If I know I get snow down the barrel I will pull the breedh plug and push the load out and run a few dry patches thru the barrel then assemble fire a couple primmers the reload

[fire29]

I took one of my daughters balloons and put it over the end of the barrell, worked great when it was raining and snowing. I am fairly new to Muzzy hunting and I have been bringing my gun in every night, got me wondering about my powder.

[Pinusbanksiana]

I would think you would want to shoot it each night and re-load the next day your hunting.

[Realtor Boy]

I know I got some snow in my barrel a couple of times ( not much). So I did what archerysniper said. I took out the breach plug and pushed my 777 pellets and bullet out the end, boy am I glad I did that. Obviousley the bullet was fine, my 777 pellets were all a bunch of gooo, looked like tar in a way. So I cleaned everything up and put a new load in. Im sure glad I took the extra couple minutes to check it out..

Thanks for the advise guys...

[Borch]

I've never had a misfire with the 777 pellets and I don't reload each hunt. I do not bring the gun into warm places and like others have said cover your muzzle during wet conditions with tape or a balloon. I also you the federal 209 primers which are hotter than most. Has worked for me and hopefully I didn't just jinx myself with this post.

[paceman]

I was out all day this past Sunday in the snow. I did shoot a deer in the afternoon and since I wouldn't be back out again until the next weekend I brought the gun into the house to clean it. I kind of enjoy doing it. I always keep the gun in the truck in the garage during the season. After letting the gun warm up for a few hours I went to clean it and I was surprised that a few light rusty spots were already forming on the barrel. They came off with a few swipes of an oily rag so no big beal. Just kind of goes to show how fast that happens with the quick temp changes. I would imagine that also happens inside the barrel as well.

[Musky Buck]

I've broken all these ideals but have never had a misfire yet since the all-season tag came along, as long as it doesn't happen when the rare shot chance happens I'm fine, dad for that matter either we go bitter cold to hot to cold all season with our muzzy's and he's been at it for 25 years with no misfires, we have to fire the last night of season as you can not empty it any other way, thanks to Thompson Center, original black powder and I think it's a 209 primer I forget, we just bought a long time ago a lifetime supply of caps, black powder, and we both shoot old school guns, but our guns are clean always, snow and rain and temps impact the musket for sure, thankfully not us, yet.

[bowhunternw]

Well after reading this I thought I should probably fire mine off yesterday because of a week of in and out. I keep it inside the pickup and some times when I pulled it out, it would get frosty. Well it fired off with no hesitation. Must be more of a getting moisture down the barrel thing.

[CANOPY SAM]

I've had a few misfires over the years. Fortunately so far, never on a giant when it really mattered.

I know many say you can leave the loaded weapon out in the cold overnight, without the primer of course, but I take mine in and empty it every night now. Remove, clean and dry the breach plug, carefully remove the powder pellets, and rotate them in the pellet case so I don't use the same ones tomorrow - in case they picked up any moisture, and remove and wipe down the bullet

Also, when I'm out in the field I'm extremely careful to not allow snow to contact any mechanical part of the gun, or the sight rest, so no water can get to the interior, or freeze up in my sights. My barrel is always pointing downward.

Dry powder, and a clean weapon is everything. I won't even put a primer thru the gun before I load it. I'm always concerned that residue will clog the breach plug enough to prevent the next fire from reaching the powder pellets. I keep her really clean at all times. Take a quick look down the breach plug to make sure I can see light before loading - everytime!

I can't speak for the products everyone else uses here, but I've noticed that my triple sevens tend to "darken" when they absorb some ambient moisture. They'll almost turn black vs. dusty gray (when they're dry). When I see this, the "dark" pellets go to the back of the box, and stay there till next year.

This attention to detail has prevented a misfire for me over the last couple seasons. I too enjoy the little intracacies of muzzle-loading. It's fun when it all comes together and you put one down. It sucks when it all comes together only to have it flushed by a misfire!