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Post by rusty94 on Jul 24, 2015 14:22:35 GMT -5
This year will be my first hunting with my Hankins custom MZ. What are your thoughts on putting in fresh powder charge. In the past I have used 777 and have left this loaded for as much as a week but I'm not sure of smokeless powder.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 14:25:41 GMT -5
If you have a Hankins MZ my thoughts are loose the 777 and go smokeless.
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Post by rusty94 on Jul 24, 2015 14:34:09 GMT -5
I should have posted my question differently I guess. I am only going to use smokeless powder. Can I leave it charged for a few days or do I need to unload and put in a fresh charge every morning?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 14:41:17 GMT -5
I know guys on this board that leave 'em loaded for months. I'll leave mine loaded during a weekend hunt but that's about it.
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Post by hillbill on Jul 24, 2015 15:17:43 GMT -5
I have left my loaded for 3 months and took it to the range, bang, right on target. I would however put a barrel sock/ balloon or something as a loaded gun reminder
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Post by 12ptdroptine on Jul 24, 2015 21:09:26 GMT -5
I left Mine loaded 2years ago from November until April and shot it and it hit perfectly 1"high at 100yds. This year past I left it loaded from November until the Kentucky challenge in May...rang the gong @200 yds. Gotta love that smokeless . HOWEVER I STRONGLY RECOMMEND That you mark it someway to remind yourself IT IS LOADED . I use red electrician tape over and around the muzzle.... Drop
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Post by kbrezlin on Jul 25, 2015 7:32:29 GMT -5
My personal experience 2 years in a row with Rel7 @ 65 grains was a fail to fire The setup was a stock savage 50 cal hornady 300 SST, short black MMP sabot, a federal 209a primer, bushing plug 0.030 bushing. I won't leave a charge in the barrel any more after I come in from hunting. Both time the gun stayed in the shop or garage where it was still cold. I know it probably overkill but the night I had the first fail to fire I let a 160 inch 3 year old walk, because he was only 3, and would have lost my mind if I only got a click if he was a year older and I went to kill him.
Some things I am doing different are: I am using 4198 powder in the 45 cal guns I went to an 0.040 bushing in my 50 cal savage plug. I have a second build on a Savage PTA that Jeff did. Very short flame path and LMRP, 0.040 bushings. I went to LMRP in a DaveD CF plug with a real short flame path in a Savage 110 conversion I did. I will boost my hunting loads with around 10 grains of 5744 or 4759 for insurance. I'm gonna use finger cots over the barrel when I hunt now to try and keep any moisture out.
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Post by rusty94 on Jul 25, 2015 9:22:41 GMT -5
Thanks for all of this very helpful info guys. This smokeless thing is really new to me and I need all the help I can get.
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Post by Richard on Jul 25, 2015 10:28:23 GMT -5
Rusty.............after a few trips to the range it will all seem so simple! Welcome to smoke less muzzle loading. You will find me to be a big proponent of duplex loads..why? Because they shot well and they always fire when you pull the trigger. 5 to 10 gr. of Clays or Red Dot (or most any of the faster flake shotgun/pistol powders) on top of the BP along with what ever main charge you like (4198 for me) and even loose fitting bullets will go bang! And, there is nothing dangerous about them. (provided --as with any powder--you don't double charge?) If you were to forget and put the main charge first and then the booster? Just a reduced load! Mixed them up?............same thing, a reduced load. A duplex is meant to be a sure fire ignition and also a quick booster to get the bullet to "fatten up" or as board members like to say "obturate!" Its akin to having your car hit in the arse by another car and the quarter panels buckle outward and the doors spring open. You want the bullet to immediately "grab" the walls of the barrel so they seal and begin rotating the bullet. Richard
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Post by Hank on Jul 25, 2015 17:16:55 GMT -5
Rusty..
You should come to the shoot and hang out with us guys for a weekend.. You will go home knowing almost everything you ever wanted to know about shooting these ML's.
As for leaving your gun loaded.. Everyone has had different experiences.. I usually always shoot mine at the end of our two day season so it's not a big deal to me to June two days with a fresh load.. I think with these modern ML's you can leave them loaded as long as you want on a clean bore and it would shoot off in 30 years... Look at some of the surplus ammo ,.. Loaded in 1941 and still shoots fine... So it's up to you to decide when long enough is long enough.. If hunting in a hard rain all day, the fire it off at dusk and reload in the morning.. ...
Jeff
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Post by bakaboy on Jul 27, 2015 12:51:44 GMT -5
There is one hunt where we leave the guns loaded intentionally. The night before the hunt we go out to a range to make sure our scopes have survived the airline trip. After we feel comfortable with our guns, we reload one last time while the barrels are warm. We don't load a primer of course. Then in the morning we don't have to load while half asleep. The barrels have not suffered condensation and the bullet shoots just like the last practice bullet (we hope).
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Post by typical171 on Jul 27, 2015 15:41:57 GMT -5
Last season was a rainy one in northern Missouri. Im very anal about keeping the powder dry so first day of rain and no luck I removed the breech, dumped the powder and dried out the barrel. Then I got to thinking actually the wet weather was a good test for the SML. So from there on for the next 3 rainy days I left the charge in the gun, of coarse when it was time to return home the weather cleared up and I went to discharged the load which I thought would be a slim chance for it to go off and bang!
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beans
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Post by beans on Jul 27, 2015 17:43:44 GMT -5
I will say that there is nothing like confidence in having a good fresh charge. So, I say do what makes you confident. Some places are difficult to shoot out a charge after dark as it may facilitate a phone call from someone who might think you are shooting after legal light. If you are hunting with very expensive bullets for 2 weeks you may not want to blow off 14 of them in the dark.
Here's my take from 12 years of smokeless ML'ing.
A sabot does not form a perfect seal in a barrel, Try dry loading a bullet sabot and run it 1/2 way down the barrel with the breech plug out. Hold it up to the light. You will see glints of light. Try a land riding sabotless bullet. Even more light. So, water down the barrel WILL contaminate the charge.
A super cold gun brought into a warm camp or house WILL condensate and drips will go down the barrel.
Things that help immensely are:
Put a barrel condom on right after you load the gun. Shoot right thru it. If you think this will hurt accuracy, try it out on paper to regain the confidence that it does not affect anything as the air pocket in front of the bullet blows the seal off way before the bullet exits.
When storing the gun, keep it in the cold if you can. Always insert a spent primer in the gun immediately after depriming the gun. If you have to bring it inside, hang it on a nail, condom in place, spent primer in place, UPSIDE DOWN.
I use a stock Savage and straight loads of H4198 for power or low doses of 4759 for doe killing and have never had a fail to fire in all kinds of conditions and all sorts of long loaded periods. Including 2 yrs where I purposely left a field loaded gun from late ML season, after killing a deer, until the next fall.
All I am saying is that proper care will assure a gun that fires every time. Let me also say, stay away from breech plug lubes. Use nothing or teflon tape. If you have a vent liner. Use only a dab on the threads, fire a few rounds to burn off any residue, load and you are good to go with the other precautionary things I mentioned.
I do not begrudge the guys that freshly load each day but encourage those who do not want to unload to do so with confidence by following these guidelines.
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Post by hillbill on Jul 27, 2015 20:44:13 GMT -5
I left my Savage on my stand one night way back when, lying flat in the seat, action turned up. little did I know it was suppose to rain. Rain it did, 1 1/2" that night and the next morning. I go back after work and shake the water out of it and finish the afternoon hunt. I would have bet it wouldn't have fired but when I got back to the truck it fired off just like always.
I know guys that hunt in Iowa in December in extreme cold and they always leave their guns on the porch the whole time, they never fire them unless they are shooting at hair and they go bang without fail..
I have left my guns loaded from our muzz season here in Tn in early nov until Ohio in early Jan, bang, dead deer...
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Post by herman on Aug 27, 2015 10:51:02 GMT -5
Several years ago I loaded up my 50 caliber in the first part of Oct.It stayed loaded until I got around to shooting it in march.It had shot greta at 300 yds so I decided to try it at 300,shooting at a circle Think it was about 1 1/4 in.It hit almost dead center.Was so impressed that I had to try for a group,well I aimed and fired myself and my shooting Bill couldn't see on the target where it hit so we thought I had missed the whole target. We finished up shooting and went to get our targets.Bill took mine down and was looking at it and said here is where the second shot hit,on the back side you could see where 2 bullets had come through the same hole.Now that is what you call some luck.If I had know before going to get the targets I would have shot the 3rd shot. I usually take my 50 cal to deer camp in case I or some one else has problems and need a rifle. I loaded up the 50 the first part of oct.and it has been loaded since.I am waiting till oct again to see if it fires,that will make it a year being loaded. I do use scotch tape on the barrel.And at camp I leave them in the blazer at night. ![](http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq153/fowensby/sav300xtpsst.jpg)
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