Cleaning Muzzy, how often?

[AvidIndoorsman]

Did you find the deer?

Unfortunately I did not...

Good blood for the first 50-100 yards


then drops here and there for another I dk 400-500 (hard to say as it the trail was really windy) 350 yards as the crow fly's from where I shot him.


Eventually I lost the blood right at the giant, swampy/thicket mess. I both couldn't find blood and it was really really hard to move, even on hands and knees... I pressed into it 100 yards but It was hard to gird out/make circles.

Last night it just poured.

Went out today, started at the last spot I found blood, gridded out on either side of the mess down the edges of the tangle. Climbed some trees in hopes I could see it from up high...

Boggles my mind how it could even move through that wounded.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Red's first blood, blue is last blood... red trail is the path I took on the first day. Dark blue is the thicket of death, I was following a deer tunnel, after a while it turned into me just trying to escape.

Little red box is the grid I did today.

I think it's probably in the thicket somewhere... or I hit something non-vital.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I'm shooting Buckhorn 209 with 209 primers. Took a shot today, do I need to unload it and clean it tonight if I'm going out tomorrow?

Was a bit wet and rainy today...

Usually I would but apparently the whole benefit of 209 is you don't have to clean as often...

I clean my muzzleloader after any shooting. I do a quick clean immediately (in the field, at the range, etc.), but if it has been shot at all, I want it to have a full cleaning that day, if possible. I don't know if 209 is as corrosive as some of the older powders, but I was always "taught" to treat powder residue, in a muzzleloader, like a lit fuse that ends, pretty quickly, with a damaged barrel.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Red's first blood, blue is last blood... red trail is the path I took on the first day. Dark blue is the thicket of death, I was following a deer tunnel, after a while it turned into me just trying to escape.

Little red box is the grid I did today.

I think it's probably in the thicket somewhere... or I hit something non-vital.
View attachment 164649

Are there dog trackers in your area? They can be miracle workers, even after a rain. I used one in Vermont, this fall, on a deer that my middle son shot. The state had a published list of trackers, by township. Sorry, that's a crappy feeling.

 

[Grizzly7442A]

Thanks for the post and the reminder how extremely frustrating losing a deer can be. I lost a buck in a similar way back in 86' and it still stings. I was hunting on a new lease that year and didn't know any trackers in the area. A good lesson for all of us!

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I clean my muzzleloader after any shooting. I do a quick clean immediately (in the field, at the range, etc.), but if it has been shot at all, I want it to have a full cleaning that day, if possible. I don't know if 209 is as corrosive as some of the older powders, but I was always "taught" to treat powder residue, in a muzzleloader, like a lit fuse that ends, pretty quickly, with a damaged barrel.

Yeah that’s what I was taught about old powders.. Buckhorn it’s sold as being different so

 

[stealthy_bowman]

Sorry that you lost it.
If it’s any consolation, you are not alone. I had a bomber of a buck come in literally as I finished climbing up the tree with the climber at around 2 PM today. Somehow I managed to hoist up my muzzleloader without him seeing me. Anyway, got the gun ready and 2-3 minutes later I shot. Long story short, only one lung hit and I couldn’t make the retrieval as I lost the blood trail. To say I am sick to my stomach would be an understatement.

Btw, as for cleaning, my rule of thumb is to never leave a muzzleloader to foul even if only one shot fired. All the propellants are just too corrosive to let sit in the barrel for any length of time. Just my two cents.

 

[BrentD]

I grew up learning that a rifle should be cleaned after any and every shooting session, regardless of weather, number of shots fired, and other details. Other than laziness, of which I have far more than my fair share, I can think of no good reason to discontinue following that creed, and so I mostly do. Done properly, a rifle is never hurt by being too clean.

But when it comes to muzzleloaders, I sometimes clean them after every shot rather than after every session.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I grew up learning that a rifle should be cleaned after any and every shooting session, regardless of weather, number of shots fired, and other details. Other than laziness, of which I have far more than my fair share, I can think of no good reason to discontinue following that creed, and so I mostly do. Done properly, a rifle is never hurt by being too clean.

But when it comes to muzzleloaders, I sometimes clean them after every shot rather than after every session.

Me too, but I've come to understand that my centerfire rifles shoot better with fouled barrels. So, I don't clean them during the hunting season, unless they get wet.