Muzzleloading in Cold Temperatures
Guide to Shooting Your Muzzleloader in Cold Temperatures
Muzzleloaders were one of our earliest guns, and they still have a special place in the hunting community. The muzzleloaders most of us use today, are in-line and much more accurate than the traditional flintlock muzzleloaders. However, you still need to consider how the colder weather will affect your gun, powder, accuracy, and shooting.
The most critical factor when shooting a muzzleloader in frigid or wet weather is preventing any moisture from reaching the powder charge, as damp black powder or substitutes will consistently fail to ignite. Condensation, which is often called “sweating,” is a major threat that occurs when a cold gun is introduced to a warm environment, like a heated vehicle or cabin. To prevent this moisture from ruining your charge, it is best practice to store your loaded muzzleloader outside or in an unheated space to ensure the firearm remains acclimated to the cold temperature you will be shooting in. If it is necessary to bring the muzzleloader indoors for an extended period, you should first remove the primer or percussion cap and keep the loaded gun sealed in its case to allow it to warm up slowly, which helps to mitigate the formation of heavy condensation.
Another option is to use an enclosed option, like the Firestick. This helps keep moisture away from the powder and keeps performance top-notch.
Additionally, protecting both the front and back of the barrel is also vital for preventing moisture ingress from snow, rain, or humidity. A lot of guys will cover the muzzle with a small piece of electrical tape; this is perfectly safe to shoot through and will not negatively affect accuracy at typical muzzleloader distances. For a percussion cap muzzleloader, a small dab of nail polish applied over the cap-to-nipple junction is an effective way to create a waterproof seal, and a traditional “cow’s knee” cover can be used to shield the action of side-lock rifles. Finally, if your muzzleloader has exposure to extreme wet conditions, you should always unload and reload it with fresh, dry powder at the end of the day to ensure full ignition reliability.
Barrel Performance
The steel that makes up your barrel reacts to temperature changes, and this reaction can subtly influence your muzzleloader’s performance. As the temperature plummets, the metal of the barrel shrinks to a very small degree. This contraction is usually not significant enough to cause a visible change in your point of impact at short ranges, though it may become a noticeable factor at longer shooting distances. This is just something to consider if you’re shooting long distances. You should practice shooting in the cold to know how your particular set-up performs in the cold.
A more common and immediate temperature-related factor is the “cold bore” shot, which is defined as the first shot fired from a barrel that is completely cold. This first shot will often impact in a slightly different location than subsequent shots fired from a warming barrel, and this is due to temporary changes in the barrel harmonics (vibration pattern). Since a hunter’s shot is virtually always a “cold bore” shot, it is absolutely essential that you zero your muzzleloader in the actual cold temperatures where you plan to shoot and that you practice specifically with a cold barrel.
Ballistic Performance in the Cold
Cold weather affects the ballistics. When the powder charge itself is cold, the chemical burning reaction slows down, which leads to less chamber pressure and a lower muzzle velocity. This loss of velocity is the single biggest factor contributing to a change in your point of impact in cold weather, as a slower bullet will drop more over the same distance. Be aware of this when shooting long distances. Your bullet may not have the impact that it would on a warmer day. The amount of velocity loss depends significantly on the specific black powder or substitute in use, with some modern products being much more temperature-stable than others.
Cold air is denser than warm air. This denser air creates more drag on the flying bullet, causing it to slow down more quickly and resulting in a lower point of impact downrange. While the effect is minimal at very close range, the combined forces of reduced velocity and increased air drag will cause a noticeable lowering of the point of impact at longer distances.
Late muzzleloader season is here; now make sure you’ve shot your muzzleloader in cold temperatures and are aware the frigid temperatures can affect your ballistic and shooting abilities. Good luck!
By Shannon Rivers
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