ML Deer experience last weekend

[HoofsandWings]

I arrive Friday am to scout. There had been some changes such as thinning of some timber, removing brush, etc.
Friday night is hot. I am in eastern WA. I wake up in the morning no food no coffee, just water.
I go to my spot and start heading up hill in the dark. I make lots of noise because of brush that had been cut and laying every where. I sit and wait for a while. I had loaded the night before, so I only had to add a primer.
I continue and find a good area. I approach a likely bedding area and just then I start coughing and sneezing.
I spooked a nice 4+ point buck. When it was getting warm, I went back to camp. That evening, I hunt a couple of likely spots.
Nothing. Now comes the interesting part. A motorcyclist comes up to me and tells me he has been hunting this area for many years. His strategy is to ride the dirt bike anywhere and everywhere for the entire season. When he spots a deer or bear, he jumps off and starts shooting. He even likes to experiment like earlier that day he spotted a bear at 250 yards, so he aims high and fires. Bear does not move. He keeps trying to lob in a bullet for several tries until he finally has a round hit close enough to spook the bear.
That night my air mattress leaks and I sleep on rocks the rest of the night. I hunt the morning and see nothing.
I then pull the trigger to empty the ml and nothing. Apparently it was so hot when I loaded I sweated on the powder, or into the barrel or onto the sabot. I really would have been mad if I had seen a deer and had a shot.
I plan to try again later in the season.

[bobcat]

I have never heard that excuse before. Too much sweat? Did your cap go off?

[BoomWhop]

 

[Bigshooter]

Is this a joke?

[Miles]

A motorcyclist comes up to me and tells me he has been hunting this area for many years. His strategy is to ride the dirt bike anywhere and everywhere for the entire season. When he spots a deer or bear, he jumps off and starts shooting. He even likes to experiment like earlier that day he spotted a bear at 250 yards, so he aims high and fires.

 
This is what I commonly refer to as an ATV idiot.  Sadly, this type of behavior is occuring far more than it used to.  According to some on this forum, it's okay to do this.  As ATV owners they feel they are not given enough land area in Washington to destroy as they see fit.  Just smile at them and wave.   Then pack up camp and go hunt one of the wilderness areas. Norsepeak can give you directions.

[huntnnw]

   lotta tool bags out there.  And apparently on a popular thread on here its brought out the finest members on here and their ideals

[danderson]

pluged nipple, or excesive oil in barrel, always make sure nipple is free and clear of gunk.

[trophyhunt]

A motorcyclist comes up to me and tells me he has been hunting this area for many years. His strategy is to ride the dirt bike anywhere and everywhere for the entire season. When he spots a deer or bear, he jumps off and starts shooting. He even likes to experiment like earlier that day he spotted a bear at 250 yards, so he aims high and fires.

 
This is what I commonly refer to as an ATV idiot.  Sadly, this type of behavior is occuring far more than it used to.  According to some on this forum, it's okay to do this.  As ATV owners they feel they are not given enough land area in Washington to destroy as they see fit.  Just smile at them and wave.   Then pack up camp and go hunt one of the wilderness areas. Norsepeak can give you directions.

I agree with you for the most part, one thing I would say is this early bow season I hunted an area that has a lot of horse people and the damage that the horses cause seem to be as worse or worse than some atv trails I've been on. If atv guys would try not to make too much damage they can usually leave the land in pretty good shape, but that for the most part doesn't happen.

[whacker1]

I have never heard that excuse before. Too much sweat? Did your cap go off?

Condensation can be your worst enemy with muzzleloaders.  I don't normally have those issues in dry eastern WA, but have had it happen in Western WA many times.  I try to pull the breach plug every evening and reload in the morning before taking off.  that seemed to remove that variable

[huntnnw]

years ago before T7...I was using pyrodex powder, my dad using GOEX..both were using the same guns, both taped. My gun hang fired daily and my dads gun fired flawlessly..we were hunting in wet snow conditions mixed rain and snow for 3 days

[HoofsandWings]

I have never heard that excuse before. Too much sweat? Did your cap go off?

Yes the cap went off. I tried a couple more caps and they just popped.
The ml was clean and had no gunk in the nipple.

[HoofsandWings]

Is this a joke?

No this was real life. The motorcyclist was probably in his 40's. He did say he gets a deer nearly every year.

[yelp]

If you use pellets they can absorb sweat from your fingers/hands.  Also if you use pellets there is a void in the breech plug of about an inch..between cap and pellets.  I uses a little trickle of powder before putting in pellets down and it fills up that void.  It seems to help with ignition. 

[MtnMuley]

Sounds like I'd just stay on the Westside and not bother coming over here.  Too many bad happenings and idiots.

[engelwood]

I've never had anything like this happen to me before. There are times I will load my MZ the night before the season starts, pack it around the entire season, and it always fires flawlessly when the season is over, or when I'm firing at an animal. It amazes me how many issues we hunters are still having with our MZ these days. Was this with #11 caps or muskets? I switched to muskets years ago and never looked back. I actually can't think of a time in my past 16 years of MZ hunting (including elk hunting in snow, as well as lotsa time in the rain) when I pulled my trigger and my MZ didn't go off. That sounds like it would be very frusturating...

[HoofsandWings]

If you use pellets they can absorb sweat from your fingers/hands.  Also if you use pellets there is a void in the breech plug of about an inch..between cap and pellets.  I uses a little trickle of powder before putting in pellets down and it fills up that void.  It seems to help with ignition.

Yelp, you have never seen me sweat. There is a stream, not a drip off of my forehead.

[HoofsandWings]

As it turned out, it was sweat. Not only was the nipple plugged, the powder had turned to goop. It felt moist.
It took an hour to clean it out.