How weatherproof is the encore??

[broker]

Guys, heading out for my first muzzleloader hunt tomorrow here in Illinois. Calling for Rain Changing to snow both thursday and friday. Should i remove breach plug at end of each day allowing pellets to fall out, remove bullet, and start fresh following day, or, do you think it would be ok to leave charge in lieu of rain/snow conditions i will apparently be hunting in?  Any other tips you can offer to minimize chance of misfire is greatly appreciated. thnx,miles

[ghostZ]

I use a side lock or traditional ML so it may be different but I just make sure I keep my hammer/nipple area covered during my hunt...usually with my hand or bottom of my coat.  I also keep my muzzle pointed down.  I usually go about a week(2-4 days of hunting) in wet weather before I discharge and start new.  I think I have read that a #11 cap is almost water proof when on a nipple.  Also make sure you repack your load after the gun sitting...helps with hang fires.

[james]

A trick I use on a TC Hawken is to rub candle wax on the nipple before putting a cap on it. -And don't remove the cap until the gun is dried off.   I now also have an Encore and would probably do the same thing with a 209 primer if it is really raining hard.  - But I would reinstall the extractor I removed for ease of cleaning as the wax may make the primer extraction more difficult.

[agdexter1]

I use my .50 Encore. It is a tight gun. I will hunt in the rain (taped barrel) for up to three days before I begin to worry. At the end of three days I shoot it. Clean it and reload (good for another three days). In the dozens of times I have fired it after the three days, I have never had it not fire properly. The three days is my comfort zone. It would probably go the whole season and still fire. (Given that it gets a new primer ever day or more often if you are up and down.) You will be fine with the Encore .50.