Muzzleloaders or cartridge rifle - which are safer?

[joshsmit56001]

After seeing the pictures of the savage rifle on this forum it got me thinking about safety and the difference between modern muzzleloaders and cartridge rifles. Is there any safety difference between the two?

Thanks,
Josh

 

[Confederate rifleman]

It depends.Both rifles are good and strong ,but I have to think an overload in a Savage shooting smokeless would be potentially more devastating than one in a cartridge gun.There are more variables in the muzzleloader ie;breech plug tightness/condition, any gas cutting on the sealing shoulders,vent liner erosion etc.Plus if you overload a cartridge, you might notice the powder level is higher in the case than normal.Not gonna happen in a muzzleloader.With cartridge guns , if you reload, you have case length,headspace ,and metal fatigue issues, so it might be a wash.If you shoot black or substitute powders, a 5 grain variation in powder charges most likely wont get you into alot of trouble.Smokeless is another story entirely.
Shooting muzzleloaders is a hoot, but requires you to " unlearn" alot of things.Maintenence,loading,trajectories etc to name a few.It will absolutely make you a more detail oriented shooter and a more selective and disciplined hunter.Its funny when you shoot at a critter and miss and it stands there watching you reload and just as you're priming it splits...

 

[black powder]

no difference .....but both can be FATAL by careless handeling or loading

 

[DavidKansas]

Both are subject to the stupids of this world. I have been shooting both for over 30 years and have never blown up any weapon. You have to be smart enough to know how to read the instruction book and not do anything that it says NOT to do.

 

[Lee 9]

In the case of the good quality brands the safety relates to the person and how careful and knowledgeable they are.

 

[MLKeith]

If you stick to a cartridge rifle and only shoot commercial ammunition and maintain the rifle it is less likely to have a problem with less instruction. Muzzleloaders require a little more learning to be as safe since there are a lot more things involved than just loading and firing a cartridge. If you start reloading the cartridge rifle then the two get a lot closer to the same safety level. It then becomes more reliant on the operator to keep things in order.

 

[minst7877]

For some reason when a muzzle loader blows a barrel everyone get real excited. All have a explanation of what happened if we were to know the whole story. Most will never admit that it was shooter error that caused it but we all know that is the most frequent reason. Just today I received a e-mail with this picture of a S&W 629 which is known to have one of the heaviest frames in its class.

Now the owner of this gun admitted that he was trying out some "new loads" when this occurred. Sounds like he was very lucky to be able to tell anybody anything after this. Just remember bad things happen and we all need to be vigilant in what we are doing to minimize these as much as possible.

 

[frontier gander]

neither muzzleloader or centerfire are safe if its in the hands of an idiot. Plain and simple.

 

[NorCalSkinner]

Well stated "MLKeith".... I agree with your thoughts completely.