Failing this, pour several tablespoons of solvent down the bore. In a few minutes the solvent will dissolve the fouling holding the bullet, allowing it to be removed with a bullet puller attached to your ramrod. Many shooters have experienced the situation in which the percussion cap will fire, but the gun will not go off. In nearly every case this is a direct result of improper or incomplete maintenance. Often times a second or third cap will fire the piece.
Questions often arise about transporting or storing a muzzleloading rifle with a charge in it.
Check the law in your own state, but in Ohio it is legal to carry a muzzleloading firearm in an automobile this way, as long as it is not primed. While this is legal, it is NOT safe, nor is it recommend. Many hunters want to leave a rifle loaded overnight if they expect to hunt the next morning. If a rifle is left loaded and then plans change, it is quite possible to forget the rifle is loaded, creating a potentially deadly situation days or even months later. We know of one hunter who unknowingly left a muzzleloading rifle loaded from one season to the next.