Anybody here hunt with a flintlock?

[Varmintmist]

If it aint black, it wont ignite well in a FL.

PA's late season is a flintlock season. It doesnt matter if anyone wants to be traditional or not. You want to hunt the flintlock season, you will be using a flintlock. PA was the supplier for flintlocks thats why there is a season, and it really isnt that hard.

Cleaning BP, Ready? Get it wet. Done.............. Water, warm or cold all by itself takes care of any corrosive properties of BP. Swab with wet patches or mop, dry patch, lube with Ballistol or CLP, or your favorite gun lube. No boiling virgin tears blended with lye soap grandma made brushed 36.34 times while hanging from a rafter. Get the places that had BP wet, dry it, lube it.

[Justsomedude]

I'm not knocking the traditions of flint locks. I'm knocking the people that cry sin when someone uses something outside of regular black powder. The triple 7 is easier for me.

[Varmintmist]

You're right, I would like that! I went to the gun show not so much to buy, but to look for interesting things.

I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, just learn as much as I can. I've never owned or shot a flintlock. I just want the wisdom of those who have, so I can develop the best hunting load for this rifle without wasting time and money trying to figure it out myself. Like I said before, this will expand my hunting opportunities.

OK then. Patched round balls out of slow twist flintlocks have been taking deer in PA since before there was a PA and a stand alone country that PA was in. You have to figure out your patch ball combo, and your powder charge, but the "deciding what works" was done literally centuries ago.
Oh, and remember. BP is volumetric, not measured by weight. Brass measures are available. I have a larger one with the spout for bench work and a small one that I fill from a horn in the field. I use a paperclip for a vent pick, and a brass pan charger for the pan. Also, keep an eye out through out the year for Blue Jay feathers on the ground. They fit in the vent, and you can close the frizzen on it and have a bit more moisture protection that just looks cool.

[Justsomedude]

Just a random note, but blue jay feathers are illegal to possess. Don't get caught with one.

[Jayhawker]

Spent quite a few years hunting with flintlocks...Brown Bess muskets to Tennessee Poor Boys...Looks as if most of your questions have been answered except for how to charge the pan...I always used 4F for priming powder...the first impression is to fill the pan with powder..but all you're doing is building a powder train which will unnecessarily prolong your lock time...the way to get a percussion cap-like ignition is to pour a bit of powder into the pan on the side away from the touch hole...when this is ignited you'll get a flash into the touch hole...whi h is what you want for the best results...

[Wambli Ska]

The Springfield is .58 caliber. Your CVA is?????
In .58, a Minie is still relatively short snd stubby. In smaller calibers, depending on the mold, they get longrr.

Hummmm now you have ME thinking. My Hawken is a .58 and I got a pile of lead ball and Minies from the estate I bought it from. Never shot the damn thing yet. Have to put it into the rotation to compare

[Gene L]

I'm not knocking the traditions of flint locks. I'm knocking the people that cry sin when someone uses something outside of regular black powder. The triple 7 is easier for me.

Is that with a flint-lock or a cap-lock? I have used synthetic bp in my Great Plains rifle, and I don't think it's better than BP. If a flint will ignite 777, I could give it a try. I think I have some.

[Gene L]

You can increase elevation by filing the front sight. I bought a .32 rifle from Cabela's, called an Appalachian rifle or something like that. The sight was way oversized and I had to file down a good deal before I could hit with it. Better too tall rather than too short.

[Justsomedude]

I'm not knocking the traditions of flint locks. I'm knocking the people that cry sin when someone uses something outside of regular black powder. The triple 7 is easier for me.

Is that with a flint-lock or a cap-lock? I have used synthetic bp in my Great Plains rifle, and I don't think it's better than BP. If a flint will ignite 777, I could give it a try. I think I have some.

I've not tried it in a flint lock. It works fantastic in my cap and ball though. I believe I've read of people using it in flint locks but they have problems with ignition when using 2f, but no problems with 3f.

[Varmintmist]

Higher ignition temp with substitutes. FL works by making a big flame and channeling a bit through a small hole. Caps direct all of their fire into the charge.

[Wambli Ska]

Spent quite a few years hunting with flintlocks...Brown Bess muskets to Tennessee Poor Boys...Looks as if most of your questions have been answered except for how to charge the pan...I always used 4F for priming powder...the first impression is to fill the pan with powder..but all you're doing is building a powder train which will unnecessarily prolong your lock time...the way to get a percussion cap-like ignition is to pour a bit of powder into the pan on the side away from the touch hole...when this is ignited you'll get a flash into the touch hole...whi h is what you want for the best results...

That is EXACTLY the way Teach explained it to me. His flintlock is the only one I’ve ever fired. Interesting experience for sure.

[Zee]

Bohemian Rapsody?

[Bigslug]

I'm not knocking the traditions of flint locks. I'm knocking the people that cry sin when someone uses something outside of regular black powder. The triple 7 is easier for me.

The Triple 7 is good stuff. We used in in my Dad's replica Whitworth to good effect, but as you discovered, it's not a 1-1 swap for BP as far as volume to velocity goes. In a muzzle loader, no big deal. Just adjust the charge until you find the performance range you're looking for.

When it comes to swapping into a brass cartridge, or worse, a paper, consumable cartridge as was used in the 1858-1863 Sharps, French Chassepot, and a few others, you have to get creative with filler wads to maintain a charge that both matches your sights and headspaces in the chamber correctly.

With regards to the finer powder grades in a flintlock's pan and coarser stuff behind the ball - the modern practical reasons behind this are obvious, but I'm left scratching my head at the historical reality. The combat muskets were primed from the freshly opened paper cartridge just before the rest of it got poured down the barrel, and I doubt Daniel Boone was in a position to be fussy about obtaining multiple powder grades, or priming from Horn A and loading from Horn B.

I've been farting around with a replica '58 Remington revolver recently and having the same kinds of questions: all the stuff guys are currently doing with lube wads for cleaner bores or Crisco over the loaded balls out of fear of chain-fires across the cylinder. . .I can't figure Joshua Chamberlain and JEB Stuart having that greasy mess melting in their holsters in July at Gettysburg, and I'm pretty sure Jesse and Frank James didn't have the time for it.

[Justsomedude]

I'm not messing around with grease and wads. Use a ball that cuts a good ring and go about your shooting. It takes a matter of special circumstances to get a chain fire and I remind myself that God looks after fools and babies, and I ain't no baby

[CPJ 2.0]

Yeah I’ve never understood a chain fire. Anytime I’ve used a BP revolver the bullets are a cut to fit affair with the cylinder.

[Varmintmist]

Spent quite a few years hunting with flintlocks...Brown Bess muskets to Tennessee Poor Boys...Looks as if most of your questions have been answered except for how to charge the pan...I always used 4F for priming powder...the first impression is to fill the pan with powder..but all you're doing is building a powder train which will unnecessarily prolong your lock time...the way to get a percussion cap-like ignition is to pour a bit of powder into the pan on the side away from the touch hole...when this is ignited you'll get a flash into the touch hole...whi h is what you want for the best results...

That is EXACTLY the way Teach explained it to me. His flintlock is the only one I’ve ever fired. Interesting experience for sure.

Think of it like there is a tube between the pan and the main charge and understand that BP burns grain to grain unlike smokeless which ignites with flame and pressure.

If you fill the tube you are stacking grains next to each other. When you ignite one end (click) you have a fuse that is burning at one end towards the main charge taking time (fzzzzzzzzz) once every grain has burned the flame is at the main charge and has to burn enough away to ignite more powder (more zzz) then (boom). A good lock with a good flint will spark into the pan and ignite that charge before the frizzen is out of the way and you will hear "cli-boom". I had a video of mine going off but I cant find it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfsLzr0mJ1A Good vid showing lock times. Pre warning, unbunch the drawers because he calls out cheap flintlocks. He also never says they wont work, he says exactly what Teach told everyone. There is a good chance that they wont be reliable and can usually be made better with a little work. I have a Lyman GPR in 50, it worked, but got better with some love. Its up to about 1/2 speed of my custom in lock time.

Different powder in the pan vs bbl. A good lock will spark 2F in the pan as well as 4F. The little 4F dropper is so darn easy to use though.

Flints are another thing altogether. Use what works in your rifle. English, French, factory produced agates.. the one that makes your gun spark is the one you use. The GPR uses agate which are arguably the worst flints around, and the custom is using flint cut from a French cannon flint.

So to properly load a flintlock:
A. pour your volumetric measured charge. Keep your face away from the muzzle in case there is an ember.
B. seat your (lubed) patch and ball, making sure the patch is uniformly around the ball, using a consistent method. Some push with a single movement, some ram it home and drop the rod until until it bounces. Pick your poison.
C. Pick your charge through the vent using a vent pick. This opens a little space for the flame to get to more powder in the packed charge
D. Put powder in the pan. The idea is to direct the flame into the vent. A little on the outside of the pan is best because fire burns away from fuel and you are pointing flame towards the vent. Hunting, that wont happen. So you want a little in the pan across the bottom. The main thing is to not block the vent with powder.
E. Close the frizzen.

[Wambli Ska]

That all makes sense. Thanks

[Justsomedude]

I need to buy a match lock so that I can look down on the lowly flint lock owners for having their modern guns. Pfft, might as well own an inline... *Joking

[Wambli Ska]

I need to buy a match lock so that I can look down on the lowly flint lock owners for having their modern guns. Pfft, might as well own an inline... *Joking

The guy with the Chinese hand cannon will laugh his ass of at you youngun…

[CPJ 2.0]

I need to buy a match lock so that I can look down on the lowly flint lock owners for having their modern guns. Pfft, might as well own an inline... *Joking

The guy with the Chinese hand cannon will laugh his ass of at you youngun…

Me have rock! Rock never misfires!

[Varmintmist]

Yeah, but its a flint rock....

[Jayhawker]

[quote=Bigslug post_id=13020 time=1709315241 user_id=71

With regards to the finer powder grades in a flintlock's pan and coarser stuff behind the ball - the modern practical reasons behind this are obvious, but I'm left scratching my head at the historical reality. The combat muskets were primed from the freshly opened paper cartridge just before the rest of it got poured down the barrel, and I doubt Daniel Boone was in a position to be fussy about obtaining multiple powder grades, or priming from Horn A and loading from Horn B.

[/quote]

With military flinters that were loaded with paper cartridges. You are exactly right...big pan...big flint...big shower of spsrks...big touch hole...so loading and priming with a single powder worked just fine...

Civilian flinters on the other hand were assembled a bit more....ummm...delicately...smaller pan....smaller flint...smaller shower of sparks....smaller touch hole...

if you examine the contents of possible bags of the period. You will often find a small priming horn in there...also you will find powder horns were sold in pairs...a large horn and a small priming horn...

[Varmintmist]

Small horns were used for salt. Possibly in paper cartridge era to let soldiers pour the whole charge down the bbl and not lose any while priming.
http://www.flintriflesmith.com/Writinga ... rns_mb.htm

[Gene L]

I think Varmintmist's link has it exactly right.

[Justsomedude]

Easiest way to think of it is that powder burns like a fuse in a flintlock from pan to barrel. In fact, old fuses were black powder intertwined in rope.