Flintlock Muzzleloading

Fullers Farmalls · Dec 17, 2013

How many of you guys still use a flintlock? I have my paps old .54 cal Thompson Center. It was a kit he bought back in the late early 80's. Just had the frizzen go bad, called TC and they are sending a label to me to send the gun in and they will replace it free of charge. Love that gun though I rarely hit anything with it. I just like the thrill and the late season here in PA.

magpiene. · Dec 17, 2013

When I have time (which is never) I like to hunt that way. I have a left hand Lyman Great Plains, In .54 cal.

donjr · Dec 17, 2013

That's one thing I never could understand. Is Pennsyltuck still stuck on flintlock only muzzleloaders for late season? The shot lag with a flintlock usually made me miss. Went to a 209 a few years ago, and it's a big improvement over a #11. I still have the older guns in the cabinet, but they are pretty much dust collectors now....

Fullers Farmalls · Dec 17, 2013

Yeah we are stuck with the old ones.. Those new inlines shoot almost 200 yards accurately. I wish I could use the inline. Even using the percussion cap but not the inline style would be nice. After that delay I'm off about 6 inches from where I was aiming. Never good.

RalphWD45 · Dec 17, 2013

Great rifles, aren't they magpiene? I have a right handed one, with the second barrel. Lyman replaced the first one, for shipping only.

Royse · Dec 17, 2013

I haven't seen a true flintlock in years, which I take it yours is if
you have to replace a frizzen.
I have an inline that I really like, but I still like my old Thompson
caplock too. It's accurate out there probably 150 yards or so.
It's certainly more susceptable to misfire, specially if the nipple
gets plugged or damp.
I'd would be worried about theft shipping a flintlock.
You can insure it, but how do you replace it?

Nebraska Kirk · Dec 17, 2013

I have a 50 cal flintlock, it is a reproduction of the Kentucky long rifle that I bought from Cabela's some years ago. I have not used it for hunting but it is fun to take out and shoot occasionally.

ohiojim · Dec 18, 2013

i think PA. has it right, if it"s gonna be a primitive hunt you should use primitive weapons !!!! all the new ones" with the inline ignition and scopes are way to modern and are akin to cartridge guns,...the most you should be allowed is caplock,..but then I don"t make the rules..

Row Crop · Dec 18, 2013

We're allowed to use modern muzzleloaders here in Michigan. I have a CVA Electra 50 cal. It uses a battery to make the spark. Love it! No more fumbling with caps with cold hands! Recharges as fast as I can shove another two powder pellets and a sabot down the barrel. Dead nuts at 200 yards. I have a CVA .32 flintlock I use for squirrels.

Bret4207 · Dec 18, 2013

The whole point of primitive muzzle loader seasons was to stay PRIMITIVE. Now I see guys using bolt action "muzzle loaders" with scopes shooting pelleted powder charges and saboted jacketed bullets. That's just wrong in my view. Flint or cap lock, round ball only. That's how it should have stayed. You supposed to HUNT, not take Hail Mary shots across a bean field.

A flinter with a 6 second delay is screwed up. A good lock and proper set up should give you almost instantaneous ignition.

RLA · Dec 18, 2013

I"ve hunting the Pa Muzzle loading season for
at least 20 years, use a 50 cal T/C Kit I built
now.. Taken one buck & 3 doe since I started.
Last year I hit a doe hard ( I thought) But
didn"t ever catch up with her after 6 hours &
3 squares later. She ran on to posted ground &
wasn"t give permission to keep going... Our group
fills tags on the ave of 3 per season out of 8
regular guys. We miss about 15 per season! LOL
Fun & a Good time, have seen some of the biggest
Bucks in my life in this late season. We hunt
about 50 miles south of Erie. One man who use"s
a Hand built Kentucky Long Rifle Never miss"s
& fills a tag about ever year. I wouldn"t carry
the rifle outdoors, it"s appraised value is
3500.00 it"s beautiful weapon, & He is Deadly
with it. He"s also the leader of the band.

1970-1655 · Dec 18, 2013

When I first thought about muzzle loader hunting, a friend had both. We went out and shot the flintlock first. I almost decided I did not want any part of this type hunting. Then we fired his caplock. That was a different experience. I went to the National Muzzle Loader shoot at Friendship, Indiana and talked with several shooters. Then I went shopping and hand built a 54 cal. Hawken style caplock. It has a long slow twist barrel so it shoots round balls good and at a good long distance.

It takes a steady hand and steady nerves to shoot a flintlock accurately. My hat is off to anyone that can and does shoot one of those often.

donjr · Dec 18, 2013

Mom surprised me two years ago with an Optima from CVA, and it's a tack driver at two hundred. Less than a 3" pattern. I haven't taken any 300 yard shots yet, but I have a Konus scope on it, and that thing is right on out to 200. I'll assume the 300 mark is close....But the main reason we hunt with the newer weapon down here is the thought of a clean kill. I never liked chasing a bleeding animal for hours. So, to me, accuracy is the biggest part of the hunt. And , even though it's a pest, there's no sense in torturing it as it dies...

Rootsy · Dec 18, 2013

(quoted from post at 23:50:29 12/17/13) How many of you guys still use a flintlock? I have my paps old .54 cal Thompson Center. It was a kit he bought back in the late early 80's. Just had the frizzen go bad, called TC and they are sending a label to me to send the gun in and they will replace it free of charge. Love that gun though I rarely hit anything with it. I just like the thrill and the late season here in PA.

I make the them. Contemporary recreations of 18th century longrifles and fowling pieces (shotguns). There is actually quite a cottage industry surrounding this at the moment.

www.trackofthewolf.com is a good place to start

A couple of my examples in various stages of completion at the moment.

Tim in West Pa · Dec 18, 2013

Its a great time to be in the woods. PA has given everyone an opportunity to hunt with the style of choice. Inlines and cap n ball guns are allowed in the rifle season and a short doe only season in October. Primitive (flintlock) has it"s own season after Christmas.

RLA: sounds like you in my neck of the woods. I"m near 79 and 80.

Rootsy: Those are beautiful. They are works of art.

hadley · Dec 18, 2013

I am also in pa and have 2 flintlocks. My favorite time to hunt is after xmas. Gets most of the idiots out of the woods. Wife said she may even try to go out this year for fun, she has shot mine before but never hunted with them. Also, if you have more than a millisecond delay then you have some major problems, how much powder are you putting in the pan?

Rootsy · Dec 18, 2013

When it comes to flintlocks you truly get what you pay for. There is no comparison between a Chambers or RE Davis lock and a Lyman or T/C lock.

Ignition should be almost instantaneous. If you have hang fires you have issues.

Also... Only use real black powder for both the charge and the prime. 3F or 4F in the pan. Subs ignite at too high a temperature and therefore will misfire or hang fire.

If that isn't the issue then there are a few things to do / try.

Make sure the internals are well greased, pick the vent, increase vent size (.064 - .070), use a good flint and experiment with it bevel up and bevel down in order to generate the most sparks, directing them into the pan. A soft frizzen or one too hard are both situations that need to be corrected. If your frizzen is too hard stick it on a cookie sheet in your oven at about 350 F for an hour to temper and draw it's hardness back a bit. If it is soft you either need to re-heat treat and temper or replace.

L&R makes T/C & Lyman replacements I believe and they are better than the factory locks.

I use Rich Pierce long trek flints but I don't believe he is knapping them any longer. Tom Fuller English flints are probably the best available when Rich's aren't.

Those cut flints suck.

Fullers Farmalls · Dec 18, 2013

Those are beautiful guns. I used that site to determine what
was wrong with my gun and tc will fix it for free.

RayP(MI) · Dec 18, 2013

How you guys do it with flintlocks, I don't know. Must be many more misses than hits! Michigan allows in-lines, and I have 2 a H&R and a TC. Both are fast firing, one uses #11, other 209 primers. Almost like a modern single shot - but reloading time is longer! My H&R actually doubles as a single shot .223 rest of the year.

When I was doing my training for 4-H shooting sports a while back, we had TC sidelocks - they were troublesome on ignition. So I can only imagine what you guys who have to use flintlocks must go through. As far as Muzzle loading season, only been out a couple times. Michigan's season is in December, and weather is often unpleasant enough (brutal) that I don't want to go out and freeze to death! Gotta be a real heavy duty sportsman to appreciate muzzle season here. I enjoy shooting muzzle loaders, but!

Rootsy · Dec 18, 2013

(quoted from post at 11:16:34 12/18/13) How you guys do it with flintlocks, I don't know. Must be many more misses than hits! Michigan allows in-lines, and I have 2 a H&R and a TC. Both are fast firing, one uses #11, other 209 primers. Almost like a modern single shot - but reloading time is longer! My H&R actually doubles as a single shot .223 rest of the year.

When I was doing my training for 4-H shooting sports a while back, we had TC sidelocks - they were troublesome on ignition. So I can only imagine what you guys who have to use flintlocks must go through. As far as Muzzle loading season, only been out a couple times. Michigan's season is in December, and weather is often unpleasant enough (brutal) that I don't want to go out and freeze to death! Gotta be a real heavy duty sportsman to appreciate muzzle season here. I enjoy shooting muzzle loaders, but!

Our ancestors managed from about 1650 through 1830 (and beyond) with the fire lock. They fought wars, managed to nearly wipe out all wildlife in certain areas and conquer the red man with the fire lock.

The flintlock is a perfectly capable mechanism. But like anything else you must understand it's function, understand how to maintain it and understand up to properly use it. Quality is also 90% of the battle.

AFAIK T/C, Lyman and the like are a large portion of the reason people are convinced flintlocks are incapable stone age mechanisms. Once you use a quality lock, tuned and setup properly you will be amazed.

On a quality well tuned lock, just like originals, the trigger pull to main charge ignition time should be nearly instantaneous to the shooters perception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGpa_SkxmvI

RLA · Dec 18, 2013

I might use a inline during rifle season
Never ever would have got into Muzzle loading
if we were aloud an inline.

Donald Lehman · Dec 18, 2013

NY has a muzzleloader season, not a primative season like PA. I bought a CVA St. Louis Haken .54 cal. (1/66 twist round ball gun) in 1993. Still use it today. Killed a lot of deer with it, too. Just can't bring myself to use an in-line. Local gent builds some very nice Kentucky/Penn. flintlocks. Maybe some day.
Although Knight made the in-line popular, they are not really a modern invention. I believe the first in-lines were invented around 1838. Like Da-Vinci's helecopters, the idea was way ahead of the technology.

Bret4207 · Dec 19, 2013

(quoted from post at 08:42:47 12/18/13)

(quoted from post at 11:16:34 12/18/13) How you guys do it with flintlocks, I don't know. Must be many more misses than hits! Michigan allows in-lines, and I have 2 a H&R and a TC. Both are fast firing, one uses #11, other 209 primers. Almost like a modern single shot - but reloading time is longer! My H&R actually doubles as a single shot .223 rest of the year.

When I was doing my training for 4-H shooting sports a while back, we had TC sidelocks - they were troublesome on ignition. So I can only imagine what you guys who have to use flintlocks must go through. As far as Muzzle loading season, only been out a couple times. Michigan's season is in December, and weather is often unpleasant enough (brutal) that I don't want to go out and freeze to death! Gotta be a real heavy duty sportsman to appreciate muzzle season here. I enjoy shooting muzzle loaders, but!

Click to expand...

Our ancestors managed from about 1650 through 1830 (and beyond) with the fire lock. They fought wars, managed to nearly wipe out all wildlife in certain areas and conquer the red man with the fire lock.

The flintlock is a perfectly capable mechanism. But like anything else you must understand it's function, understand how to maintain it and understand up to properly use it. Quality is also 90% of the battle.

AFAIK T/C, Lyman and the like are a large portion of the reason people are convinced flintlocks are incapable stone age mechanisms. Once you use a quality lock, tuned and setup properly you will be amazed.

On a quality well tuned lock, just like originals, the trigger pull to main charge ignition time should be nearly instantaneous to the shooters perception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGpa_SkxmvI

Well said Rootsy and nice work too! Ignorance and laziness breed contempt for lots of things, flintlocks included.

Flintlock Muzzleloading

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