flintlocks in the rain

went to a woods walk today and the weather was typical WA weather, this means it rained the entire time. something i noticed was no one was shooten flint cause of the rain (except me). why are people so paranoid about rain? i simply kept my lock covered with an old shirt inbetween shots onley taking the shirt off to prime and shoot. my Jaeger had no issues igniting the prime every time.

i did have some issues with a load not going off but thats cause right as i poured the powder some water dripped off a tree down my barrel :cursing: . but this issue had nothing to do with my gun being a flintlock. i was able to coax the load to fire by slipping a vent pick into the powder then adding some 4F into the gap.

-matt

Matt unsure why myself i never worried of wet but being in the high desert high winds take some fun out of it
Cant remember what its called but there a leather cover one cover there lock with in the wet cows knee i think

:v Broad brimmed hats make great funnels for directing rain drops down the barrel. A clean well wiped pan and frizzen make for a happy flinter. Sounds like you had fun dealing with the weather as I'm sure the old-timers did also. :v

MercerLake said:

:v Broad brimmed hats make great funnels for directing rain drops down the barrel. A clean well wiped pan and frizzen make for a happy flinter. Sounds like you had fun dealing with the weather as I'm sure the old-timers did also. :v

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was the old timers who wouldnt take their flinters outa the cars due to rain. :wink:

think i onley saw a single other flinter while i was there but it was a pistol. looked like a heavy dragoon (horse pistol).

i wasnt there to compete i just wanted to hang around with other traditional muzzleloader shooters and try out the woods walk. they were kind enough to let me shoot for free as i told em i wasnt interested in the prize table. while i was there i picked up a few supplies for my Jaeger including some much needed 58 cal lubed wads. my onley regret was drinken a lil too much the night before so i was sorta in a fog all day.

-matt

MercerLake said:

:v Broad brimmed hats make great funnels for directing rain drops down the barrel. A clean well wiped pan and frizzen make for a happy flinter. Sounds like you had fun dealing with the weather as I'm sure the old-timers did also. :v

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Tricorns are even better.
I won't mention the gentleman's name, but I once shot a woodswalk when it was raining so hard most of the percussion guns were rendered inoperable. One of the few to finish the course, and the top finisher, was shooting a flintlock.
This man is hard to beat under any circumstances, but after that day I decided he might have some divine assistance in addition to simple, common skill.

I think the reason is folks who don't go out a lot with a flinter and shoot it in inclement weather, are wary of doing so. My first deer with my present rifle was taken in the rain. It's probably just a lack of training, to know how to work the rifle and keep the lock area dry.

LD

Yeah, for the inexperienced, flintlocks present problems in the rain. Back in the day, whole battles were called off on account of rain because they knew the troops would have serious problems with their muskets not firing in the rain. The whole secret is to keep the rain out.....well, duh! Knowing how to keep the rain out is the thing. Using a "cows knee" or some method of keeping your lock covered when carrying a flintlock in the rain is imperative. Being able to keep the rain off your gun while loading is important with any muzzleloader but a flintlock seems to require a bit more care. Also one must realize that the powder in the pan will absorb moisture over time and require replacement from time to time. The time between replacements will depend upon how well your frizzen fits over your pan. You can help this by putting a tiny bit of grease around the edges of your pan with the frizzen down. This will seal out much of the moisture but will not completely prevent it from getting in and ruining your pan charge. Flinters are persnickety at any time but when the rain starts, the finter will present more problems than will a caplock. Argue that one if you will but the facts are the facts. Once you accept this and know how to deal with these problems, a flinter will work just fine rain or shine.

I have hunted in the rain with my flintlock. I simply carry the rifle with my hand over the lock. The biggest deer I ever missed was in the rain. Rifle went off just fine. Ball hit tree just behind him an inch over his back. I was focusing more on that big rack than my shooting.

Imagining this taking place comes across as pretty funny. :grin:

Rifleman1776 said:

I have hunted in the rain with my flintlock. I simply carry the rifle with my hand over the lock. The biggest deer I ever missed was in the rain. Rifle went off just fine. Ball hit tree just behind him an inch over his back. I was focusing more on that big rack than my shooting.

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Don't feel too bad; been there, done that.

Are you sure it didn't hand fire a bit and cause the miss? MD

Another practice of some flintlock shooters is, if they usually prime with 4F, to switch to 3F as it absorbs moisture from the air less readily. Still have to dump and replace from time to time.

I use a "cows-knee" in the rain.

However, one of the issues that seems to be missed is what I would call "wicking". This is when rain/moisture gets in the barrel channel, wicks its way to the breech area and wets the prime by sneaking up between the barrel and the lock into the pan.

I solved this problem by filling the barrel channel with wax (from a toilet bowl gasket), pressing the barrel into the sticky material, pinning and removing the excess that squeezed out. I also worked some wax into the lock inlet to block any moisture coming in that way (Not on the internals, but where the mainspring breaks into the barrel channel). Others have used grease in the past, but this can cause the wood to "rot".

Not strictly flintlock, but when the matchlock was the default troops would wear hats with huge brims to protect the match whilst on the shoulder or presenting to give fire. You can see the same on illustrations of hunters.

It has been argued that this gave rise to the period fashion for large brimmed hats. Once the Civil War was over, the theory goes,people found the brim too large for normal use so pinned the edges to the crown. Thus the tricorne hat.

They were heavy rigid felt (after all, they also had to cope with cavalry swords too) with really huge brims. A steel or basket work skullcap underneath helped with reduce sword damage too. The steel ones doubled up as small cooking pans.

"flintlocks in the rain" Wasn't that a Neil Sedaka song? :idunno:
Robby

yulzari said:

It has been argued that this gave rise to the period fashion for large brimmed hats. Once the Civil War was over, the theory goes,people found the brim too large for normal use so pinned the edges to the crown. Thus the tricorne hat.

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There is a problem with that hypothesis:
Tricorns had gone out of style nearly 50 years before the US Civil War (1861-1865). Or do you mean Revolutionary War?

Also military flintlocks, for the most part.

Good on you Matt. The best way to use flintlocks in the rain, is to get out and do it. Trail walks and range sessions in the rain will teach a guy what he needs to know, then it won't be an issue in hunts.

Most guys stay home when it rains, whether they'd planned to hunt or go to the range. Big mistake.

Black Hand said:

yulzari said:

It has been argued that this gave rise to the period fashion for large brimmed hats. Once the Civil War was over, the theory goes,people found the brim too large for normal use so pinned the edges to the crown. Thus the tricorne hat.

Click to expand...

There is a problem with that hypothesis:
Tricorns had gone out of style nearly 50 years before the US Civil War (1861-1865). Or do you mean Revolutionary War?

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It depends on which civil war you are talking about. England had one centuries before the United States did.
To avoid confusion, we should bow to the wisdom of the folks in the former Confederacy and refer to the one in North America as "The War for Southern Independence".

The poster is from France, hence the question.
Many "Civil Wars" occurred over the time in question.