.40cal Flintlock Squirrel Rifle

[roundball]

I don't know how it could be much more accurate...sitting in a chair picking off empty .12ga hulls at 30 and 40 yards...a squirrel rifle to die for.

TC Hawken Flintlock stock
GM .40cal 33" x 1:48" Flint barrel
30grns Goex 3F
.015" prelubed cotton patch
Eddie May/GA .395" cast lead balls

An outstanding combination of components in this Flintlock.

At 5:30am it was 59* cool, clear, calm, low humidity...the range session was one of those where it seemed if you just got the muzzle in the general direction of the target the balls would just find their way into the bullseye like they were laser guided...3 hen turkeys with their '07 broods wandering around the range a couple hundred yards out...just a terrific early morning to be up and about.

:thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

I don't have the eyes for that good a shooting any more, but I still admire the guns that can do it. Congratulations!

 

[roundball]

"...I don't have the eyes for that..."

I got to that point myself a year or so ago...found that a pair of those cheap drugstore full size 1.25 dioptor glasses get the sights and 50yd targets all in reasonably good focus...not perfect but much improved...and provide some eye protection at the same time.

If I go to stronger glasses so the sights are in razor sharp then the distant target is soft...the 1.25s seem to be a very good compromise for my particular eye situation right now.

This spring turkey hunting I wore a pair of 1.0 dioptor glasses...first time ever wearing glasses hunting and I assume I'll be wearing them or something for all hunting from now on.

This 33" .40cal 15/16" barrel is so heavy it just hangs dead still on the target, and the little 30grn 3F charge barely moves the rifle...that helps a lot too.

 

[torn moc]

sounds like you are ready for Bifocals :rotf:
its hard to admit but I need them too :shocked2:
we all get older sooner or later...all joking aside:
sound like you have a really sweet flinter! :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

Sounds like a really worthy thing to check. My reading glasses are stronger, but it makes sense that less would be better at sight distances rather than reading distances. I can say for sure my 2.5 readers are way out of whack for the job.

Thanks!

 

[11th corps]

I saw a pair of "glasses" in one of the gun mags. it had pin holes in the lenses, and was supposed to help your eye focus on small objects-like iron sights. It is necessary to wear safety glasses over them. anyone tried these yet?

 

[11th corps]

I don't know how it could be much more accurate...sitting in a chair picking off empty .12ga hulls at 30 and 40 yards...a squirrel rifle to die for.

TC Hawken Flintlock stock
GM .40cal 33" x 1:48" Flint barrel
30grns Goex 3F
.015" prelubed cotton patch
Eddie May/GA .395" cast lead balls

An outstanding combination of components in this Flintlock.

At 5:30am it was 59* cool, clear, calm, low humidity...the range session was one of those where it seemed if you just got the muzzle in the general direction of the target the balls would just find their way into the bullseye like they were laser guided...3 hen turkeys with their '07 broods wandering around the range a couple hundred yards out...just a terrific early morning to be up and about.

:thumbsup:

I am currently assembling a .40 rifle from T.O.W.
Its in the southern mountain style-or a cross between it and a "poor boy". Hope it shoots as well as yours.

 

[roundball]

I am currently assembling a .40 rifle from T.O.W.
Its in the southern mountain style-or a cross between it and a "poor boy". Hope it shoots as well as yours.

Well mine is definitely a shooter...not a traditionally designed one like you're putting together, but an excellent rifle none-the-less...Green Mountain does make a good RB barrel...hope to bag a squirrel or two with it this fall...good luck with your build

 

[Ironwood]

Roundball, I took your advice and got a .395" mould. It's finally let up on the rain. Maybe the range will be dry enough to do a little shooting tomorrow.

You guys are lucky. With my 70 year old eyes I have to have Tri-Focals. I can see the front sight sharp with the Tri-Focal part, but have to leave the target fuzzy.

 

[roundball]

"...I took your advice and got a .395" mould..."

You took my advice to get a mould??
I don't know anything about casting and would never recommend to anybody that they should buy any particular mould...I'd have to get advice to buy one for myself :grin:
Maybe you meant based upon posts I'd made about using a .395" ball in my .40cal that you decided to get a .395 mould.

Did you run some .395 balls through your rifle to be sure that's the size you needed / wanted? If you haven't, you might want to try that before using your mould...then you could send it back for exchange if you needed a different size, etc.

With my 70 year old eyes I have to have Tri-Focals. I can see the front sight sharp with the Tri-Focal part, but have to leave the target fuzzy.

While I don't believe they're any good for low light hunting conditions, a peep sight for range sessions might be a good option for tired eyes too.

 

[BrownBear]

"While I don't believe they're any good for low light hunting conditions, a peep sight for range sessions might be a good option for tired eyes too."

Actually, if you toss the rear aperture and install the larger front globe insert, it's a surprisingly good low-light hunting combo. Kind of like a "double peep" arrangement. You don't really see the sights, but the game shows up clear as a bell. I tried one of those newfangled fiberoptic front sights with my peep last year, and I'm going back to the large front globe. Couldn't see the fiberoptic in the low light anyway.

Altogether a pretty sweet setup for both target and range. I'm experimenting now with fitting the TC rear sight to a Lyman because it's a lot more compact than the Lyman version. It will require a shim, but doesn't look like it will be too tough to make at all.

 

[roundball]

"...Actually, if you toss the rear aperture..."

Agree...makes the rear into a 'ghost ring'...much better/faster in low light

 

[paulvallandigham]

The secret to the aperature sight is that your eye looks through the rear aperature. In doing so, it somehow focuses much better. In low light, remove( toss) the insert aperture, and use the larger hole that the aperture screws into.

Because you are looking through the peep, even with the larger hole, ( ghost ring) your eye will STILL center the front sight in the rear without any conscious effort on your part. All that is required for the peep to work FOR you is that it be within 5 inches of your eye, or glasses. A tang mounted peep, or a rear of the barrel mounted peel is easily within that distance.

As for using the globe front sight, many men with advanced age eyes find that the large globe front sight helps to focus their eyes on the post or rind sight that they choose to use. The larger the globe( tube surrounding the actual sight) the easier the sight is to use in low light.


This may not work for shotgun shooting, but it works fine for shooting rifles.

Oh, if your eyes are going so bad that its difficult to even see the front sight, think about using one of the new electronic sights like the Holoscope, or C-more, That use a laser beam to project a dot on a " window ". These are mounted at the rear of the barrel and all you have to do is place the dot on the target and squeeze the trigger. No matter where the dot is in the screen, if its lined up on the target, that is where the ball or conical is going to hit.


These electronic sights may not get you into a registered match, but for us... more experienced ... hunters, they can keep you in the field for many more years.

 

[BrownBear]

The electronics or any other types of "scope" are illegal in our primitive weapon seasons, as they are in many other states.

 

[paulvallandigham]

That may be the case, but you can still hunt with your favorite smokepole in the regular gun season. I am trying to keep old eyes hunting, not worried about special seasons. In Illinois, we only got a special ML season a few years ago. I was hunting my my ML rifle during the normal firearm season more than 25 years ago, with no regrets. Much of the eye problems that affect shooting ability has to do with cataracts. That surgery is now done on a out patient basis, and Medicare will pay for it for us old timers. I have a friend who had his cataracts removed almost 20 years ago, and it allowed him to go back to shooting when he couldn't see the clay targets shooting skeet any more. He's back to a 26 yard handicap for Trap, and is in his early 70s. He lost half a yard, and dropped back from 27 to 26 when he had a bad season. He decided he didn't need to shoot that much registered trap to qualify to get that extra yard back, as he has nothing to prove. ( He won the ILlinois Prairie States Games Trap Competition three years in a row, and still holds the record for the highest number of targets broken in competition in that event.)

I have never applied for the ML only season here in Illinois, because you have to choose to shoot that season or the regular 7 day season for firearms. The ML season is only 3 days, and is held late in the year, not in October as is done in other states.

 

[BrownBear]

Yup to all that, and I hunt in my choice of seasons. Back to consideration of non-electronic, non-magnifying sights.

 

[Ironwood]

Well I did get to run out to the range today. I did get to shoot two shots with the .395" ball. At 50 yards the two shots cut each other. After those two shots I had three guys wanting to shoot the rifle. I think I made at least one convert. I'll try to get back out to the range tomorrow.

Roundball you're probably right in what you said about the advice. Maybe it was someone else that suggested the .395" ball. Please forgive my error.

I have three rifles, 2 centerfire & 1 muzzleloader, outfitted with receiver sights. For sure they do help my ol' eyes. My first real "Deer Rifle" had a Williams 5D receiver sight on it. That was back when the sight actually cost $5 dollars.

 

[Ironwood]

Paul thanks for the info. I still have very good distance vision. 20/15 I think the doc called it. I can see at 20 feet that most people can only see at 15. My ol' eyes just don't want to focus close. You know that "my arms are getting to short" thing.

 

[roundball]

Well I did get to run out to the range today. I did get to shoot two shots with the .395" ball. At 50 yards the two shots cut each other.

Well, if those two are representative, your squirrels don't stand a chance :grin:

 

[xxgrampa]

roundball,

gonna try those cheap reading glasses.. must have dozens of then around here.

thanks and ..ttfn..grampa..