Caplock important to an avid hunter

[Britsmoothy]

To be honest, I actually think a flintlock is more reliable!
That itsy bitsy tiny cap trying to force a tiny flame through teeny weeny hole on a hope and a prayer no damp or oil is present!

With flint you can see how good the sparks are before loading. Plug the vent, load, unplug and prime, you know it's gonna go.

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

You said you travel a few hours to your hunt location. Forgot your percussion caps? Your "screwed". Get a load stuck? Unless you have a nipple wrench with you its going to be a chore to get that ball out. With the flintlock, you visually see the flint in the cock - go hunt. If it is dull or chips you can either nap it or just turn it around. Stuck load? Drizzle powder in the touch-hole or create a powder fuse to the pan just to get it to go off so it is cleared. Percussion cap "snapped" but didn't light the charge? Dig one out of wherever, with your gloves on, and set it on the nipple. Re-cock and try again. Flintlock? Don't even take the gun off your shoulder. Just cock and try again. You might need to put powder in the pan again but you can do that with your gloves on and rifle shouldered (or port arms). Just seems like the flintlock is a safer bet for your situation.

Well, coming from a long-time caplock shooter, I can tell you, it's not anywhere near as daunting as you would have us believe. Ever heard of a capper? If you have practiced with your weapon and are familiar with it, you will know what you need and what to do if a situation arises. It's really not that difficult. Oh, by the way. Gloves do come off pretty easily as well.

 

[BrownBear]

I hunt with both in our very wet climate (90+ inches of rain a year). The biggest difference I see is in a guy's willingness to put in range time when the weather is bad. There are good work-arounds for rainy day flintlocking, but you won't learn what's needed for your particular gun if you stay home on rainy range days, then wander out into the field. In my experience with my own guns and watching other guys, flintlock reliability is 100% a measure of a guy's willingness to get off his hiney on wet days.

 

[Sparkitoff]

N. Y. I agree with your statement. I've more experience with a caplock too. There is a lot more movement and potentially noise to re-cap than to re-cock. I was thinking of a capper when I wrote that. You still have to get it out of where it is tucked away. I hope it was full too, all the one's I've used loose a few caps during an active hunt if moving. I must get a better design. But, you have to have the caps with you in the first place. I was impressed with a flintlocker before I had one. He forgot his box of "stuff" at home. He took a patch and a ball from his patchbox and used chapstick to lube. You can certainly do this with a caplock and I would recommend keeping two patches and balls plus several percussion caps in a hunting rifle.

 

[Carbon 6]

I'd challenge or recommend any caplock shooter to hunt for an entire season with just a flintlock. I'm talking at least 5 months of hunting not just the opening weekend of deer season.
I did it.
I probably averaged 3 or 4 days a week hunting for 3 of those months , hunting for whatever was in season.
Best year I ever had.

 

[Logcutter]

I have not hunted with a cap lock for almost 30 years now. NH,ME, and PA flintlock only. In fact I don't have a caplock rifle and do not want nor need one to hunt with.

nhmoose, ahh, take me with you. I sure would love to hunt NH again. Lived there for 6 years, still miss it.
No, I don't think a cap lock is necessary. I hunted here in PA in a steady snow all day yesterday with a flintlock and no trouble. Now I admit I never actually had to FIRE it or any thing.

 

[Shifty]

Build want you want to not what some one tells you ,i have both but like a Cap-lock Hawken or Plains Rifle best,just me. I have 45,50,54 and 58 cals but have killed more with the 54 cal Leman copy.Its all fun learning just get someone that is really into flint to direct you in setting up your flinter.

 

[Patocazador]

To be honest, I am a hunter first and a muzzleloading hunter second. The trappings of "bygone days" do not appeal to me. What matters to me is game on the ground. The caplock has been much more reliable for me than my flintlock therefore, I'm in the caplock crowd.

The only nice buck I had a good chance to kill with my flinter was a 7-point that ran away unharmed as my rocklock experienced a hang fire.

 

[Lobo]

To be honest, I actually think a flintlock is more reliable!
That itsy bitsy tiny cap trying to force a tiny flame through teeny weeny hole on a hope and a prayer no damp or oil is present!

With flint you can see how good the sparks are before loading. Plug the vent, load, unplug and prime, you know it's gonna go.

I second that

 

[Lobo]

I had a 54 cap lock that collected dust for years, I recently sold it. All of my muzzloaders are flintlocks because I've found from experience if you do your part they're more reliable.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I had a 54 cap lock that collected dust for years, I recently sold it. All of my muzzloaders are flintlocks because I've found from experience if you do your part they're more reliable.

View attachment 1719

I just turned green!

B.

 

[Rat]

To be honest, I actually think a flintlock is more reliable!
That itsy bitsy tiny cap trying to force a tiny flame through teeny weeny hole on a hope and a prayer no damp or oil is present!

With flint you can see how good the sparks are before loading. Plug the vent, load, unplug and prime, you know it's gonna go.

I would agree, especially once one has learned the flintlock well. With flint, you can get a visual on everything, and test your spark. Kind of hard to test a cap...or you can only test it once, then you have to test another...you know what I mean. However, there's a fine art to cleaning a cap-lock to make it reliable, but most people will not perform the amount of detail cleaning, to be done, to accomplish that. My cap guns all take musket caps, and that makes a big difference too.

 

[Dave Orchard]

Percussion needs good caps and a scrupulously clean flash-channel.
Snap several caps before loading for meat.
Pop your last cap with the muzzle towars a blade of dry grass to be sure things are clear, then load powder charge & bump stock with heel of your hand w/drum turned to 6:00 to settle powder into your flash channel/nearer to cap's flash.

In conditions of med. to high humidity, reload immediately upon firing and re-cap or close frizzened if you aren't allowed to re-prime. If rules of trail walk say you can't re-cap, leave your hammer down, possibly on a leather scrap.
Leave your frizzened open in high humidity and your flash pan will contain what looks like a puddle of ink after a few minutes )-:

Either ignition system will "work" if you are willing to commit to your gun & truly "learn" it.

Flint requires a little more from you, & you WILL learn the importance of follow-thru

As to reliability, time & again on trail walks I saw more failures-to-fire with caplocks....Not because one system is "more reliable", but because the flint shooters had been at it longer, and most had paid their dues already....
Dave

 

[Rat]

I agree with scrupulously clean flash channel, and I first clean my flash-channel normally, then dry patches, then alcohol, then more dry patch/cloth, pipe cleaners, let it dry for a long time, and then load. I agree to disagree on snapping caps, I believe that is one of the leading causes of percussion misfires. That just coats the works with fouling that is more likely to attract moisture, than a clean and dry flash channel. If there is any oil left in the channel, then you have a oil/fouling goo mix. If the flash channel is clean and dry enough to begin with, snapping a cap servers no purpose, except to foul it.

A hang fire should never result in a miss. A miss from a hang fire indicates a bad flinch, poor aim to begin with, or lack of follow-through.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I found the best way to pop a cap if one wishes to is to put a Jag and patch down first and let the patch catch the foul and create some back pressure to clear the hole. Without back pressure I have found cap debris occasionally can block a nipple.

 

[Rat]

Exactly. Cap debris occasionally can block a nipple. I would add though, with or without back pressure.

 

[hanshi]

I have both and like both and have hunted with caplocks quite a bit. But it's been many years since I hunted with percussion. I found percussion very reliable and flintlocks just as reliable. I don't know, or care, which is statistically more reliable. I just know I have full confidence in my flintlock.

I think shooters/hunters who have problems with flint are trying to work with a cheap flint lock. That can be very frustrating. A good flint lock seldom gives problems.

 

[Rat]

Oh yeah, not against cap guns. Some days when it's going to be especially wet, and I'm feeling especially lazy, I'll take one of my .58's. Sometimes I'll hunt with my 1861 Springfield, just to give it some "quality" time in the woods, and because its' such a bitchen rifle that I love to sit under a tree, watch a trail, and just admire the damn thing. Also makes my flinters feel feather light after a day of packing that beast around for a day.

 

[azmntman]

When I have mis-fires on my cap locks usually I see the hole blocked by a large flake of "crud". Don't happen often enough for me to stop popping a single cap before loading though. It seems to happen while target shooting after 8-10 shots. Just MHO.

Agree on a good quality lock. I only have a cheap traditions so far. It works well if I pay close attention. I can fire 5+ shots with no issues then I start looking a knapping and such. I was considering getting an L&R drop in but have elected to just get a better rifle (Kibbler most likely?). The traditions will hit a clay pigeon every time at 100 yds though (at least last time out with the boy, I shot against his .22 which I got him from a relatives estate sale and is open sited and was the gun my pop learned to shoot with). We finally gave up as neither had missed in so many shots LOL

 

[okawbow]

I’ve hunted deer in Illinois for 45 years with a traditional muzzleloader. I’ve killed lots of the critters. Most have been killed with a flintlock. Never had a failure to fire with a flintlock while hunting or at the end of the hunt. Have had caplocks fail to go off twice while trying to shoot a deer, and 3 times at the end of the hunt when trying to unload. Probably my fault for not cleaning well enough before loading.