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Flintlock misadventures... So many!

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DaveC

32 Cal.
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
402
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Location
San Antonio, Texas
Ugh. So I've shot my flintlock .32 and did pretty well with it.

Then I decided to replace the flint, and everything went to heck... Maybe my misadventures, or "worst.day.muzzleloading. evar." might inform and educate?

1. The flint was not close enough to the frizzen. Result? It smashed against the lip of the pan and shattered. Good thing I brought extras!
2. The next flint was too close: it smashed into the pan itself. Shattered. Uh... Did I bring an extra?
3. Oh good, so here's my next flint. Now it hits the steel too low... So I turn it upside down. Now I get flashes in the pan. But at least it is igniting the contents of the pan!
4. So after repeated failures to touch off the main charge, I now have to replace the third flint... Oh dear... Looks like I didn't bring any others.
5. No matter, I'll just unload the thing and clean the bore and take it home, having not gotten off a single shot...
6. The CO2 discharger? Do you have an attachment for the vent? No? Oops. I know, I'll try to unscrew the vent from its liner... Can't. Won't budge. Might just strip it if I keep trying...
7. Ball puller? Uh, I'm sure I brought it... Nope. Well, no problem, because I've got one at home.
8. Put unfired flintlock into car with other gear. Drive home.
9. No, I've misplaced the bullet puller... No matter, I'll just disassemble one I've got for, say, a .50 cal. caplock and use it without the disc that centers it in the bore... No. No I won't. It won't fit.
10. I'll use the patch worm, and see if I can snag the patch and pull it out together with the ball... No. Doesn't work.

So now I need new flints, and I have to figure out how to unload a flintlock... :oops::(:doh:
 
I left another one off... after cutting a bunch of patching material by hand, lubricating it with mutton tallow, scraping off the excess mutton tallow, and bringing it to shoot .310" balls, I get to discover that it is too tight a combination for my rifle... Uh, yeah. Time to get thinner patches...
 
This is exactly why I have never gotten any deeper than percussion firearms. I am usually very patient but not THAT patient.
 
When you install a flint you should put it in the jaws just barely tight enough to hold it in place and lower the hammer BY HAND to see how it's going to hit the frizzen and also that it is NOT going to hit the barrel or the pan. If all looks as it should, finish tightening it down. If not, make the adjustment and lower it BY HAND again to do all the checks. Never just slap a flint it, cock it back, and pull the trigger...as you now know. Sorry for the trouble you experienced, but I guess it's all part of the learning process. Better luck next time!
 
Dave, why didn't you simply ignite the pan charge with amother source of fire such as a burning twig? If you have a flint striking the pan you either have a flint that is far too long or a lock that is not of proper geometry.
 
Wow, what a day! What kind of lock does your gun have, and how do you adjust the flint? I have had many different and I always set the flint square to the frizzen and a little gap between the two at halfcock. Never had one that would reach the pan.
 
If you can, post some pictures of your lock with a flint at half cock and all the way down. Something may be wrong with the flint installation (size or lock geometry).

At half cock measure from the jaw screw to the face of the frizzen. Subtract the thickness of the leather pad holding the flint and the 1/8" to account for the gap between the edge of the flint and the face of the frizzen. That should be the length of the flint. The width of the frizzen should be the width of the flint. Are those the measurements of your flints?

Tell us more about your 32 caliber rifle. New or pre-owned? Who made the lock?
 
5/8 flints. They seem too short somehow, but they are the correct width. I put the flint in a piece of leather. When the jaws of the cock are tight, sometimes the leather gets squeezed out to the side, so I have to "start over." To lengthen the flint's reach to the face of the steel/battery/frizzen I tried putting a tiny roll of leather between the rear of the flint and the jaw screw... Nah, that didn't work too good.

Oh, I did initially try to lower the cock pending final tightening... The idea was the flint would be bisecting the pan, and not able to strike anything but the hammer, and it would be nicely over the vent. Just slipped through my butter fingers, that's all...:oops::rolleyes:

In retrospect, I should probably have made some measurements of the first flint I had, which worked so well. In fact, I might could have taken some of these here "selfies" of the flint in the "correct" position that I had it in when everything was working great! oops...
Oh well... "try, try (ad infinitum...) again!" :confused::doh:
 
The rifle itself is a new old stock, in the weathered box Dixie Gun Works/Miroku Japan Tennessee Mtn. rifle. L&H does indeed make a replacement lock, since DGN in Union City, TN no longer makes the lock, and there is a diminishing supply of spare parts from the 1980s...

The flints are wide enough, I'm just wondering about the other dimensions... Thanks for the recommendations about the jaw screw to the face of the steel/hammer. I'll take a gander at that. Not like swapping out the cone on a caplock, let us say?! Eesh.

I'd had to do all sorts of tinkery with my Charleville .69 musket and getting correct size flints and getting that to work and stop breaking flints like crazy... Guess that process made me über-overconfident with this here skwerl raffle... Just goes to show, I guess...
 
Ugh. So I've shot my flintlock .32 and did pretty well with it.

Then I decided to replace the flint, and everything went to heck... Maybe my misadventures, or "worst.day.muzzleloading. evar." might inform and educate?

1. The flint was not close enough to the frizzen. Result? It smashed against the lip of the pan and shattered. Good thing I brought extras!
2. The next flint was too close: it smashed into the pan itself. Shattered. Uh... Did I bring an extra?
3. Oh good, so here's my next flint. Now it hits the steel too low... So I turn it upside down. Now I get flashes in the pan. But at least it is igniting the contents of the pan!
4. So after repeated failures to touch off the main charge, I now have to replace the third flint... Oh dear... Looks like I didn't bring any others.
5. No matter, I'll just unload the thing and clean the bore and take it home, having not gotten off a single shot...
6. The CO2 discharger? Do you have an attachment for the vent? No? Oops. I know, I'll try to unscrew the vent from its liner... Can't. Won't budge. Might just strip it if I keep trying...
7. Ball puller? Uh, I'm sure I brought it... Nope. Well, no problem, because I've got one at home.
8. Put unfired flintlock into car with other gear. Drive home.
9. No, I've misplaced the bullet puller... No matter, I'll just disassemble one I've got for, say, a .50 cal. caplock and use it without the disc that centers it in the bore... No. No I won't. It won't fit.
10. I'll use the patch worm, and see if I can snag the patch and pull it out together with the ball... No. Doesn't work.

There are some days just like that....remember...,

"Alle Kunst ist umsonst Wenn ein Engel in das Zündloch Prunst"
All skill is for nothing when an angel pisses in your touch hole.....18th century Germanic Proverb
GERMANIC CHARACTER.jpg
LD
 
Ugh. So I've shot my flintlock .32 and did pretty well with it.

Then I decided to replace the flint, and everything went to heck... Maybe my misadventures, or "worst.day.muzzleloading. evar." might inform and educate?



So now I need new flints, and I have to figure out how to unload a flintlock... :oops::(:doh:
We all learn from our mistakes or others. (Hopefully) I never go out without at least a dozen flints. Like others have mentioned, do a hand on hammer cycle to make sure the flint is where it needs to be before you prime to fire. Make a list of essential items that make each one of your guns tick properly. Before you leave home, just check the list and you will not be without what you need, unless you have a major breakdown of parts. I have a list for everyday.... Get up, pee, eat, nap, etc.:D
Flintlocklar
 
If 5/8 is the right width then you need to measure the distance from the Jaw screw to the closed frizzen face to determine length (minus a tad) Then go to Track of the Wolf's website, they have the biggest selection to choose from.
 
Yes, make sure you have the correct size of flint and install per the advice given above. You can also cut a tiny hole in the middle of the leather if the flint needs to be set back more. Make sure to drill out the touch hole to at least 1/16" for reliable ignition.
 
A flash in the pan but no main charge discharge is because the pan fire didn't reach the main charge. Possible reasons;
Dry ball. Remedy; Fish a bunch of powder through the touch hole with a vent pick and try again.
Ball not fully seated. Remedy; Thump it down some more. Vent pick again.
Wet powder from swabbing and fouling in the TH. Remedy; same as above and keep doing it

Of course, you can always just pull the ball and start over, but you HAVE to make sure the chamber area is dry. An alcohol moistened swab followed by a couple of dry patches should do the trick. Alcohol dries pretty quickly. Much faster than water.
 

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