Flintlock pick?

I am really new to flintlock shooting. I'm trying to learn more about it. When do you use a pick? Do you make a hole in the powder column for the flash to go?
Thanks,
David

A pick is a tool that you probably need to have but one you won't need very often. If your touch hole liner is the proper size and coned, the gun will fire virtually every time. Once in a great while there can be some obstruction that may require the pick.
I carry one in my shooters bag but almost never use it.
Use a goodly amount of 4f GOEX in your pan and against the touch hole. It will shoot!

I use a pick primarily on two occasions. One is at the range if I think the ignition time is slowing down I will use a pick to clear the channel of any potential obstruction. More frequently, I use in between pan refills while out hunting. Humidity tends to leave some caked powder and I clean the channel (and the pan) in case of any residue. No need to make a channel in the powder. Load the primer up to just above the touchhole and you should be good to go, with minor adjustments as needed for your gun.

If you swab after a shot you will probably need to pick the touch hole in case some crud got pushed in front of the opening.

If you have been shooting for a while and have put 5 or 10 shots downrange you probably need to run the pick in the touch hole.

If you have a bet on a shot, or this shot counts for score, or if you are out hunting, pick the touch hole.

Many Klatch

A properly coned and drilled hole will usually self clean. That said, I pick before every shot when hunting and after swabbing like Many Klatch says.

I'm pretty new to flintlocks as well David but a friend last year showed me some picks he had bought that were nothing more than soft wire with a needle point ground on to one end with a few Indian beads strung on the other end for a handle.
What he does is put the pick into the flash hole while he loads the gun and then removes it just before he primes the pan. This always insures a clear flash hole. MD

One of my short starters has a homemade pick set into it. The ss is made of antler.

Normally if I get a flash in the pan without the main charge firing I will run the vent pick thru the touch hole to poke a hole into the powder charge.
In 99 percent of the cases this allows the next prime flash to fire the gun.

In these cases the vent pick is pushing aside any fouling that may have gotten into the hole and at the same time it creates a hole into the powder charge.
This hole will expose many more granules of powder to the heat of the pan flash than the few that are just at the mouth of the hole.

To visualize this imagine a bucket of damp sand with a board laying on it. The board has a 1/2 inch hole in it.
Shining a flashlight thru the hole will only light up the ones visible thru the hole.

Now, if a tapered rod is stuck down thru the hole and withdrawn and the light is again pointed thru the hole, many more grains of sand on the walls of the tapered cavity created by the rod will be illuminated.

The more grains of powder exposed to the pan flash, the greater the chances of the charge igniting.

Getting back to the flintlock, IMO, picking the vent hole after ramming the ball/bullet will increase the chances of the powder firing when the pan flashes.
This can be important for hunters to remember.

If the flintlock has the vent directly in the side of the barrel and there is no powder chamber or torturous path from the barrel to the vent hole, using M.D.'s method of sticking the vent pick into the hole before loading works well.

If the gun is like many of the factory made guns which have a small (1/8" or so) connecting hole between the bore and the vent hole, powder needs to be blown back thru this hole until it comes to rest just inside the vent.
If the vent hole is left unobstructed, loading the ball/bullet will force the air in the barrel out thru the vent, blowing the loose powder in the main charge down thru this hole to the vent hole.

If the vent hole is plugged with a vent pick, the air under the ball/bullet will be greatly restricted so the amount of powder blown down thru the connecting hole will be greatly decreased. This can lead to mis-fires.

If the flintlock has the vent directly in the side of the barrel and there is no powder chamber or torturous path from the barrel to the vent hole, using M.D.'s method of sticking the vent pick into the hole before loading works well.

Click to expand...

It may work “well” but so does doing nothing. I have done this trial a few times and can see no reason to continue to do so. It may be a problem flintlock requires this step but a normally constructed and maintained gun gains no improvement form it. At least none that I can detect. This is probably another one of those die-hard myths people just can't let go of. :grin:
But you are absolutely correct in suggesting a vent pick in a chambered breech gun is a big no-no. :td: Never do that, period.

That makes sense about not leaving a pick in the hole with powder chamber guns.
I never could figure out a good reason for them except with patten breeches.I've even seen them in custom underhammer guns, which makes no sensed to me, and they did not work well.
I guess the thinking is that more accuracy can be had when lighting the powder column at the rear other than the side but I haven't been able to detect any advantage and have observe actual disadvantage in one case. MD

You have to be careful of reading too much when reading too much. Folks that don't like patent breeches tend to make their reporting negative to the extreme. And so the folks that use them very successfully, but in a more positive light, so you can assume the truth is somewhere in the middle.
People that have problems with one, probably have poor or inadequate cleaning practices. Who knows?
But the bottom line is they work and they work very well, if proper maintenance is observed.

A flash hole pick is a handy thing to have. It serves two purposes, first it is used to clean out a touch hole when it gets fouled. Secondly, it serves to keep the hole from becoming plugged by your powder charge by placing it into the touch hole while you are loading your rifle. When you pull it out to prime your pan, there will be no powder from your charge that has worked its way into the touch hole and plugged it. This is just insurance against a "flash in the pan" where your pan charge goes off but fails to ignite your main charge. If you don't have a touch hole pick, put that on your shopping list.

stronics said:

I am really new to flintlock shooting. I'm trying to learn more about it. When do you use a pick? Do you make a hole in the powder column for the flash to go?
Thanks,
David

Click to expand...

First, in a loaded barrel the flash does not enter the vent to any extent, its RADIANT HEAT that the main charge "sees" though the vent that lights the charge.

If I need one I use a grass stem. I quit carrying one years ago. If the vent is properly made the pick is rarely needed. This is why.


Same vent in use
If you can SEE the powder granules there is no reason to pick.
Unfortunately there are a lot less than ideal vents out there.

But there are times... A flake of fouling blocks the vent etc. I recommend a brass pick not steel and no sharp edges, it need not be a reamer. The alternative is a smooth piano wire pick about .040 in diameter set in a wood or antler handle.
If you are worried about picking after loading simply put the pick in the vent before pouring in the powder. Then remove it after loading, if it does not blow out.
Picking for the sake of picking is a waste of effort, especially after loading.

Dan

A pick is a back up tool. I rarely use mine. There is one in the bottom of my shooting bag I carry when hunting. Can't remember last time I had to dig for it. I have others in my range box. Last time I used them was when I had just gotten a new fowler and had to learn what it liked for loadings. Picks can be made from anything. Plain or fancy.

Because I have way too much time on my hands, I tend to monkey around with doing unnecessary stuff, and my vent pick is one of these items.
I hammer flat sides on the end of my vent picks to the point where the pick tightly slides into the vent. I spin the vent pick back and forth, and this, in theory scrapes the inside surface of the vent. I've convinced myself over the years that by doing this I am offering a thoroughly cleaned and shiny vent to the flash of pan powder.

I attach the vent picks to a short length (6"-8")of rawhide shoelace, and then attach the rawhide to the front of my trigger guards.

Again, beware of idle hands! :thumbsup:

My current pick is simply a piece of soft black wire snipped off with side cutters and the handle is a flat coil on the end wound up with a set of needle nose pliers.I couldn't see the need for a point either as it is more of a punch and cleans the hole better than a the point I was shown by a friend.MD

I think you may have misunderstood me. I have two patten breech guns that shoot well and they of necessity must have a reduced powder chamber but designs that do not require a bore diameter reduction,powder chamber ,I think make no sense to purposely employ the feature. I see no added benefit for accuracy and a definite deficiency in ignition reliability and for clean purposes, which are related. MD

As of 12/17/2012, it is still a free country so you are free to do as you wish. Even modern day shooters do all sorts of stuff that aren't necessary. I have one very good competition shooter that will only ware a certain ball cap while he shoots. Does it help him? I would suspect it does,.........................somehow!

M.D. said:

I think you may have misunderstood me. I have two patten breech guns that shoot well and they of necessity must have a reduced powder chamber but designs that do not require a bore diameter reduction,powder chamber ,I think make no sense to purposely employ the feature. I see no added benefit for accuracy and a definite deficiency in ignition reliability and for clean purposes, which are related. MD

Click to expand...

The breeches are designed to accommodate various calibers. We must remember that the factory mades are one size fits all in many ways and are not properly assembled except by accident.
I have a 50 that has thin barrel walls so it has 5/8 threads and this requires a 3/8 chamber in the breeches. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/DPhariss/More ML guns/IMGP1079.jpg
The rifle works fine though its slightly more trouble to clean.

Making the chamber bore size is also a mistake in some cases and may trap a patch and jag in the breech.
Dan

Wow, didn't expect to see so many that are "picky".

I use my rarely.

No need to.

I have some and occasionally will use if I am shooting a ton (30 - 40 shots at my range) and things start getting cruddy. But that is it.