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I've received a lot of helpful advice here so I have come back for more. In preparation for an upcoming antelope hunt where I want to use this flintlock, I spent quite a bit of time at the range today. I learned several things. My first shot on a clean barrel stays within the group of subsequent shots. I can shoot 4 shots without any difference in loading resistance. The 5th shot gets tough to push down. I shot standing, kneeling and prone and accuracy is excellent with 100-yard 5-shot groups of 5" or less in these positions. The load is 80gr Goex FFFg, .530 ball, .018 pillow tick cut at muzzle with 7:1 ballistol/water, FFFg pan prime. But in spite of these successes there were some failures.
I tried different vent picks and pipe cleaners. I tried a shot on a clean barrel and I tried a "fouling shot" without a ball. I tried wiping the frizzen, pan and flint with an alcohol pad and with just a dry patch. It got to where I could tell when the rifle was going to go off instantly or if there was going to be a delay or flash in the pan.
The only routine that worked consistently was: First shoot a fouling load (for first shot) and then wipe pan, frizzen and flint with a dry patch. Load with pipe cleaner in touch-hole. Push ball until it stopped and then tap the rod twice with palm of hand using medium force. Slowly withdraw the pipe cleaner and if a kernel or two of powder came with it that was a good sign. Nearly fill pan with FFFFg using 3-presses of the tip of pan flask. If I repeated this exactly minus the original fouling shot I would get instant ignition for a string of 6-shots. BTW after each 6-shot volley I cleaned the whole rifle like I always do and let it sit for nearly half-hour.
If I did anything different I got at least one flash in pan out of the 6-shot string. One tap on rod when loading; alcohol wipe on pan, frizzen and flint; no pipe-cleaner inserted when loading; using a vent pick; half-pan of powder....and so on.
I may have figured out the particular quirks of this rifle and have to stick to this routine. I am going to the range again tomorrow and I am going to only do this routine and maybe shoot more 6-shot volleys with just this routine. If it continues to produce reliable instant ignition I guess I'll stick to it.
Wish list: no fouling shot, less powder in pan, not rely on pipe cleaner.
Does anyone want to throw out there something different I might try? Do other people have a quirky routine to satisfy the rifle? Thanks!
 
Open the touch hole to 1/16”.
I wipe the frizzen with a thumb swipe after i shoot and go back to loading. Simple lick the thumb wipe, dry when back to the bench after loading. Alignment of the touchhole centered in pan? Touchhole liner can be changed out using an rmc vent liner for gpr's and cva if you have either of those. $6? I use about 1 grain of 4f in the pan. Check to make sure the breech plug is not to deep and block part of the touchhole. Got one of those factory made.
 
I have never heard of using a fouling shot prior to loading with a ML. What might the value of this be? Four shots with Goex before stiff loading sounds kinda normal to me. Swiss shoots a bit cleaner. What caliber is this gun?
 
If you are hunting antelope, you won't get 6 shots off anyway. Concentrate on knowing where the first shot from a clean barrel. You may get off a second shot and you know that it will be sort of close to the first shot. Concentrate on the first shot and knowing the difference in point of impact for the second shot.
 
54 caliber. L&R Lock, GM barrel 1:70. I am only concerned with making a good shot and I will likely get only one. However, it would be nice if I knew 100% that the one shot would go off when I pulled the trigger. The touch hole is 1/16..... Thanks for the input
 
Does anyone want to throw out there something different I might try? Do other people have a quirky routine to satisfy the rifle? Thanks!
Two thoughts: 1 Prime, 2 Swabbing
I have one flintlock that likes the prime away from the TH. Another likes it banked against the TH. Make sure you know what your gun likes as far as powder placement and amount in the pan. Remember that swabbing pushes the fowling in as well as taking it out. A pipe cleaner or a RR scraper helps.
I am not a hunter, but shoot at matches. For me I never worry about a fowling shot. The first shot out of the gun is for score. That TH is pristine on that first shot.
Flintlocklar:D
Think of it this way. You are such a good shot, ya won't need another unless you are going for two critters at the same time.:p
 
FFg or FFFg? Is your breech plug flat faced or does it have an anti chamber like a patent breech?
 
Main charge can be occasionally catching on the edge of the patent breech keeping the charge too far from the touch hole.

Quick bandaid approach: after pouring powder down the barrel and before seating the ball, lightly bounce the butt on boot or ground or?

Long term fix : make a witness mark, pull the breech, cone the transition, open the anti chamber and flash channel and polish all. Reinstall the breech with anti seize on the threads.

My .54 flinter w a GM barrel has a Track o the Wolf supplied TC type breech plug. Been very reliable w FFG.
 
I am not a fan of patent breeches on a flinter. Tom has a helpful suggestion.

One thought I have is it sounds like you are getting good ignition with you current procedure for 6 shots. With that being the case, it is extremely unlikely you will get more than one or two shots on an antelope hunt, so don’t mess with things too much at this point.

If you were shooting long strings, then you would need a fix. Work on fixing it in the off season.
 
Thanks to all that posted! Today was a much better day at the range an improved my confidence in this rifle for my upcoming hunt. Using all the tips here I loaded and fired with instant ignition. I then shot a second shot with instant ignition. Cleaned the whole rifle fully like I would at home and waited half-hour. Repeated shooting two shots. Cleaned and repeated. Very quick bang every time. I know it was only a few shots, however it got to where I knew the rifles was going to fire - and quick. I figure I will get one shot on my hunt and maybe two so I imitated that scenario. Groups were as good as ever. I will repeat this exercise several more times prior to the hunt the first weekend in October. Thanks again.
 
I am much more of a hunter than a target shooter, so all my shooting is geared to that first shot, from a cold, clean barrel.

In my experience, with my flintlock guns, (Brown Bess, and Jeager made by BirddogSix) and my percussion guns also, the most reliable shot is from a completely, meticulously clean gun.

When I sight in, or check my sighting, I clean the barrel between each shot. Not just wipe, but clean. Before I load it for hunting, I clean it within an inch of it's life, dry patch it to death, then clean it with alcohol and dry patch it again, let it sit for a day and then load it.

Follow up shots are a real possibility, but in my wildest dreams I can't imagine firing more than three shots in a hunting situation. Two is possible for sure, when you knock something down, and it's still thrashing around and might get up again. If you can get three loads down the bore, that's going to do it.

As any follow up shot will most likely be at much closer range than the initial shot, sometimes I will patch shot #2 and #3, or maybe just #3, (in my loading block) with a thinner patch, for easier loading, if I'm using an especially tight fitting ball and patch. (making sure of course that they stay in the group, or don't expand the group by much)

I think a feather, or a pick made for the purpose, would work better than pipe cleaner. Pipe cleaner would be/is too flexible and skinny I think. Firing two shots from a clean rifle is a good strategy, and I think it's giving you a true picture of it's reliability. I think in terms of three shots, just to expect, and be ready for the unexpected. But that's just me, I like to worry about small things. The big things, like life, money, death and taxes, not so much. :)
 
Too much work. A ML does not show the same as modern and the first shot has always been where I want with the next 4 in the same spot. Well over 200 shots a day without wiping at all. If a load got harder I would just add some more lube to the next patch. Even in competition the first shot from clean was in the bullseye.
My funnest day was with my .54 when a huge buck in Ohio was climbing a vertical high wall in coal country. he was at least 200 to 250 yards. I hit low and loaded again, still shot low. I got off 5 shots without touching him.
 
For a minute there, I thought you was going to say you shot at that buck 200 times. ;) Whew. It is a lot of work. But, I'm certainly not going to hunt for a week or more with a fouled barrel, (don't like rusted and pitted bores) so I concentrate on that first shot from a cold clean barrel. And, not every rifle throws the first shot from a cold clean barrel out of the group. Some do some don't. Usually the first shot goes high. My first shot sometimes goes a little high, which is of no consequence on the side of a deer, elk, or bear. If subsequent shots do go and inch or two low at 100 yards, a follow up shot at 50 or 25 yards wouldn't even be low enough to measure.

Hunting and target shooting, two different things.
 
I think there is too much overthinking the shooting part of this hunt. Your shooting will be fine. I just returned from a flintlock antelope hunt in Wyoming. :) Not a waterhole blind sit, but spot and stalk in the short grass and sun. My biggest challenges were instantly judging distances and sun glare off the barrel. So I did a lot of practice estimating distances and checking with a range finder (cheating, I know, but I didn't want to misjudge distance and wound a magnificent animal). Oh, and have shooting sticks available. Just before the moment of my shot I discovered the sun really reflected off my homemade cedar shooting sticks. I discarded them, eased my backpack on top of a sagebrush, and it provided a stable shooting surface. Good luck!
 
..., I loaded and fired with instant ignition... a second shot with instant ignition. Cleaned the whole rifle ... Repeated shooting two shots. Cleaned and repeated. Very quick bang every time... I will get one shot on my hunt and maybe two .

I've seen lots and lots of guys doing everything they could to be able to reload their rifle, caplock or flinter, in a quick manner for a "second shot". YET of all those guys throughout my 40 years of black powder shooting, I have known of only two that had a chance at a second shot. One had a swivel breech rifle and one had a Pedersoli Kodiak (double rifle). Of Those Two...only one took a second shot and made it...the Kodiak and both hammers were cocked when he took the first shot, PLUS it was likely unneeded. The act of even swiveling the barrels on the other chap's rifle was too long a time period. ;)

There's a big difference between trying to hit a big game animal a second time with a quick follow-up shot....., and taking your time to ensure that second load is properly loaded. Then creeping up on the game just on the very rare off-chance that in the 10 minutes (or more) that you waited to approach your quarry, it wasn't expired. Shooting a shot, reloading prior to the approach, and then if needed, using that shot, then swabbing well and reloading if you have more game to harvest is a pretty standard method.

If you hit the animal and it goes down, it will likely stay down while you properly reload and wait. If not, it's going to move a distance and lie down...and you have plenty of time and should give it time. If you missed it completely, even if you have a double-rifle double cocked and need only to reacquire the animal in the sights, it's going to be moving at max speed, and the second shot will be mostly luck if you hit the animal anywhere.

So ensure that you hit 'em in the right spot, reload "just in case" and after at least 10 minutes, creep up on your game. It's likely passed and will be waiting for you.

LD
 
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