Recommend a beginner flinter?

I have had a Lyman Trade Rifle, 50 cal. 1/48 twist since 2001. Could never get good groups even after lapping the barrel because it kept cutting patches. I shoot round balls and I feel the 1 in 48 is to fast for roundball. I just got my barrel back from Bobby Hoyt and had it bored out to .540 cal., .011 groove and 1 in 60 twist. What a difference in accuracy! I went from 6 inch groups at 50 yards to 1 1/2 to 2 groups at 50. My main point here is to decide what style of ammo you are going to use. For roundball go with a 1 in 60 or slower, for conical go with a much faster twist, maybe 1 in 32 or faster. My Lyman has always gone off first shot as long as I did my part with sharp flints and dry powder. I tried to order a kit from Chambers but things just didn't work out for me. Maybe I'll try again some other time because I would like the challenge of putting together a quality kit that requires alot of work.

Howard Pippin said:

Hi there Brewer 12345.
Far from being a purist, I have one of those Lymans in a 50 caliber Flintlock. The whole rifle costs less then a Siler lock. The darn thing works pretty good. I have harvested two deer, one antelope, and plan to do another deer this year. The only thing different about it, I have to put the Flint in upside down. Also, I'm lucky to get over 20 shots from a Flint. Course I don't buy too higher-priced ones. I've been hardening my own frizzens, and that might be part of the trouble, I don't really care, I enjoy what I do. I've had it for about 15 years and it cost about $225, and it is left-hand. Is it period Oriented? The short answer is no, because it's a modified Hawkins design. Worked beautiful for taken apart and cleaning as the barrel comes off so readily. Is a one and 48 twist what does pretty darn good when I finally found the right lube for round balls. Do all the balls go in one hole? No, far from it but then I have a rather large peep installed where the rear site normally sets as it makes it much more effective for hunting, I can see through the peep and around the peep at the same time. So far mini type balls don't shoot real accurate, but plenty good enough for hunting as I'm a short range shooter. Regardless, whether it's period Oriented or brand-new manufacture or one that they found on the Gettysburg field, I still have to make Flint, steel, and powder all come together at the same time, So it's just like stepping back 200 years.
Squint

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Try $500+ new these days. I love mine.

I have owned factory built, in flint, CVA "long rifle", CVA Plains Rifle, , Traditions Long Rifle, TC Hawken, Cabela's blue Ridge Hunter (aka Pedersoli Frontier), Dixie Tennessee Rifle with upgraded lock, and Lyman Great Plains Rifle.

The CVA "long" rifle that I own is .45 caliber and has a two piece stock. It has a 35" barrel so I don't think it's a "long"rifle by any means, and it was fine as a caplock for hunting deer. I found an unused .50 caliber flint barrel and a lock and swapped out parts to have a .50 caliber flinter. The lock is small (it's the same size as they used on one of their pistols). As such it was sort of ornery when it came to reliability, and kinda slow on ignition.

The CVA Plains rifle was in .50 and was gifted to me in pieces. The lock is bigger so easier to work with, and I stumbled upon some extra parts like an extra frizzen. The lock and rifle are fine, but one is looking at a scarcity of parts and so I was darn lucky to find most of the parts for the lock.

The Traditions was a disappointment. A small lock that was rather (imho) poorly made. It arrived with a bent cock. Very pretty to look at, and supposedly "authentic" to the AWI. I thought the CVA Plains rifle actually better.

The TC Hawken in flint was rather good in .50 with 1:48 twist. A large lock and a deep pan, it functions well, even though my lock is the older version. I have also tried the same rifle but the owner had upgraded the lock to an L&R after-market replacement lock. An excellent upgrade, and a very good shootin' rifle. What's more they tend to be inexpensive used, and the lock upgrade doesn't add that much to the investment. TC also seems to be a good platform for after-market replacement parts now that the rifle has been discontinued.

Cabela's Blue Ridge Hunter (aka Pedersoli Frontier) in .50 or .54 are rather inexpensive right now, with the .50 having a 1:48 twist rate and the .54 being 1:65. The lock is large and robust, so quite good at performance and ignition. They do need finer sights than what come from the factory, so after market sights for a few dollars from Track of The Wolf are in order. They also have a patent-breech which need attention when cleaning, but is easily mastered. They are still in production so replacement parts are not a problem. Pedersoli makes their Frontier rifle in calibers under .50 if you go with a small game rifle, though you need to find a different dealer than Cabela's.

Dixie Gun Works Tennessee Rifle. This came to me in .50 with an after-market L&R lock already installed. A very accurate rifle, and the lock is great, but I cannot give you any insight into the quality of the factory lock. You don't see these for sale very often which tells me they are well liked and owners hang onto them in most cases.

Lyman Great Plains Rifle (GPR) in .54 has a slow twist, a nice robust lock, and they are accurate. A fine rifle for the money, though more pricey than the Cabela's Blue ridge Hunter in the same caliber. I sold mine to a friend looking to get into flintlock deer hunting. Alas a should've kept it as it was a good shooting rifle, but I'm not into half-stocked rifles as I am into long rifles. The present owner gets deer every year with the rifle.

So I'd get the Cabela's in .54 or if you can go a bit higher, the Lyman GPR, for accuracy, functioning, and for ease of parts if something breaks. Some of the smaller versions of plains rifles under the Lyman name are also less expensive, and a bit "handier" in thick woods. You should look at the whole line of "Lyman muzzle loaders" before you decide. IF you ran across a TC Hawken in flint for a low price with a good bore, that would be another option.

OH and a Kibler is an excellent option, but it's a big leap in price, though you do get your money's worth from the several I've seen.

LD

Livbucks said:

Try $500+ new these days. I love mine.

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Hi Livbucks. You are right, I double checked my sources and I think the same rifle today would cost me $495.00. I can sure guarantee you my wages haven't went up since I purchased this rifle, I bought this one the year I retired. Plan on going deer hunting tomorrow if the sprinkles let up. I'll let you know what happened.
Squint

ADK Bigfoot said:

Low-end flinters will turn off shooters faster than misty rain.

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Some low end flinters work good, but not out of the box. They require some clock work and the majority of new shooters, like all of us once were, gets disgusted and turned off by flint. I personally am not a fan of coil mainsprings on a flintlock, coils work great on a cap lock. Flinters need a good snap and good torque to follow through the swing.

While I believe all of the answers provided are good answers' I don't believe they are all great answers for A BEGINNER FLINT. My advice is find one of the cheaper flints on the market that you like and BEFORE BUYING, see which ones allow for you to upgrade the lock. Buy the cheap gun and see how you like it. If you do, upgrade the lock if you need to. Your investment won't be much, if you decide flints aren't for you. If you love them, you can learn how to work the kinks out and figure how to tune the lock for the best performance on the 2nd flinter.

Just had my Investarm .50 cal at Dixon's "for a check up" (read that as me being confused about using some different flints) and to pick up a few items. Greg commented on the quality of the lock on mine. I think you can find them used in good shape at .45, .50, and .54 if you keep your eyes open.