What are the advantages and disadvanteges to the flintlock? Do they requir less stuf for them to shoot?Are they troublesome lots of the time? Because i was at hunter safety and there was a lady there that was showing us how to load up her flint lock and do everything like that,but when she tried to fire it it took like 3 or 4 tries to get it to shoot. Does this happen all the time with flint locks or just bad day and time for her gun to shoot?
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advatages to flintlock
- Thread starter muzzman
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robinghewitt
62 Cal.
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There's a bit of a learning curve with a flinter but the rewards are there if you persevere.
Percussion or flint is similar to a bottle of wine or a good bottle of wine. Takes a while before you can tell them apart and then it's obvious ::
Percussion or flint is similar to a bottle of wine or a good bottle of wine. Takes a while before you can tell them apart and then it's obvious ::
muzzman, I am somewhat new to the level of flinlock shooting as discussed in this forum. I can only speak from my own expierences. If I dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's",
I get reliable ingnition. We are not talking about shooting during a rain storm. This lady might of not taken that extra
few minutes to check everything over before she went in front of that class. I am sure that she will next time. Remember,
there is this guy named "Murphy", and he is always lurking in the dark waiting for a opportunity. Read the many post on this forum, the people here have laid out procedures for care and loading far better than I could. I would never
place a bet that a properly loaded flintlock would not fire.
Get a flintlock if you don't have one and shoot it and you will be hooked!
Gerry
I get reliable ingnition. We are not talking about shooting during a rain storm. This lady might of not taken that extra
few minutes to check everything over before she went in front of that class. I am sure that she will next time. Remember,
there is this guy named "Murphy", and he is always lurking in the dark waiting for a opportunity. Read the many post on this forum, the people here have laid out procedures for care and loading far better than I could. I would never
place a bet that a properly loaded flintlock would not fire.
Get a flintlock if you don't have one and shoot it and you will be hooked!
Gerry
Rat
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Ha ha...no, if her gun weren't going off it was operator error for sure. She was doing something (or many things) wrong, and we could make a long long list of possibilities. Or it may not have had a good lock on it. 3-4 times to get it to fire is WAY out in left field. A good flinter should be 100% reliable, when everything is 100% right.
A flintlock will go off everytime with total reliability, IF everything is right. An experienced flinter will have everything right when he pulls the trigger.
In my opinion, the ADVANTAGE of a flintlock is that you can visually tell if everything is right.
With a cap-lock, you can't see beyond the nipple and into the maincharge, and can't always tell if a cap is dead. Can't SEE or KNOW if there is a blob of oil soaked powder, of a clump of fouling between the nipple and main charge.
On a flinter, you can see if your flint is good, set right, frizzen clean, pan filled, prime dry, and you can usually see right through the touch-hole and into the main charge, or you can run a pick through the hole and feel if the powder is dry. Everything can be seen and checked. If the gun does not go off, something was not set right, checked right, or seen to. Strictly operator error.
Flintlocks probably require more stuff to shoot. A good flintlock is in no way troublesome, but they are "high maintenence", you must pay attention to many more details. But there are no true "mystery" miss-fires with a flintlock..if it fails to fire, the shooter failed to pay attention to some detail.
Generally speaking a flinter is less reliable in a heavy rain, although that can be addressed and minimized also. But that would be the only disadvantage I could think of.
Rat
A flintlock will go off everytime with total reliability, IF everything is right. An experienced flinter will have everything right when he pulls the trigger.
In my opinion, the ADVANTAGE of a flintlock is that you can visually tell if everything is right.
With a cap-lock, you can't see beyond the nipple and into the maincharge, and can't always tell if a cap is dead. Can't SEE or KNOW if there is a blob of oil soaked powder, of a clump of fouling between the nipple and main charge.
On a flinter, you can see if your flint is good, set right, frizzen clean, pan filled, prime dry, and you can usually see right through the touch-hole and into the main charge, or you can run a pick through the hole and feel if the powder is dry. Everything can be seen and checked. If the gun does not go off, something was not set right, checked right, or seen to. Strictly operator error.
Flintlocks probably require more stuff to shoot. A good flintlock is in no way troublesome, but they are "high maintenence", you must pay attention to many more details. But there are no true "mystery" miss-fires with a flintlock..if it fails to fire, the shooter failed to pay attention to some detail.
Generally speaking a flinter is less reliable in a heavy rain, although that can be addressed and minimized also. But that would be the only disadvantage I could think of.
Rat
On my first hunting trip with a flintlock, I did everything I could to assure that the rifle would NOT fire. Not knowing any better, I didn't make sure the flint was sharp, didn't check the prime to see if moisture had gotten in after a couple of hours, didn't put the vent pick in the touch hole to hear that "crunch" sound and a host of other things. I was amazingly successful at getting it not to fire with the least amount of efort and thought. On the other hand, when I pay attention to the details, which now have become routine, she'll fire everytime.
Best advantage...no caps to lose or forget. You can use one horn throwing FFFg for both the main charge and the pan priming. If you've got a sharp flint in the jaws you should be good to go for several shots. I usually hunt with nothing but a loading block of balls and my horn. I keep a spare flint in the patch box and a knife or coin will do to unscrew the top jaw screw to replace if necessary.
Dick
Dick
lonewolf5347
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What I have found with flinter are if I shoot a fouling shot I never ever get a mis-fire on the second shot,the only problem with the fouling shot is the gun has to be cleaned at the end of the day.I feel the fouling shot removes any oil left in the barrel and vent liner area that cleaning may miss.I do like the new t/c vent liners and with the black english flint,I found to never have a mis-fire,don't get me wrong ,sometime at the range I will get a mis=fire ,but that only because the flint is dull a little and I have yet learn how to renapp them.still learning.
HistoryBuff
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I am new to the sport myself. I bought a cheap Traditions Hawken flintlock about 6 weeks age and I've been to the range twice with it. The first time out, I got horrible reliability. I was using Goex 3F black powder substitute and priming with some of the same ground into a fine powder. It said "Substitute" on the can. The first two were ok with VERY slow ignition, but the third shot took about 10 pulls of the trigger.
Next time out, I was using Goex 2F real black powder as the main charge and primed with Goex 4F. The first shot had no delay whatsoever. I fired about twenty rounds without a single misfire and it was drizzling rain the whole time. There was a barely noticeable delay a couple of times with later shots. I believe cleanliness is the key. I also found that smaller amounts of primer resulted in faster ignition.
HistoryBuff
Next time out, I was using Goex 2F real black powder as the main charge and primed with Goex 4F. The first shot had no delay whatsoever. I fired about twenty rounds without a single misfire and it was drizzling rain the whole time. There was a barely noticeable delay a couple of times with later shots. I believe cleanliness is the key. I also found that smaller amounts of primer resulted in faster ignition.
HistoryBuff
Rat
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Yes when you are out at the range and shooting alot, you will reach a point when your flint gets dull and then a miss fire, or it's just no big deal and the frizzen might get dirty enough not to spark. But never with a clean rifle and sharp flint and all details attended to!
I am highly dubious of fouling shots...it's not very hard to get all the oil out of the breech and touch-hole. Large dry patches on a slotted tip and some pipe cleaners.
If you stick some paper towell on the end of a slotted tip, bunch it up so most of it goes down the muzzel/barrel first, and leave it a while and it will really soak up the oil well.
At any rate I've never fired a fouling shot in my life and have always had 100% ignition with a clean rifle and fresh load. When I'm trying to get every last mile out of a flint, and not wiping off the frizzen after each shot...sure, but those don't count!
Rat
I am highly dubious of fouling shots...it's not very hard to get all the oil out of the breech and touch-hole. Large dry patches on a slotted tip and some pipe cleaners.
If you stick some paper towell on the end of a slotted tip, bunch it up so most of it goes down the muzzel/barrel first, and leave it a while and it will really soak up the oil well.
At any rate I've never fired a fouling shot in my life and have always had 100% ignition with a clean rifle and fresh load. When I'm trying to get every last mile out of a flint, and not wiping off the frizzen after each shot...sure, but those don't count!
Rat
what i started to do was bring a can of brake cleaner with me to the range to clean the oil out from cleaning it and every so often to cleaning the bore and touch hole....it dries fast and leaves no oily stuff....nice and clean and dry....when i got home and run a patch in the hot water i spray some oil in through the touch hole and hang the barrel muzzle down to drain out the extra oil....when i get back to the gun it's still oiled i then assemble it for next time....when i go to shoot it for the first time out comes the brake cleaner again to clear out the oil then shoot...........bob
KyFlintlock
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GOOD ANSWER! :redthumb:
Huntinfool
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What disadvantages?
We don't got no stinkin' disadvantages! :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :youcrazy:
YMH&OS,
Chuck
Advantages
Percussion caps are a "one time use" item, flints can yield many, many shots...
Once your percussion caps are spent, you are done shooting, whereas you can always find a sparking stone somewhere on the ground...
You can use the same powder for both main charge and priming...
Flints are easier to use with cold fingers, those little caps are a pain in the capper!
You can start a camp fire with your UNLOADED flintlock, percussion locks can't...
Disadvanteges
You stand a better chance of cutting yourself with a sharp flint than you do a percission cap...
You really need nothing more (number-wise) to shoot flintlocks, a knapping hammer will replace the capper, a screwdriver instead of a nipple wrench, if you use FFFFg to prime, you will need another small horn or flask, thats about it...
kentucky bucky
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Chicks dig 'em! :huh:
Well.....maybe not
Well.....maybe not
