Am I lazy?

[Zip]

So I asked my hunting buddy if he ever wanted to get a flintlock and his quick reply was "Nah, it's too much work. It's gonna be hard enough to get one of those non-existant bucks with these things!" We hunt in CA and both shoot .50 cal TC Hawken percussion guns. We're also both left-handed shooting right-handed caplocks. I've never shot flint. But am I correct in understanding that you need a different powder for the pan and one for the barrel? Also I've read here that it makes sense to order a gun with the flint on the opposite side of the barrel that your aiming eye lines up on and everyone needs to relearn how to shoot the phhffftt-bang way. And, not that rain's usually a problem here during deer season, but it's a given that flinters are more susceptible to moisture in the field than cappers, kinda like my knees, right? Maybe my buddy's got a point and neither of us are spring chickens so all this "new fangled" stuff seems a mite overwhelming. Not complaining about my Hawken, I truly like the gun.

 

[luieb45]

Percussion is much easier to maintain and make them go bang than a flintlock. A flintlock in comparison to your percussion would seem like more work to get it reliably firing. That's just how it turned out for me and my flintlock.

 

[Billnpatti]

luie b is right in saying that a caplock is easier to maintain. It is also easier for a leftie to shoot a right handed caplock than a right handed flintlock. Many people find it hard to ignore the flash of a flintlock ignition that close to their face. If you have no experience with shooting a flintlock, I highly recommend that you get a left handed flintlock so you can enjoy shooting it without having to worry about the ignition flash.

You do not need a separate powder for the pan, just use the same stuff that you use for your main charge. Be aware that you cannot use any of the substitutes in a flintlock. They won't do any damage, but they just won't fire. The problem with them is that the ignition temp. is much higher than black powder and a flint just won't light the stuff reliably. Use only black powder in a flintlock

 

[F_Thomas]

I have a Lyman GPR in .54 and added a TVM Early Virginia flintlock in .54. What I have discovered is that the flintlock is as reliable as my GPR and really isn't that much slower to load. Prime the pan with 4f vs. putting on a cap. I have also found it to be just as accurate.

To each his own. I would like to add a flintlock fowler to my collection if funds allowed even though I have a 12 ga. double barrel cap lock.

I would definetly get a leftie flintlock if I was left eye dominant such as yourself. The flash in the pan takes a little getting used to.

 

It sounds like sticking with percussion would be a good idea. Especially if you aren't going to get a left-handed flint and you don't have a passion or interest at this point.

 

[nkbj]

I'm left dominant eyed. I shoot right handed and left handed flintlocks. And, I tear down and clean my flintlocks just as fast as my cap guns.
My recommendation: Life is too short to not shoot flintlocks right away, so try a smoothbore of the 20 to 12 Ga. range.

 

[Ken Cormier]

Well I kinda look at it like this shooting a cap lock is like marring a blonde looks good some maintiance .
Flintlock like marrying a redhead Ya sure gota work at that one

 

[Trench]

I started out with flintlocks. I found out to my surprise that Pfffth-bang is pretty much a Hollywood myth. Unless, of course, you aren't taking care of your touchhole at a range session.

 

[tg]

Once you get used to the flinter which have a slightly longer learning curve IMHO, they will become second nature just as the caplocks are the biggest problem with first time flint shooters is trying to use a substandard gun of which many of the imports are if you want to use a flinter one with a good lock is about a must or one can be driven back to the caplocks.

 

[smoothy]

A lot of muzzleloaders started out with percussion caps rifles. It's a good place to begin. Then a lot have gotten the flintlock rifle later for the challenge, nostalgia or whatever lifts your ... a .... frizzen. I started with the Thompson Center Renegade in .54 caliber, right handed, although I too shoot lefty. But my flintlocks, which I acquired later, are lefthanded.

 

[nchawkeye]

I bought my first muzzleloader back in 1977, a custom made flintlock...The first shooting session I was shooting an inch and a half groups at 50 yards...

I started with FFF Goex in both the pan and barrel...Never had a hang fire, never worried about that flash in front of me...

Sometimes I think the internet is a bad thing...I just followed a few basic instructions by the fellow that sold me the gun and went out and started shooting...

Flintlocks were invented in the early 1600s, they were in common use until the mid 1800s...That's over 200 years, more than any other ignition system ever devised...

It ain't rocket science, it's a rock hitting a fire steel, simple...If you have slow ignition, chances are it's not the lock, it's the setup of the rifle...All that lock does is throw sparks in the pan, that's basically it...

 

[paulvallandigham]

Any extra time, or " Fiddlin'" with a flintlock occurs in setting up the lock to fire properly. Once you have that done, I don't see much difference in how a flintlock is maintained and a percussion gun is maintained. There is a higher Learning Curve to shooting Flintlocks- I give you that. But, that is largely due to the fact that there are ONLY a few companies making Quality locks that don't require much, if any work on them by the shooter to get the lock to function properly.

Many other locks can be improved with just a little work, but you need to know what to do and how to do it. That is where the Education comes into play, and, frankly, most shooters don't want to be bothered. They will try a flintlock, but if they don't get the results they desire, they abandon the guns rather quickly, and move on to some other kind of gun.

When I joined my local BP Club, we had exactly 3 members who owned flintlocks, and None of them really knew anything about how to make them shoot. Each of the guns had locks with different problems.

Then, a new member joined, who was a BP Gunsmith and gun builder, who had only worked on FLINTLOCKS! I had to teach HIM how to tune Percussion locks. In return, he helped me understand the "mysteries" of flintlocks.

Once I understood how the parts worked, the only difference between flintlocks and percussion locks is that the flintlock has another spring- this one on the outside of the lock that keeps the Frizzen closed when the barrel is pointed to the ground. Everything on the inside of the lock is pretty much the same, functionally, as found on percussion locks.

The flint in the cock, the relation between the cock and the frizzen, and the frizzen spring all combine to make it possible to both produce sparks, and get them into the priming powder FAST so that you can ignite the charge in the barrel. Setting these parts up to work together is the "Set Up" work that is more involved, but considering the problems I have encountered with Percussion locks that didn't go "bang" when the trigger is pulled, I consider all locks to be problematic when first received.

Within 3 years, the majority of members in my club NOW owned and shot Flintlocks, including me. I have never looked back. The only percussion gun I now own is a DBL shotgun.

 

[BadHorse]

Zip, i started with flinters, i only own one cap gun. im here in cali same as you. i use 3f in the bore and 3f in the pan if its damp out. if its really dry out (which it normally is up here)i ground up some 3f in to about 6 or 7f. makes for extremely fast ignition! the big deal for you is gonna be getting over flinters flinch, and thats not a big deal. the cleaning and maintenance is the same. and with practice (like anything), you can load and shoot a flinter as fast or faster than a cap gun. maybe you and your buddy need to join me and my friends for deer season down here were in zone D-14. i got a spot where we can set up camp and shoot deer from your tent.

 

[ebiggs1]

I was about your age when I started with flintlocks. I had a pretty rough time getting it going but several members here helped me through it. I also started black powder shooting a TC Hawken percussion gun which I dearly love also and shoot regularly, That was way back in the early '70's. :grin:

With that as my background, I would make these suggestions. Get a Lyman GPR in LEFT hand version. It will not work right, right out of the box. If you simply drill the removable touch hole liner to 5/64ths, it becomes a pretty good shooter. I agree prime powder is not of great importance but in the GPR, I recommend you use 4f. Use 3f in the barrel.

Lastly if you go deer hunting with a, live or die, failure is not an option, attitude if you don't get your deer, you better stay with your cap gun. However if the “journey” is your goal, flintlocks are the best. And I suspect you will become hopelessly hooked and forever lost in the smoke of lore. That is why most of these guys are so passionate about their advice. Think it over. :thumbsup:

 

Kenny,
But the results can be awfully good!!!
Mark :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

Like Trench, Karwelis and some others I started with flint soon after getting a percussion. From the get-go the rifle (H&A Minuteman) sparked and fired just fine and I was never the least bit distracted by the pan flash. I know some shooters are but you do get use to it. Doing the "empty pan/full pan" drill is a good way to practice.

 

[nkbj]

When a flinch develops just stick an old flint in the jaws. When a rifle only goes off about one time out of six you'll be holding steady as a rock by the time you get done with laughing at yourself.
Well, it worked for me any way.

 

[hanshi]

Sounds like a good idea. I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

 

[matt denison]

"....everyone needs to relearn how to shoot the phhffftt-bang way."

A reasonably well made gun with a good lock just goes 'bang'. I was lucky enough when I made the transition from cap to flint that my gun was well made and the lock was tuned. I also had some mentors who showed me how to knap the flint when it needed it and when to toss it and put in a new one.

A drenching downpour is a challenge. There are ways to keep your lock dry and the gun shooting. That will come with time and experience.

Go for the flintlock, buy or make a good one and you will enjoy the experience. It may well make you a better shooter in the long run.

 

[Zip]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement fellas. If my buddy doesn't buy into it, I figure that don't mean we both have to make the same mistake. :wink: