Backpack/Camping Flintlock Hunting (How-to & Care)

[Appalachian Harry]

Hello everyone!

My question today is that I love to hunt in the mountains in the Appalachian and I’m thinking of bringing my flintlock on a multi day camping hunting trip.

I was wondering if anyone here takes their flintlocks on camping trips and how to take care of it in the back country? and if there’s any tips and recommendations on different methods and opinions on how to take care of flintlock in backcountry?

 

[bpflint2007]

Following for hints and tips.

 

[Ponderosaman]

I do not, but if I did, I would use boiling water to clean my rifle/shotgun. I believe I saw @B P Maniac Shooter demonstrate this method of cleaning on YouTube. I may soon join you in a BP BP adventure. In the winter here in the Sonoran desert, the temperatures are excellent for camping in the winter during the quail season. I have a vision of me and my Porter (Brittany gun dog) going for a long weekend hunting quail.

 

[GSDay500]

You can run a few days with just swabbing and wiping til clean.
Give it a good cleaning when you get home.

 

[Codger Craig Wilcox]

Boiling water will produce flash rusting, best to use lukewarm or even room temp water. Cleans things up very well. Dry with a patch, then put a bit of water-displacing oil in the barrel, and leave it standing muzzle down on a folded paper towel overnite. Then use your preservative oil lightly, wipe before going out to use it again.

 

[tenngun]

I like to swab between shots with a spit damp patch and then dry. When afield I always use a greased patch never a spit patch for the ball. So when ball rammed home I’ve greased them inside of the barrel.
It might a run a greased patch down bore and also wipe down barrel with it and lock. Next am wipe gun down with greased then dry patch
Clean when home
If I’ve shot after loading and back at camp wipe bore with damp patches dry and lube with greased

 

[Rató:rats]

I’ve taken my smoothbore on most of my camping trips the last couple years. On overnights on foot I’ll just clean the bore with alcohol wipes and water and tow and give her a more thorough cleaning when I get home.
Most of my trips are multi day backcountry canoe trips and I can take a lot more cleaning equipment in the canoe; cotton rags, wipes, WD40, cleaning rod with attachments, mainspring vise JIC. What you take for maintaining your gun really depends on your length of time out and if you’re on foot or have a conveyance.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Hello everyone!

My question today is that I love to hunt in the mountains in the Appalachian and I’m thinking of bringing my flintlock on a multi day camping hunting trip.

I was wondering if anyone here takes their flintlocks on camping trips and how to take care of it in the back country? and if there’s any tips and recommendations on different methods and opinions on how to take care of flintlock in backcountry?

I take mine on camping and on hunting trips. While the gun is loaded and I'm hunting I'm always trying to keep moisture out of the bore (I live in KY so it's humid). I use a greased Cows Knee to cover the lock. I check the powder in the pan and dump it every 30 minutes or so. Back at camp I dump the powder in the pan and use a small bird feather to plug the touch hole and close the frizzen so the feather sticks out. This tells me it's loaded and helps keep moisture out. Depending on the gun I might pull the ball and dump the powder and reload it the next day. If I've discharged the gun I will pull the lock, plug the touch hole with a toothpick, fill it with water, dump it and run patches, then run oiled patches, oil the lock reassemble.

 

[Nuthatch]

I've taken a percussion rifle on a late season hunt into the backcountry a few times and have gotten some great tips from others on this forum. Where I go, it's VERY humid at camp in the creek bottoms but often pretty dry where the deer are up on the hillsides. Sort of depends on the weather, though. I'm also not likely to take more than 1 or two shots over a 4-5 day hunt and, once I shoot, I'm coming back home within 24 hours -- not staying out. Here's a few things I do or carry for that hunt.

Carry 2 small squeeze bottles -- one with dish soap and one with alcohol. I mostly use the soap for poison oak though. The alcohol would be used to clean if I happened to miss an early shot and spend a few extra days down there.

Use rain protection -- the small condom-like cover on the muzzle and the pink surgical tubing thing over the nipple. I also coat the nipple threads and cleanout screw (traditions rifle) with beeswax/bear grease (or oil) mix.

Bring a .22 wire brush for cleaning out the breach.
Nipple wrench for cleaning.
A dozen pre-greased patches, maybe 2 doz dry. I also have a strip of old t-shirt tied to the outside of my possibles bag to wipe stuff when needed. So far, I've only used it to scrub poison oak off my skin with some hand sanitizer if I happened to touch it during the day. But I can cut strips for more cleaning patches.
Usual accoutrements (ball starter, patch worm, jag, etc.).
Ball puller -- kind of optional. If I know it's going to be wet, I'll take it. Otherwise, I'd just dribble powder into the drum to get a stuck ball out.
Pre-measured powder charges in vials. Again, I only take a handful since I'm not doing much shooting. A powder flask & light weight measure would be better if you plan to do some roaming or small game hunting.
Small multi-tool -- mostly for backpacking. But I have yet to use it more than once even though I've been carrying it for 15 years.
Some kind of screwdriver or tool to take the rifle down for a pretty thorough cleaning. I can do most things with just a homemade flathead screwdriver tool with a pick on the end and a nipple wrench.
Pipe cleaner
Extra nipple
...

I'll try to think of some other things. Change as needed for a flintlock.

 

[Appalachian Harry]

I've taken a percussion rifle on a late season hunt into the backcountry a few times and have gotten some great tips from others on this forum. Where I go, it's VERY humid at camp in the creek bottoms but often pretty dry where the deer are up on the hillsides. Sort of depends on the weather, though. I'm also not likely to take more than 1 or two shots over a 4-5 day hunt and, once I shoot, I'm coming back home within 24 hours -- not staying out. Here's a few things I do or carry for that hunt.

Carry 2 small squeeze bottles -- one with dish soap and one with alcohol. I mostly use the soap for poison oak though. The alcohol would be used to clean if I happened to miss an early shot and spend a few extra days down there.

Use rain protection -- the small condom-like cover on the muzzle and the pink surgical tubing thing over the nipple. I also coat the nipple threads and cleanout screw (traditions rifle) with beeswax/bear grease (or oil) mix.

Bring a .22 wire brush for cleaning out the breach.
Nipple wrench for cleaning.
A dozen pre-greased patches, maybe 2 doz dry. I also have a strip of old t-shirt tied to the outside of my possibles bag to wipe stuff when needed. So far, I've only used it to scrub poison oak off my skin with some hand sanitizer if I happened to touch it during the day. But I can cut strips for more cleaning patches.
Usual accoutrements (ball starter, patch worm, jag, etc.).
Ball puller -- kind of optional. If I know it's going to be wet, I'll take it. Otherwise, I'd just dribble powder into the drum to get a stuck ball out.
Pre-measured powder charges in vials. Again, I only take a handful since I'm not doing much shooting. A powder flask & light weight measure would be better if you plan to do some roaming or small game hunting.
Small multi-tool -- mostly for backpacking. But I have yet to use it more than once even though I've been carrying it for 15 years.
Some kind of screwdriver or tool to take the rifle down for a pretty thorough cleaning. I can do most things with just a homemade flathead screwdriver tool with a pick on the end and a nipple wrench.
Pipe cleaner
Extra nipple
...

I'll try to think of some other things. Change as needed for a flintlock.

Awesome info thank you!!!

 

[Sidney Smith]

What kind of hunting are you doing? If deer hunting, I would not worry too much about things unless you're out in the rain. If bird hunting, then I think simple cleaning with water and patches should be enough until you get home.