Dumb question flintlock squirrles

[anaconda44]

Dumb ? But will the powder fall out of the pan when you fire strait up at a squirrel
?

 

[Jim Evans]

Not if your frizzen is tight against your pan

 

[Juice Jaws]

Dumb ? But will the powder fall out of the pan when you fire strait up at a squirrel
?

No, but if you miss the ball will come down straight on your head.

 

[shane a gress]

A good lock should fire no matter which direction it's in, evan upside down.

 

[tenngun]

Late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century matched set pistols, such as those by Durs Egg,often had the lock mounted upside down. Developments like the ‘rain proof’ lock could only go so far. Mounting the lock upside down even more so contributed to rain resistance.
Gravity is pretty slow. Sparks are flying toward the powder before it starts to move.

 

[vega72]

I use a 36 cal. Don't remember ever shooting straight up but many times shooting upward with no problems.

 

[FishDFly]

"A good lock should fire no matter which direction it's in, evan upside down."

If that is true why are folks always saying their rifle needs to be banked to or from the touch hole for reliable ignition?

 

[Don Steele]

"A good lock should fire no matter which direction it's in, evan upside down."

If that is true why are folks always saying their rifle needs to be banked to or from the touch hole for reliable ignition?

'cause "Folks" are subject to say pretty much ANYTHING when offered the opportunity to express an opinion. Those opinions however are rarely based upon measurable facts, and generally worth about what you pay for them.
Sayin'.

 

[tenngun]

"A good lock should fire no matter which direction it's in, evan upside down."

If that is true why are folks always saying their rifle needs to be banked to or from the touch hole for reliable ignition?

How would you ever handle banking your rifle in the field hunting. Your first step would screw up your bank.
Although all my guns fire faster if the full moon falls on a Friday and slowest in a year with spoons in the persimmon pits.

 

[smo]

All the persimmons I’ve opened this year held spoons....

I’ve noticed no delay in my Flintlocks firing, now the full moon is a different story! LOL

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

All the flint guns I have owned fire upside down.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

"A good lock should fire no matter which direction it's in, evan upside down."

If that is true why are folks always saying their rifle needs to be banked to or from the touch hole for reliable ignition?

All flinters have their own idiosyncrasies. What folks are saying is what works for them to achieve best & fastest performance.
Flintlocklar

 

[biliff]

I've fired mine upside down on more than one occasion, mostly to prove to people that it can be done. It has never failed to fire upside down.

 

[Boomerang]

Sparks ignite the powder faster than gravity can pull it out of the pan.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

You have more to worry about from moisture running along the edge of the stock where the wood meets the barrel, creating a sort of "rain gutter" which, when you aim aloft, means the water will run downwards, toward your lock and touch hole.

LD

 

[hanshi]

I've also fired my flint rifles upside down just to see if they would. They fired every time.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have a Gustomsky trade gun with a huge gap in the pan/frizzen fir, it has lost the prime in a casual walk through the woods, shooting straight up would probably lose the prime as well.

I have adjusted the pan fit on every flintlock I own but this one has the hole for the frizzen screw drilled in the wrong place keeping the leading edge of the frizzen cocked upward off the pan. The way the frizzen arm is bent there is no way to pull the screw, place the frizzen tightly on the pan and redrill the hole.

 

[Lobo]

NO

 

[Biz]

Eric,
Maybe you could solder a brass or steel shim to the bottom of the frizzen and file to fit.
Bill

 

[Brent]

I have discovered that while 4fg powder is just fine in the pan of my flinter, and has been for 20 yrs, Swiss Null B will sift out the back of the pan under the frizzen. Still hunting in the timber becomes problematic. Back to courser powder except when at the range.