first range trip with new flinter...

[hardwood]

headed to the range on the morrow with my new flinter. a used, but spic and span gpr .50. being completely new to blackpowder and having only fired one twice before, what are your suggestions/advice. i've gathered what i believe to the the requisite items, mainly...pillow ticking patches, hand cast balls, 4f, 3f, and 2f goex, powder horn, adjustable measure, ans priming flask, a range rod, patchworm, ball puller, spare flints, etc.

my plan is to start at about 45 grains and head up to about 90. i'll be using spit as lube but have a tin of totw mink oil that i may try as well. i've read that it should be primed with about 1/3 to 2/3 of the pan.

any dos, don'ts, safety reminders are greatly appreciated.

cheers

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

#1 for me is to use the standard modern gun safety rules.

#2 for me is to use a charger to pour measured powder.

#3 is to make sure you pay attention to the loading process (bring a worm to pull a powderless ball) and seat the ball fully.

#4 is to make sure nobody is standing where your vent will spray burning powder.

#5 is to make sure everyone, even spectators, have eye and ear protection.

Have fun! I'm a beginner too and it's quite addicting.

 

[pripley]

I like to have a set of hollow ground screw drivers at the range. These come in handy to remove the vent liner and charge the breach after I dry ball.
Establish a routine to avoid dry balls.
Have you practiced getting the pan to light off at home? It can save some time at the the range.
You say the GPR is used, has the previous owner done anything with the vent size? A basic 1/16" vent is better than the stock vent that my GPR had.
A vent pick.
A short starter.
:grin:

 

[Dean2]

After shooting CF for 45 years, and some capped MLs I tried my first Flintlock this year too. It was nowhere near as big a deal as I had come to believe it would be. If you handload, or have shot cap guns it is pretty much the same deal. You need to pay strict attention to what you are doing, and the safety rules above are spot on. The sticky above with tips on shooting a flinter is pretty good too.

Outside of learning how much prime to use, I started at full pan and worked down, mine likes just a small amount in the bottom, looks like about half to a 1/3, keeping a sharp flint properly positioned and distanced from the frizzen is about the only other new variable.

They are a riot to shoot. You will enjoy the challenge.

 

[ebiggs1]

A basic 1/16" vent is better than the stock vent that my GPR had.

And 5/64th is better yet. Use 4F close to the hole, maybe a little tricked in is alright, too. The absolute worst thing about a GPR is its' touch hole liner. Get it right and the rest is pretty good.
Remember these are simple guns used by simple people, no matter how hard some try to make it!

 

[Bob J]

Good luck with the GPR - will look forward to hearing (and seing?) the results. Am sure you will have fun :thumbsup:

 

[hardwood]

thanks for the suggestions fellas.

everything was a success! and boy was it fun! i started out with 45 grains of fff and worked up to just shy of 70. used ffff for priming, .018 pillow ticking patches lubed with spit.

in about a dozen shots, i had 2 or 3 flash in the pan misfires. clean and reprime the pan, and bang!

i started at twenty five yds and ended at 50 being dead on for elevation and the shots being about 4 inches to the right. i think i may be pulling those. i haven't tried to adjust the set trigger yet and i've been mostly shooting my r700 .308 that has a really nice timney set at about 2 pounds. i think with some work i could get it sighted in right on the money.

i need to pick up a pan brush ans vent pic. i used a piece of wire i had in the truck and a friend's nylon toothbrush type cleaning brush. should one typically clean the pan and vent after each shot? i kept forgetting to do that. my first ftf came after 3 or 4 shots, i then cleaned the pan and vent and she worked like a charm again.

also, i have an october country range rod, brass with the muzzle guide/protector. should i be using the guide/protector when loading?

all in all, i had a great time and look forward to heading back out again. reading a ton of info here made it all possible, and i look forward to sticking around.

cheers!

 

[roundball]

Glad it went so well for you...
I shoot from a table under a simple pole shelter at the little range I use and do a couple of things that help move the trip along:

1) I put a double thick old packing quilt on the table for the gun to lay on;

2) Once I've settled on a range plinking load, I take a full range sessions worth of pre-measured charges with me in 35mm film canisters, instead of measuring each shot at the range;

3) I am 100% dedicated to using Nylon muzzle guides on any ramrod / range rod I put down a bore...even my short starters have muzzle guides on them;

Sounds like you're well on your way...
:thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Wipe the frizzen and pan after each firing to removed the residue, which attracts water from the air! Use a cleaning patch, slightly dampened by wiping across your tongue. If you get too much spit on that patch, use another dry patch to dry the frizzen and pan.

I made my touch hole pick by forging a coat hanger wire to the right size. Squared the heated wire with a hammer, then twisted the squared wire using my vise and a set of vise-grips to hold the two ends of the wire. Use a draw file to file down one end to a point to fit my TH, and be skinny enough to allow the wire to go all the way across the bore. Then, I filed down the point, and filed to flats on the point to make a sort of paddle out of the thinned end. This allows me to move powder inside the bore by twisting the wire back and forth 90 degrees each direction. Pushing the powder back leaves a hole in the powder where sparks, and heat, from my burning prime can enter the TH and ignite many granules at the same time, for faster ignition of the main charge in the barrel.

The only times I experience hang-fires or misfires in my flintlock NOW is when there is a defect in the flint. :hmm:

 

[cowpoke1955]

I built a .54 GPR flinter from a kit. At first I had a lot of flash in the pan. I drilled the touch hole to 1/16th inch and it seemed to help, but the problem was still there. Like ebiggs said, I then drilled it to 5/64th inch and the problem has gone away. I pick my vent on every shot. This insures the touch hole is clear and you can feel that the powder is at the touch hole. In a pinch for a vent pick, I have used a paper clip unfolded half way. Works fine. You're going to love that GPR :thumbsup:

 

[ebiggs1]

You can make your already nice rifle into a very nice rifle if you will just drill the touch hole liner out to 5/64th! :thumbsup:
Than you can almost forget a vent pick. It will only be needed rarely as your shot count adds up. I use a small bottle that eye glass cleaner came in, only replaced with denatured alcohol and a patch to wipe the frizzen and pan.
I do not wipe the frizzen and pan after every shot, it isn't necessary but when you do, don't forget the flint. It also gets gunked up.
The denatured alcohol dries very quickly. Who wants to chew on patches all day any way? :td:
BTW, if you decide the 5/64th touch hole isn't for you, they are cheap and you can always go back to the original Lyman and enjoy many flashes! :shocked2:

 

[hardwood]

thanks for tips, ebiggs. i've been doing some reading this morning, and best i can tell, to drill the vent liner i need to wrap it in leather snug it in a vise and just drill. is it necessary to cone the outside of it? and if so what do i use?

i've also been looking at the rmc liners, but honestly, the idea of an allen wrench and flint lock just don't seem to sit well with me. i'd like to keep things as hc/pc as possible. i suppose once i instlaled one, i just forget about it anyway.

cleaned it all up last night, but can't wait to get it dirty again :grin:

 

[ebiggs1]

My “best way” to drill the liner is to go to a hardware store and buy a nut that will thread on the liner. Clamp the nut and liner into a vise and drill baby drill. No vise? Vise grip pliers will work although not as well.
With the vise you can also cone the liner and that becomes very easy too. You will need a ½ inch counter sink to do a first rate job. Just touch it to the liner/nut assembly.
The leather idea is a poor substitute for my method but it will work.

 

[ebiggs1]

BTW, I am a remove the liner for cleaning guy, ALWAYS. So the idea of a hex liner is a good idea to me.
I don't like and I don't put up with mis-fires and cleaning is a great first place to make that not happen.
I also use a bore light and inspect it after I think I have it clean.
Some guys will tell you that they can clean it just as well without removing the liner but that is simply not so. Think about it? A white patch does not necessarily indicate a clean gun!

 

[hanshi]

All my rifles are drilled out to 1/16" and work just fine. But 1/16" is the SMALLEST a touch hole should be. So, IMHO, 1/16" and no smaller; 5/64" should be considered the maximum size.

 

[hardwood]

ok. i got over my initial opposition to the hex head and ordered two rmc liners.

i did take the liner out for cleaning, as it just seems to make sense.

i'll probably drill out the lyman anyway, and i like the idea of using a nut that fits and clamping onto that.

really looking forward to getting it to the range again. had a co-worker try and talk me out of a flinter as a first bp gun because they were too "finicky" and unreliable. so even with the couple times i had a flash in the pan, i'm still thrilled with overall performance and the lock time seemed just fine. the delay between trigger break and the shot main charge going off was barely perceptible.

 

[ebiggs1]

... because they were too "finicky" and unreliable.

This is NOT the "friend" you should be listening to. :hmm:

 

[Greenjoytj]

You'll be glad of that hex socket vent liner, considering how may times I've had to remove the liner to pour in powder behind a dry ball.
The RMC vent liner for the Investarm/Lyman GPR has metric thread size of M6 x .75 and the vent hole is 1.5mm = .059" or a #53 drill size its perfect I've never had a FTF on a clean vent and thats with a TC cut agate flint!

That hex socket acts like the vent "coning" you'll read about.
Cleaning the crusty fouling out of the tiny vent is the greatest preventer of flash in the pan firing failures.

Forget the spit patch keep you powder dry and the bore rust ring free. Spit patch work only because they act like a dry patch coming out. Use the dry lube method which uses a diluted solution of distilled water and Ballistol (7:1 for my rifle).
I also use a felt over powder wad one bore size larger (.58cal in my .54 cal GPR) that has been dipped in melted TOW mink oil grease.
So far I'm getting 2.5" groups at 50 yds with out any load development, I just jumped in with a 90 grs 2fg and a very tight patch and ball combo and the OP wad. I intend to go for a business load rather than a light target load.
I'm sure my group will get smaller with practice and load tweaking.