HELP! Flint Target Pistol Caliber???

[TFoley]

Inside of 25yds they are about the same.

Even with ME shooting, I have to agree with you. A fellow club member has the pair of smooth and rifled Moores. Given that shooting the flinter takes more application to get right than the near-instantaneous percussion, I score around the same - with both - every time I'm allowed to shoot them.

 

[Many Klatch]

My rifled, flint, Pedersoli LePage shoots a .435 ball with a .010 greased patch over 25 grains of 3F. I have to use a short starter to load and I have to pound on the ramrod a lot to fully seat the ball. The gun is extremely accurate with this load. I can't imagine trying to stuff a .440 or .445 ball down the barrel.

 

[biliff]

My rifled, flint, Pedersoli LePage shoots a .435 ball with a .010 greased patch over 25 grains of 3F. I have to use a short starter to load and I have to pound on the ramrod a lot to fully seat the ball. The gun is extremely accurate with this load. I can't imagine trying to stuff a .440 or .445 ball down the barrel.

The rifled version of the LePage is a .44, smoothbore is a .45. Opposite of the Moore.

 

[Rifleman1776]

For competition rifled is the logical choice.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Guys, blasting reptiles into oblivion is not a factor in my choice lol.

Wondering if the smoothy is easier to load?

 

[Shot deer]

Guys, blasting reptiles into oblivion is not a factor in my choice lol.

Well that is a big drop out of the question- but in case you want to start, let us all know, and we'll help out.

But, I am assuming the smoothy is easier to load, but then again, I could be wrong.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Hi,
I have a Charles Moore .45 cal. percussion.
It shoots a .437 round ball with extreme accuracy.
I tried a .451 ball, and a .440 ball and they were both almost impossible to load, and you run the risk of dropping the gun while loading, and the ramrod was almost useless.
From a rest you can shoot a 2" group with ease, and I am not a very good shot.
The single set trigger, and the good sight picture, make hitting the target seem easy.
The color case hardened nose cap, entry pipe, trigger guard, and lock give it a true look of distinction.
I also had the flintlock smooth bore, it did not come close to the percussion for accuracy at twenty five yards, so I parted with it.
Fred

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Hi,
I have a Charles Moore .45 cal. percussion.
It shoots a .437 round ball with extreme accuracy.
I tried a .451 ball, and a .440 ball and they were both almost impossible to load, and you run the risk of dropping the gun while loading, and the ramrod was almost useless.
From a rest you can shoot a 2" group with ease, and I am not a very good shot.
The single set trigger, and the good sight picture, make hitting the target seem easy.
The color case hardened nose cap, entry pipe, trigger guard, and lock give it a true look of distinction.
I also had the flintlock smooth bore, it did not come close to the percussion for accuracy at twenty five yards, so I parted with it.
Fred

I see. Seems that there shouldn’t be any real accuracy difference for, flint and perc? What patch thickness do you use for the .437” ball?

 

[Zonie]

IMO, for most shooters there is a definite difference between a flintlock and a percussion lock pistol.

The accuracy of the barrel is the same with either gun but the ability to control the flintlock, with its longer ignition time makes the flintlock more difficult to shoot.

With everything working its best, a percussion pistol will fire about .010 seconds after the trigger is pulled. With a flintlock it takes about .080 seconds for it to fire. That extra time requires a good "follow thru" to keep the flintlock on target.

 

[F.G. Ford]

What patch thickness do you use for the .437” ball?

My best accuracy was with the .437 ball, .018 patch with olive oil lube, and 30 grains of 3f black powder. Triple 7 shot well also, but I ran out.
By the way, I really did try to get the .45 smooth bore flint to shoot. It did, but not near as accurate as the rifled .45 percussion.
Even the percussion caps made a difference.
RWS caps were better than CCI or Remington.
Fred

 

[Mike M.]

Depends on what you want to do with it. The MLAIC rules for the COMINAZZO match specify a smoothbore flintlock pistol. Here in the U.S., rifled guns are the norm.

 

[Mullet]

Rifled .45, hit the snake with a stick.