Flash Pan Dan
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2010
- Messages
- 810
- Reaction score
- 6
Howdy All,
I am new to this board and I am getting back into muzzleloading after a long lay off. I started shooting black powder rifles back in the 70’s. I went through a series of factory cap rifles and enjoyed it but I could not find an adequate flintlock to shoot. Finally, in 77’ I ordered a .36 caliber Poor Boy rifle from Ozark Mountain Arms. It was a semi custom built rifle that I got 6 weeks later. It has a small Silar flintlock and Green River barrel and this rifle can shoot.
After awhile certain aspects of shooting a muzzleloader, as I knew it, started to wear on me. I didn’t understand some things and no one was giving good answers to my questions. Maybe I wasn’t asking them right or asking the wrong questions. So I quit.
Some of the things that bugged me was why do I have to use such tightly patched ball to get good accuracy and not have burned out patches. With a .350 ball I had to use .020 patch to get good groups. But I had to clean between shots and use a lot of force to ram the ball home. Then there was the issue with the flint itself. Why did I have to knap the flint or replace it after 15 or so shots? Well, these were the things that drove me away. But I always knew I would get back to it. I love flintlocks.
In subsequent years I managed to learn and compete in Traditional Archery, BPCR, Highpower rifle, Long Range Rifle, CAS, and somehow made it to the Olympic Trials in International Trap. As well as keeping up with fly fishing, fly tying, photography, flying, and other avocations too numerous to list.
A few months ago I ran into an article by Paul Vallandigham about how to shoot a flintlock. In it he asked all the same questions I asked 30 years ago. But he had answers. So I read and reread his article then I dug out my old poor boy along with some crusty old ammunition and went to the range tried out his ideas. Some of the things he wrote to do were; replace the leather pad in the jaw of the cock with a lead pad, use a wad under the patched ball, checking the angle at which the cock struck the frizzen. All of which I did. And voila! I got more than 40 shots out of the flint and using the wool felt wad under the patched ball allowed me to use a patch as thin as .010 and still get tight little bughole like groups. I am one happy flinter. Since all this happen I have shot hundreds of rounds through my little poor boy and looking forward to a lot more as well as some new flintlock rifles.
That’s my story. Oh, the moral of the story? Ask and keep asking until you get answers.
Flash Pan Dan
I am new to this board and I am getting back into muzzleloading after a long lay off. I started shooting black powder rifles back in the 70’s. I went through a series of factory cap rifles and enjoyed it but I could not find an adequate flintlock to shoot. Finally, in 77’ I ordered a .36 caliber Poor Boy rifle from Ozark Mountain Arms. It was a semi custom built rifle that I got 6 weeks later. It has a small Silar flintlock and Green River barrel and this rifle can shoot.
After awhile certain aspects of shooting a muzzleloader, as I knew it, started to wear on me. I didn’t understand some things and no one was giving good answers to my questions. Maybe I wasn’t asking them right or asking the wrong questions. So I quit.
Some of the things that bugged me was why do I have to use such tightly patched ball to get good accuracy and not have burned out patches. With a .350 ball I had to use .020 patch to get good groups. But I had to clean between shots and use a lot of force to ram the ball home. Then there was the issue with the flint itself. Why did I have to knap the flint or replace it after 15 or so shots? Well, these were the things that drove me away. But I always knew I would get back to it. I love flintlocks.
In subsequent years I managed to learn and compete in Traditional Archery, BPCR, Highpower rifle, Long Range Rifle, CAS, and somehow made it to the Olympic Trials in International Trap. As well as keeping up with fly fishing, fly tying, photography, flying, and other avocations too numerous to list.
A few months ago I ran into an article by Paul Vallandigham about how to shoot a flintlock. In it he asked all the same questions I asked 30 years ago. But he had answers. So I read and reread his article then I dug out my old poor boy along with some crusty old ammunition and went to the range tried out his ideas. Some of the things he wrote to do were; replace the leather pad in the jaw of the cock with a lead pad, use a wad under the patched ball, checking the angle at which the cock struck the frizzen. All of which I did. And voila! I got more than 40 shots out of the flint and using the wool felt wad under the patched ball allowed me to use a patch as thin as .010 and still get tight little bughole like groups. I am one happy flinter. Since all this happen I have shot hundreds of rounds through my little poor boy and looking forward to a lot more as well as some new flintlock rifles.
That’s my story. Oh, the moral of the story? Ask and keep asking until you get answers.
Flash Pan Dan
