Lock is loud?

[Boston123]

So, whenever I watch a video online about flintlock shooting, the locks on the guns being shot are quiet, with some soft clicks and clacks (at least to my ears, maybe the recording equipment isnt catching everything).

The lock on my gun, however, is *noisy*. It makes a lot of noise, at least to my ears.

It is an L&R Queen Anne, not one of the fancy expensive locks, so might that be an issue?

Or am I just hearing more noise because I am up close to the thing when it works?

I have video, of both the lock "firing" and of the frizzen opening, but dont know how to post them to this site

 

[Bob McBride]

You have to upload a video somewhere such as YouTube to link it here. Most locks are fairly loud in person. As long as she sparks well you’re in business.

 

[Musketeer]

Depends on the lock. My Bess's lock is pretty loud when "dry" fired, but it's also a very large lock. My India flint pistol with it's smaller rifle sized lock is not quite as loud. I'd imagine a tiny lock would be quieter still. Also, judging the volume of a particular sound on video is tricky, so someone's lock might sound quieter or louder on video, depending on what mic they're using and where it's located in relation to the lock, etc. I will say this video by Hickok sounds similar in volume to what I hear with my Bess when I dry fire it, though mine doesn't have as noticeable a "sproing" sound to it to my ears, though again that could be the difference between hearing it in real life vs. on video.

Go to 5:16

 

[EC121]

This man is shooting right over his powder. He's asking for it.

 

[rich pierce]

Musketeer is right in that more massive locks are louder when fired. I’m not sure if you’re talking about cocking sounds also.

 

[Eric Krewson]

He probably thinks he is safe butt....... My buddy snapped the lock on a loaded but unprimed flintlock in the house one time, he said he knew he was in trouble when he saw one spark jump across the pan and go directly into the touch hole. I don't know which was worse for him, patching a big hole in the wall or explaining to his wife how the hole got there.

 

[EC121]

If a lock has good solid clicks when it is cocked, that means nothing is dragging the wood, and the sear isn't riding the trigger. Both are desirable. The only thing that comes to mind about being loud when fired is the frizzen bouncing.

 

[Boston123]

If a lock has good solid clicks when it is cocked, that means nothing is dragging the wood, and the sear isn't riding the trigger. Both are desirable. The only thing that comes to mind about being loud when fired is the frizzen bouncing.

Yup, the clicks of the tumbler going into half-and-full cock are good. I ran through the firing sequence of the lock, and it sounds like most of the noise is the frizzen getting snapped up off the pan and impacting the frizzen spring. The frizzen itself isn't bouncing back into the cock, at least as far as I can tell, and the flint (ive got a block of wood in the jaws right now, to practice dry-firing) scrapes all the way to the bottom of the frizzen-face before it forces the frizzen up

 

[EC121]

You shouldn't hear the frizzen with live fire. No telling what you will hear with dry firing.

 

[hanshi]

Holding the trigger back while cocking generally stops the noise. When a gun fires all I've ever heard was the "bang".

 

[Pete G]

Holding the trigger back while cocking generally stops the noise. When a gun fires all I've ever heard was the "bang".

You should load more powder

 

[martin9]

I'd be it's just the video making the locks seem more quiet. your Queen Anne isn't moving as much mass as say a big Jaeger or Bess lock so is probably a little quieter than the locks on the videos . I've got a bunch of locks here and they all sound different but I wouldn't call any one louder than the other.

 

[ord sgt]

He probably thinks he is safe butt....... My buddy snapped the lock on a loaded but unprimed flintlock in the house one time, he said he knew he was in trouble when he saw one spark jump across the pan and go directly into the touch hole. I don't know which was worse for him, patching a big hole in the wall or explaining to his wife how the hole got there.

Defiantly a WTH moment. At least no one was harmed....this time.