My First Flintlock

[jkayatin]

Purchased from CS Arms in Upperville, VA - custom rifle built back in the late '70s with a Bill Large barrel, Bob Roller lock, and nicks and dings from honest use!

Now I have to figure out how to operate this weapon....

 

[wattlebuster]

Congratulations and welcome :applause: Do you know who built the rifle. What are the specs?

 

[Dausener]

hotoSmile: and the specs of the rifle. Congrats on the newbto you gun. Have fun with it. :wink:

 

[Shooey]

Hopefully you can find some real black powder, substitutes do not work well in a flintlock. 2f down the barrel and 3f or 4f in the pan.

Are you familiar with BP guns?

 

[MacRob46]

You got a terrific barrel and great lock with you gun. How about posting some photos of it.

 

[jkayatin]

I seem to be having some challenges with uploading pictures, but here goes anyway (I hope this works!)

The rifle is .54 caliber, but according to the previous owner (I purchased the gun on consignment from CS Arms in Upperville, VA) he shot competition with a .526 round ball and a .015 patch using 70 grams of 2FG.

The rifle was built in the late 1970s by a gentleman named Doug Scott in St. Louis, Missouri. He apparently copied a Hawken Rifle which was percussion, but which had been a flintlock previously. Doug Scott used to write a column for a now-defunct magazine called The Buckskin Report, which is how the previous owner found him years ago to get this rifle made. I cannot find any contact information for Doug Scott on the Internet at present.

This information is new to me (I only have experience with commercial ammunition - this is my first go-around with a flintlock) so any and all advice would be gratefully appreciated!

 

[jkayatin]

OK here is another try at posting pictures:
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jkayatin/media/Image5712a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jkayatin/media/IMG_20130320_134836.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

 

[S.Kenton]

Thats a FINE looking rifle! I would be getting some English Flints for her.. or knap your own from some good grade field flint. The cut flints have never really worked too well for me. Others experiences may vary...Keep the bore clean and oiled and she should provide with a lifetime of use.

 

[jkayatin]

OK I am now getting the hang of this I think:

 

[jkayatin]

Thanks! I appreciate the advice!

 

[hanshi]

You got yourself a very fine rifle. Congratulations.

 

[bpd303]

A fine rifle indeed. Operation is simple powder down barrel followed by patched ball prime the pan and have a lot of fun.

ps then spend the rest of your days pursuing perfection. :wink:

 

[jbwilliams3]

Looks like an awesome rifle. I second the English flints. You can purchase them through track of the wolf and a couple of other sources. Measure the face of your frizzen to find the size.

If the previous fellow shot well with .526 round balls, that sounds like the ticket. Some folks like a super tight fit, so they shoot .530’s and .535’s. I actually like the .525 and find it to be superb in my slow-twist .54. I started casting my own balls after I commissioned the .54. It’s so much more price effective than buying pre-made balls.

Have fun!

 

[Zane Scott]

Sorry I am 6 years late to the party, but I am glad my grandfather could make your first flintlock rifle. He died about 3 weeks ago.

 

[Renegade Dan]

Sorry I am 6 years late to the party, but I am glad my grandfather could make your first flintlock rifle. He died about 3 weeks ago.

Sorry for your loss! Did our Grandfather build a lot of rifles? He did a nice job on this gun.

 

[Zane Scott]

Sorry for your loss! Did our Grandfather build a lot of rifles? He did a nice job on this gun.

Yes, he worked in the st louis hawken shop and also made guns independantly with friends. I made an "in memorium" thread on the gunmaker forum if you have any stories about the gun you'd like to share.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

The rifle is .54 caliber, but according to the previous owner (I purchased the gun on consignment from CS Arms in Upperville, VA) he shot competition with a .526 round ball and a .015 patch using 70 grams of 2FG.

Congrats on a fine rifle!
Not sure if your grams of measure was error or ignorance. I do not mean that in a derogatory way by any means. A gram is actually 15.4324 grains. Grains of volume is how we typically measure blackpowder.
Flintlocklar

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Yes that sounds like consonant-shift, where you have two similar words and ooops you substitute one for the other... 70 grains of powder is what I like to shoot in my .54, while 70 grams would be 2.4 ounces of powder, which would be a load for a swivel gun artillery piece.

LD