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Thunder14

32 Cal.
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
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N.E. Pennsylvania
I could use some advice, I think I’m not doing something correct. I’m new to flintlock so its a learning prosses for me.Im getting a good spark, filling pan half way not covering flash hole.The pan lights but the barrel does not.Then sometimes everything lights and it fires.Im shooting fff in the pan and ff in the barrel.Im using TC flints all that was available at the time.I clean after every shot when it fires including flash liner with a pick.flint is bevel down and 16th space at half cocked.its a TC Hawkin older model.
 
But no problem as we know that the T/C Hawken has a chambered breech. Your problem is not with your flint position or your use of black powder. You have a lot of gunk in that chambered breech.

If you are experiencing the failure to fire as you are encountering, then there is a blockage between the pan and the powder chamber. Most likely this is either fouling or a solid mass of grease that was left in there from previous cleaning.

To start, you have to really clean out the breech area of your rifle. Fortunately you can remove the wedge and ramrod and lift the barrel out of the stock. You should not need to remove the touch hole liner. Place the breech in a pail of warm water with some dish washing soap. Water can take care of any fouling and the soap will attack the caked on lubricants. Use your cleaning jag and verify that a lot of water is going through the breech and touch hole. Now you want a small 30 caliber brush to scrub out that reduced diameter powder chamber. Wrap a cleaning patch around the brush and dry it out. By now you should have a clean path between the pan and the powder. Finish your cleaning with an alcohol or WD-40 patch to remove water. Now you can go to the range. If it is going into storage, then use a good rust inhibiting oil, such as Barricade.

The advice is to get that flash channel clean!
 
Ok when i got home i did just that i put barrel in bucket and more or less plungerd it till clean soapy water was coming out of flash hole all looked shiny inside barrel so we will see tomorrow.Thanks for the advice.
 
Thunderduck said:
Ok when i got home i did just that i put barrel in bucket and more or less plungerd it till clean soapy water was coming out of flash hole all looked shiny inside barrel so we will see tomorrow.Thanks for the advice.
Brake cleaner and that little tube that fits in the nozzle will blow it all out and leave it sparkling clean! Just remember to get some light oil on it. I like to use spray rem-oil and the nozzle tube before storing, keeps the rust monster away!
 
After you've oiled your barrel following cleaning, it is a good idea to store it with the muzzle pointed down.

That way, any oil will drain out of the barrel instead of collecting in the chambered breech where it can foul your next load of powder.
 
Thunderduck said:
Ok when i got home i did just that i put barrel in bucket and more or less plungerd it till clean soapy water was coming out of flash hole all looked shiny inside barrel so we will see tomorrow.Thanks for the advice.
You can get a strong stream of water coming out of the touch hole and still have considerable accumulation of baked on fouling in the breech. Getting rid of the accumulation of fouling and lubricants requires a chamber sized brush. Get a small pipe cleaner to wipe the touch hole.

When wiping between shots, use a thin damp patch that will ride over the fouling (and not push fouling into the powder chamber) then bunch up on the jag and pull the powder fouling out. Use a pipe cleaner, dental flossing brush or vent pick to keep the touch hole open.

Hope you have success on your next outing.
 
As has been mentioned, your gun has a chambered breech and may require a modification of your loading procedure. Slowly pour in a few grains of powder before dumping the rest of the charge en-mass. This will allow the breech cavity to fill and you should see powder at the surface of the touchhole. If you dump your charge en-mass it may, by wedging action, prevent powder from entering the chamber.

This loading procedure coupled with the touchhole recommendation I made in another of your posts should eliminate your ignition problems.
 
LJA said:
As has been mentioned, your gun has a chambered breech and may require a modification of your loading procedure. Slowly pour in a few grains of powder before dumping the rest of the charge en-mass. This will allow the breech cavity to fill and you should see powder at the surface of the touchhole. If you dump your charge en-mass it may, by wedging action, prevent powder from entering the chamber.

This loading procedure coupled with the touchhole recommendation I made in another of your posts should eliminate your ignition problems.

Lots of good suggestions so far. But, from long distance, hard to nail down his problem. He does get sparks and a hang-fire ignition. Gunk could very well be the issue. For my TCs, when cleaning I squirt carburetor/brake cleaner into the breech after cleaning, then swab with oil. When shooting I pour in my charge then (pointing downrange) tip the rifle to the right and give it a slap on the right side. This, I believe, settles powder into the patent breech and helps with good ignition.
 
I also slap the breech....Old habits die hard, might just be an insurance measure but I never had one misfire because I slapped it.

Old nipples can carbon/corrode up....Opening the hole one or two number sizes will often fix ignition problems if nothing else works.

Opps!....forgot he was talking about a flint... :doh:
 
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