New Flintlock

[Dirty Mike]

well I finally got myself a flintlock, beautiful condition 54 renegade, any tips or tricks I need to know about using this? To I need to pick to touch hole after every shot?

 

[Nobody85]

Congratulations bud! I’ll give you some simple advice that took me too long to figure out. When you prime the pan, less is more. The more powder you put in the pan, the longer the delay is. Too much powder acts like a fuse instead of a quick priming charge. Time between flash and bang should almost be non-existing. One more thing. You don’t have to prime with 4f or null-b. A fine priming charge just attracts moisture.

 

[Dirty Mike]

Congratulations bud! I’ll give you some simple advice that took me too long to figure out. When you prime the pan, less is more. The more powder you put in the pan, the longer the delay is. Too much powder acts like a fuse instead of a quick priming charge. Time between flash and bang should almost be non-existing. One more thing. You don’t have to prime with 4f or null-b. A fine priming charge just attracts moisture.

Thank you I'll keep that in mind

 

[deermanok]

I'm a flintlock newbie myself. Kinda learning as I go.
Definitely want to pick the touch hole to keep it clear.
I also figured out that you need to wipe the frizzen and flint once in a while to keep it clean.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Black powder only in the pan and for the main charge. Substitute powders just don't work very well in flint locks. Black powder has a much lower temperature of ignition. About 300 degrees F lower. Picking the touch hole is one way to make sure that you have an open touch hole to the powder charge. The T/C breech's flash channel is not straight so a flexible brush such as a dental flossing pick is better than a pin.

The buildup of fouling is a constant issue with black powder, so that has to be controlled. Until you get familiar with how your rifle functions, I would use the "no wiping between shots" method of loading. Obviously powder first, then a ball wrapped in a wet patch, wrung out to remove excess liquid, to push ball and fouling to end up between the powder and the patched ball.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

The size of the flash hole should be about 1/16”…you’ll get solid ignition at that diameter. Learn how to knap your flint, in the jaw…once the gun is reloaded, I will always wipe the frizzen and the flint to clear off any surface build up. And pick the flash hole before closing the frizzen…you want to feel the grains of powder with the pick…

In damp weather, if you don’t have a cows knee, tuck the lock portion of the gun, up under your arm when carrying, use your clothing as much as possible to cover the gun. I will usually dump my prime and re-prime the pan around every 15 to 20 minutes. If it’s drizzling or raining, find a nice dry covered area to sit it out, this is also a good time for deer movement. Look with your eyes, don’t turn your head to much. Moisture is not your friend, with a flintlock.

 

[BigAl52]

Im no flintlock expert at all but one thing I did that I think made an improvement was change the liner to am RMC touchhole liner. They make one for TC. I put one in my Lyman and like it alot.

 

[hanshi]

And wiping the bore after each shot can push fouling into the the "doglegged" breech so just be aware.

 

[springfield art]

I'm a flintlock newbie myself. Kinda learning as I go.
Definitely want to pick the touch hole to keep it clear.
I also figured out that you need to wipe the frizzen and flint once in a while to keep it clean.

Eric Bye's book, Flintlocks, A Guide To Their Use and Appreciation, on the NMLRA website sales. Lots of good info for newbys and more experienced users.

 

[Nobade]

If your rifle has the older style hammer (cock) it will benefit from being swapped to the newer one and frizzen. The old ones really bashed the flints.

 

[Dirty Mike]

All very good info thank you very much