New to flintlocks.

[ALwoodsman]

This is my first post on this forum. I have never shot a flintlock and am just now beginning to familiarize myself with them. I am in the process of trading an in-line for a T/C .50 Hawken flintlock. From what I can tell the rifle is in good shape. I do not have a bore light but from looking down the barrel with a small flashlight it looks ok. I ran some patches through it and they did have what looked like rust on them. I also took out the (not sure what to call it) allen screw in the breech and it seems like there is some fouling and rust in it. I can't get the ramrod with a patch down to this area. Is this normal? Is there anything else that I need to be aware of? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Old Salt]

Put a .357 caliber brush or jag on your cleaning rod to fit into the patent breech.

When you ran the patch down the bore did it feel smooth?

 

[ALwoodsman]

Yes it felt smooth and looks pretty good. My main concern was in the breech area.

 

[Leatherbark]

It may be loaded so be careful. On the other hand make sure your patch is oiled and swab it out. Then take a nickle 38 special or 9mm cartridge case and put it down the bore with the open end down. Shine your light down the bore and inspect it a little better. I'm trying to figure of where the little allen screw is at on a T.C.Hawken breech? Is it the allen holed touchhole liner? +1 on using a 38 brush in the patent breech area to clean it out.

I'd get some black english flints to go along with it after I traded. Visit "Track of the Wolf" for your needs.

Good luck and use the search feature often as there is tons of information on these T.C. Hawkens

Bob

 

[ebiggs1]

Make sure the gun is unloaded.
With the touch hole removed you should be able to see the light. Or if you put the light next to the touch hole and look down the barrel you should see the light.
Now that you have either unloaded the gun or determined it is unloaded, clean it thoroughly. Now I mean thoroughly.
Make sure it is clean.
You are not ready to even think of moving to step two until this important step is completed.

One thing that is 100% different with flintlocks from in-lines is, lube. In-lines require no lube what-so-ever and flintlocks do require lube on each and every shot.

Get the gun cleaned and come back for further advice. This is great fun! :thumbsup:

 

[ALwoodsman]

Ok, I got to looking a little closer and from what I can tell the breech area is smaller diameter than the actual bore. Initially I was thinking that I should be able to push the jag with a patch all the way to the bottom and see it through the touch hole but this is not the case. I used a smaller caliber brush and cleaned this area up. I do not think it was as bad as I originally had thought. Thanks for the replies. What is step #2?

 

[cynthialee]

step 2?

insert gunpowder, ball and patch, prime the pan and shoot the gun!

 

[David W.]

Get some Ballistol to clean it with. It's the best cleaner I've used.

 

[Grenadier1758]

We assume that you have installed a good sharp flint wrapped in leather.

 

[ncmtmike]

Welcome to the dark side :stir:

 

[MSW]

bwahaha (insert mad scientist laugh here ... )

once rocks banged have you, forever will they domainate your range time.

welcome to the hobby / addiction / lifestyle thingy ... you're gonna have a fantastic time - both on and off the range ... flintshooters are just cooler, as in, way more cool ... this is the way the world is assembled ...

after a while, you'll notice that you no longer really feel the need to shoot your centerfire stuff any more (except perhaps the .22s) and you will shoot better than the 'hairy chested' types with their black- ops, spray and pray zillion round magazine laser sight rifles.

enjoy!

 

[ebiggs1]

Step 2 is to go back and make sure Step 1 is done. Is the gun clean?
Alright enough on the clean stuff but it is very important.
You now need real black powder like GOEX in 3F granulation. You can not use any of the powders you were using in the in-lines. None of them will work. It has to be the real stuff, GOEX.
If possible get a can of GOEX in 4F granulation to use in your pan as the prime. If you can't find 4F, than use the 3F which you must have.
It is a 50 cal, so buy a box of Hornady .490 round balls. You will need some patching material. You can either buy pre-cut patches or make your own. But it needs to be .018” thick or pretty close to it. Pillow ticking works best.
You need patch lube. You can buy Bore Butter or use plain olive oil from the kitchen.
Also, if the gun has one of the absolutely terrible swan agate flints on it toss it away and get some Tom Fuller Black English hand knapped flints. 3/4th x 7/8th . They will require a leather wrap about 1/8” thick.
Once you have all this stuff come back for Step 7,9 or10 or whatever we are up to by know!
Did I mention to make sure the gun is clean?

 

[ALwoodsman]

Thanks for all of the good advice. I got her cleaned up and shot about 8 times yesterday. Man, this is fun stuff. My accuracy is not quite what I was hoping for but I am sure it will get better as I find the right load for the gun and get adjusted to shooting a flintlock. What is the reason for not using agate flints? I have 4 of them that came with the rifle and it is throwing sparks pretty good.

 

[excess650]

I prefer the black English flints, but have also tried French amber, agates, and chert. They all can work, but I prefer to use what works best in my rifles.

 

[Many Klatch]

If the sawn agate flints work for you keep on using them. However, handmade flint from either England or Rich Pierce here on this forum will throw better sparks. The best flints and frizzens will throw a shower of sparks that will fill the pan and some of them will make it all the way to the floor. A poor flint will throw 3 or 4 sparks.

Many Klatch

 

[ebiggs1]

Shoot what works! It's your gun. But you are probably too new to know what is good sparks and what is just OK. Most people find the agate “flints” don't either work well or if they do they don't last long. Plus you can't knap them.
You don't know how people shoot on this forum or how much they shoot. Some probably don't shoot at all. Some shoot all the time. You need to decide from whom you take advise. My advise is to not use swan agate. Use Tom Fuller Black English hand knapped.
But in the end, it's your gun.

 

[MSW]

what ebiggs said ... i've heard of some folks who made good use of the sawn agate flints-oid thingies, but i've never see it myself, and I've never been able to make them work for a flip in any of my own rifles, so i've thrown them all away.

if, however, you can make them work, then good on you and shame on me - it can't hurt to try, and you should definately go with what works best in your particular rifle!

make good smoke!