Opening of PA flinlock season - rain

[TerryK]

Sad to see the forecast for Saturday's flintlock season is 80% rain. Generally we drive deer through heavy brush or still hunt. Either way the rifles get pretty wet. I personally have poor luck with my rifle going off is damp conditions. Sometimes we use fletch dry mixed with the primer charge. It is slower, but at least it has a better chance of going off. Any other tricks for damp weather?

 

[sproulman]

If it rains not going out here in pa.I only hunt bucks never doe here in clinton county hunting is not good at all.....I have not even seen deer this week let alone a buck...In wet weather I change my pan powder a lot and keep that area under your arm or put plastic wrap over that area..I never have trouble with my ball/patch and powder and been doing this for 50 years....Put ballon over muzz of your barrel to keep rain out..

 

[CG6018]

Being retired, I can be sorta choosy about which days I'll hunt, and which ones I'll skip. I'm not a big fan of hunting in the rain any more, especially during our flintlock season, but I have over the years.

Keep a calf's knee over the lock, keep the lock area tucked under your arm pit, and keep the barrel pointed toward the ground. Following these steps religiously, there is no need to constantly check the pan power. Doing so offers too many opportunities for a drop of water to land precisely where you don't want it. :nono:

Good luck to all! :thumbsup:

 

[GANGGREEN]

I'm not retired (yet) but my work at this time of year allows quite a bit of flexibility so I tend not to hunt on the bad days either. I took a doe for meat with the flintlock during the second week of rifle season so I'm actually more inclined to buck hunt now.

Good luck PA guys.

 

[amcmullen]

For the last seven years I go to camp and a large crew of us 15-20 of us go out and push around. We've hunted in outright downpours. It's always a battle but the only thing you can really do is cover the lock, I use a handkerchief and tie it down so that the edges are in contact with the gun on either side of the lock to help make a barrier. I then keep the covered lock covered under my armpit or covered with a jacket if still. When standing I keep the lock loosely covered and under my jacket. I continually change pan powder and if I'm driving I take it out and put a piece of toilet paper in the pan. I always try to keep the rifle parallel to the ground so that water doesn't run down the barrel to the lock.

It doesn't always work but gives you a fighting chance. Good luck

 

[zimmerstutzen]

there are a number of tricks to help weather proof a flintlock. One is to mix a small amount of Lycopodium powder with your 4f prime powder. Water droplets do not soak into the stuff. Coating the edges of the pan with wax and edges of the frizzen base with wax, helps keep surface dampness from seeping into the pan along the surface of the metal. Just a light rubbing with the wax is all that is needed. Same around the touch hole on the barrel flat.

 

[WKD]

My experience with PA flint season (38 of them) it's either rain or ice...I'll take the chance of rain and sit in my blind

 

[amcmullen]

there are a number of tricks to help weather proof a flintlock. One is to mix a small amount of Lycopodium powder with your 4f prime powder. Water droplets do not soak into the stuff. Coating the edges of the pan with wax and edges of the frizzen base with wax, helps keep surface dampness from seeping into the pan along the surface of the metal. Just a light rubbing with the wax is all that is needed. Same around the touch hole on the barrel flat.

Thanks for sharing that little tip with all of us! I have never heard of the powder you mentioned, I will have to give it a try. What kind of wax are you using to coat the edges of the pan? I imagine beeswax is too stiff to work effectively, I thought about using chapstick but never have.

To add to my previous post what I meant to say was that there is not a whole lot to completely prevent the powder from getting wet because even if you keep water out the air is still at 100% humidity when its raining

 

[zimmerstutzen]

If the metal is warm, candle or crayon wax works well. Bees wax has a low melting temp. I have used SnoSeal applied sparingly.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Ohio is almost always raining for deer season. A "towel" wrap is good as long as you don't need to shoot in a hurry. :idunno:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I cover mine with a very waxed scrap of leather called a "Cow's Knee" and keep the muzzle sloped downward.

I don't put anything on the pan or around the heel of the frizzen. And I never oil my frizzen face.

 

[Dave Marsh]

This is what I use from Curt Lyles. Best $35 I have spent.
http://www.cdlyles.com/tradeblanket-page14_files/image023.jpg

Dave

 

[TerryK]

http://www.rmcoxyoke.com/inc/sdetail/rmc_fletch_dry___9_grams/14254/428

Just add a little to the charge powder annd stir it around. Water will actually run off it like a ducks back. Good to dry out the pan after firing when it sucks up moisture.

 

[CG6018]

Stumpkiller, that looks like a fine Lehigh Co. flintlock under that Cow's Knee. Could we see an uncovered photo? Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[M. De Land]

Personally, I'd be getting out the percussion gun for deluge hunting!

 

[amcmullen]

Personally, I'd be getting out the percussion gun for deluge hunting!

Flintlock only for us PA guys and gals

 

[sproulman]

No hunting for me in rain but I am retired so no hurry and I only BUCK hunt no killing any doe there just is not many left in Clinton county and also doe have fawns inside
....

 

[faste350]

i'll be out. i think the worst part on rainy days is the smoke that hangs in the air after the shot. if the deer doesn't drop in its tracks, you can't see which way it takes off. the weather was perfect for last year, wish we had some of that coming our way, but doesn't look good.

 

[Brokennock]

Today was the last day of the CT. muzzleloading deer season. Of course, it rained all day, from a steady drizzle to heavy showers. I was out all day and kept my muzzle down, a bit of my beeswax/olive oil lube smeared on the edges of where frizzen meets pan, and a cow's knee style lock cover made of commercial deer skin based on a pattern Colorado Clyde posted in another thread. greased the inside with mink oil and treated the outside with sno-seal.

No deer seen, moose, fisher, and squirrels, but no deer. at the last minute of legal light I slipped off the cow's knee, took aim at a rotten log,and squeezed off the shot,,,, instant ignition. So it can be managed, but it takes discipline. I also kept the lock under my armpit when moving, and it's tough to maintain that and the muzzle down all the time.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Stumpkiller, that looks like a fine Lehigh Co. flintlock under that Cow's Knee. Could we see an uncovered photo? Thanks! :thumbsup:

Good eye. She's in my signature line. Also featured on Jon Donelson's website under "Classic Lehigh Rifle".
http://www.donelsoncustommuzzleloaders.com/longarms.html

But here's some baby pictures of Cherry Girl:

Chambers Early Germanic lock attended to by Tip Curtis. L.C. Rice 44" swamped .54 cal barrel inlet by Fred Miller. The rest forged & fit by Jon Donelson using silo straps forged for the iron furniture and a cherry stock from a tree he cut off his property. Iron furniture isn't quite common on Lehighs, but I like it so that's what I ordered.

Shoots pretty OK as well. 25 yards (lower) & 50 yards (right).