Sparks not hitting the center of the pan

[ord sgt]

Flints are available in different sizes and shapes. Find flints that are more rectangular than square. That will get the leading edge closer to the frizzen and the back touching the jaw screw.

 

[Rob M.]

Oddly, the videos show the sparks barely hitting the pan at all when going bevel down. The flint hits the frizzen face squarely near the top, sparks almost straight out before the frizzen can open fully and the sparks land all around the partially closed frizzen. Maybe if I could change the angle of the frizzen or the cock, then it might work better.

Not trying to be a smart @$$ ...but try a drop of oil at the toe of the frizzen . Perhaps you've already dine this .....

 

[Nuthatch]

How does it shoot? Is it reliable? Humid and damp weather reliable? Does it seem slow to fire compared to other rifles?

Compared with other rifles? You mean flintlocks? I only have these 2 pedersolis in flint. Compared with a percussion, they're terrible. But that's because of me and having to deal with that delay vs the instant ignition of a caplock. I've taken video of myself loading up a 10-grain charge with just a patch down the barrel to see how I could improve the ignition timing. It's a nice KER-POP. Range shots can be slower for some reason. I think it has to do with the flash channel getting too much fouling with the bigger charges. I pick every time but there's often a piece of crud that sits askew the flash hole & just slows things down. Short of disassembling & pulling the vent liner out every 5 shots, I haven't figured out a good way to deal with it. Maybe a can of compressed air could help... Still working on that.

Ignition is reliable... now. That took some fiddling & learning. But now I'm looking to get reliably fast, not just reliable. I picked up a percussion lock for the kentucky rifle and that's my favorite of the bunch at the moment. It groups extremely well and I have absolute confidence in it for hunting. But slap that flintlock on there and I wouldn't feel comfortable taking a hunting shot past about 15 yards. I simply lack the skill to use it well.

Humidity and weather reliable? Yes. We get 95% humidity and misty fog in the duck marshes and it has no problem going off. I re-primed maybe once every hour or so while I was out if I didn't take a shot. It's not always fast to ignite. But it rarely doesn't ignite.

 

[Rob M.]

Oddly, the videos show the sparks barely hitting the pan at all when going bevel down. The flint hits the frizzen face squarely near the top, sparks almost straight out before the frizzen can open fully and the sparks land all around the partially closed frizzen. Maybe if I could change the angle of the frizzen or the cock, then it might work better.

Dont get me wrong , you may have to change the angle of the cock or frizzen , I have to do that now with an old Curly lock that I'm having troubles with but ....you sure want to try everything before you go there

 

[HSmithTX]

100% a flintlock is harder to shoot accurately than a caplock, and a caplock is harder than a modern whatever. If you get a real tight focus on the front sight and only the front sight mentally and visually you won't know if it was slow or fast or in between, just that it happened after the fact because you can't see anything anymore but smoke. It's harder than it sounds, and for some folks it is really really hard, but if there is another way I am unaware of it. If a rifle isn't dead reliable and has some slow and some fast it can make a really good trainer and you can train alone, with your rifle going every time and reasonably fast have a buddy load and prime for you, and let him decide which part of the process to not do and when. Some with no charge and ball but pan primed, some with no prime, some with a pan chock full so it goes slow, etc. Run yourself through the ringer a few times, you will laugh plenty too when you catch yourself, and watch how much you improve. You will learn to aim through the shot fairly quickly. There are very minor gains to be had with the hardware, the software potential for gain is almost limitless.

 

[Nuthatch]

I got to play around a little bit with the trade gun yesterday up at my property. Yes! Ignition was VERY much improved. I shot about a dozen shots. All were fast to ignite with ZERO misfires or hangfires. I was even using an older flint. I think the best I had gotten before yesterday was about 10% misfires and half were hangfires. With my equipment running well, now I can focus my attention on the operator. Thanks all. Much appreciated.

 

[Nuthatch]