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The beginning of my flintlock journey.

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Joined
Jul 6, 2021
Messages
16
Reaction score
54
Location
Miller County, Arkansas
Well gentlemen, for what it’s worth I’d like to share with you my thoughts on this flintlock thing for me. It’s certainly in its infancy, as I’ve just finished the rifle in the middle of August and I’ve taken it out shooting 4 times now, 5 tops.

So I reckon to start with, a little background to my black powder experience. I’m 34. I got my first bp rifle when I was 13 and had literally no guidance whatsoever. My dad knew a little bit but not enough to keep me from ruining that bore out of ignorance not to mention even a thought about load development. Anyways, that thing lasted about a year. Later on I got a t/c in-line when I was 16 that I saved up and bought from an uncle. I managed to take my first deer with it. A big fat southwestern Arkansas whitetail doe, which spun off another obsession in and of itself. And it lasted a few years before it succumbed to foolishness as well. Then when I turned 22 I bought a t/c hawken caplock 50 from another uncle who’d ruined the bore before I even got my hands on it but I was clueless. Missed a few deer with that thing because it wouldn’t hit the broadside of a barn and I’d just come to think that was just muzzleloaders. How wrong I was.

So fast forward 10 years to 2018. It was April and I’d just ordered myself a lyman gpr cap gun in 50 with the rb twist. And I was determined to figure this thing out. Mostly because life happened and I didn’t think I’d be able to afford another one if I’d ruined this one. Lo and behold I found myself on the muzzleloading forum. And I kept that rifle in literally new condition and shot the living manure out of it and slayed a many a deer. No issues with cleanliness or accuracy whatsoever. Time to step up. You guys taught me everything from cleaning, troubleshooting, maintenance, load development, and so many other things. The list goes on. And for that, I am forever grateful and I will pass it on. Thank you all.

So enough of all that. The rifle. Back in may I ordered myself a tvm kit. I really did not have any interest in building it, but financially, and the fact that I needed a left handed rifle, it was the only option I had. So I waited and waited and it finally came on July 7th. I could go on about how honestly for $1100 there was in my opinion way too much wood work to do. I’m a machinist, not a miracle I mean wood worker. Also the rear sight dovetail was filed too big and canted severely to the right but whatever man, I’m finally getting a flintlock. So I worked away on this thing for nearly a month and a half and finally finished it on August 18th. It is no beauty. The stock upon close inspection would make most of you hurl. There’s gaps in my inletting and things that just simply ain’t right but I did my best. The fit and finish simply put is awful. BUT, it really captures a poor man from the mountains of Appalachia very well. Which is my family lineage.

Doing the flintlock thing. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what to think my first range trip. What a crazy, odd, BEAUTIFUL, contraption this lock mechanism. Then I got home and attempted to clean it with the TOTW flintlock flush kit. Total waste of money…. So I hit up the forums search bar and read and cleaned. Went to bed frustrated. Shot some more, read some more. Wax on, wax off. Then yesterday and today it all came together and a friend of mines words came to mind “keep it simple stupid”. Lol. Cleaning is a literal breeze. It’s NOT a big deal. Toothpick that flash hole and do the thing. And as far as shooting goes, everyone I know was like “Hey man, hur dur duhhh that things gonna misfire like crazy with that old technology.” Or “Hey man, hur dur duhhhhhhh that flintlock is gonna have such a delay you won’t hit s***!” Omg how foolish and ignorant are they. I’m putting 5 shot groups at 50 yards on paper that most of my unmentionables can’t produce. It’s incredible. I don’t know that I’ll ever pick up another rifle for any reason unless I build another one and try to do a better job. Everything about it is simple, shooting or cleaning. The thing just feels right in my hands. It just feels a certain way when I’m carrying it even down range to look at my target. I can’t explain it. Fire, swab the bore, load again, pick the vent and let er rip. No issues period. Now that’s reliable.

Thank all of you guys for your wealth of knowledge and helping this guy get here. I had taught everything I learned to my dad as I was going here with our cap guns and he was having a blast and actually enjoying the hobby. I lost him this summer from covid. But I know he would have been right on my heels and we’d be building him a flintlock now after he got to experience this with me. I’m alone now, but I’m sure I’ll pass it to someone along the way. If you made it this far through all this thank you for reading. Just telling my story here around the fire at the muzzleloading forum. Thank you! -Dillon
 
Good on you for sticking with your build. It is a lot of work but now you can be proud of it. Don't give up on that TOTW flusher. Mine works great! The tooth pick method is also very effective.

What’s up Jack! How’s that Kibler doing? That’s probably the route I’ll go next time, yours turned out absolutely beautiful! But yeah I dunno about the flush kit bud, I’ve tried everything. Or so I think.
 
We had a younger visitor to our range the other day. He and his wife had shot a cap n ball revolver, but had never shot a traditional muzzle loading rifle. He was curious about how did the flint shooters deal with all that second long delay to hold on target. I heard that and here I am with my flint lock Derringer in my hands and It had just fired very nicely at a practice target. Well it was time to offer him a chance to shoot it. Showed him how to knap a flint to be sharp, make sure the touch hole was clear and how to safely load the rifle. He took aim at the 100 yard gong, pulled the trigger, no delay and the gong was swinging. His wife wanted a chance to shoot the rifle, so she got her chance at the gong. Its rather amazing just how big the smiles can be when flint locks perform like they are supposed to.

By the way @SulphurForkVagrant, the magnetic flush kit offered on the Lucky Bag is much better than the clamp on flush kit. But then the rare earth magnet with an electrical tape gasket stops the touch hole very well too. THE LUCKY BAG
 
Just telling my story here around the fire at the muzzleloading forum.
There’s gaps in my inletting
Thank you! -Dillon
Great story Dillon! :thumb: Sorry for your loss. I too have lost my father and mentor. You have come a long way to be shootin a flintlock that is reliable. Most early birds to flintlock spend more time trying to make it go boom.
From a wood butcher (carpenter) to a machinist................Just remember to do the same on the wood as you do to the metal! Just take off what you don't want!
Larry
 
Grenadier and Larry! You two are definitely names I would drop in a heartbeat in terms of good information and learning! Thank you guys! And I’ll definitely check them out grenadier! And that is definitely good advice Larry. This project was daunting but I think with another shot at it I’d do much better. I have no issues making the one I have go boom so I’m going to spend the next few years learning everything I can. This weekend is our muzzleloader opener and I took off Monday and Tuesday. So 4 days at camp with it should be a great hunting trip and I guarantee if I get my sights on a deer, it will be in the freezer. I’m so excited!
 
What’s up Jack! How’s that Kibler doing? That’s probably the route I’ll go next time, yours turned out absolutely beautiful! But yeah I dunno about the flush kit bud, I’ve tried everything. Or so I think.
The Kibler is great, the lock is very fast. It's my favorite rifle now. I'll be hunting whitetail with it soon. I'm working on a Fowler now. That'll be for squirrels and Turkey. Yea the flush tube can be a bit tricky. The magnetic one is better.
 
Good on you for sticking with your build. It is a lot of work but now you can be proud of it. Don't give up on that TOTW flusher. Mine works great! The tooth pick method is also very effective.
I got the clamp on flush kit for my Pedersoli Kentucky. I am convinced it is a good idea, but I got frustrated and replaced it with the screw in flush nipple. Works great, here is a link:
Flush Nipple, 8-1.25mm thread, stainless steel, with 1/4" square shank for nipple wrench, fits Italian Enfield replicas - Track of the Wolf
 
Well gentlemen, for what it’s worth I’d like to share with you my thoughts on this flintlock thing for me. It’s certainly in its infancy, as I’ve just finished the rifle in the middle of August and I’ve taken it out shooting 4 times now, 5 tops.

So I reckon to start with, a little background to my black powder experience. I’m 34. I got my first bp rifle when I was 13 and had literally no guidance whatsoever. My dad knew a little bit but not enough to keep me from ruining that bore out of ignorance not to mention even a thought about load development. Anyways, that thing lasted about a year. Later on I got a t/c in-line when I was 16 that I saved up and bought from an uncle. I managed to take my first deer with it. A big fat southwestern Arkansas whitetail doe, which spun off another obsession in and of itself. And it lasted a few years before it succumbed to foolishness as well. Then when I turned 22 I bought a t/c hawken caplock 50 from another uncle who’d ruined the bore before I even got my hands on it but I was clueless. Missed a few deer with that thing because it wouldn’t hit the broadside of a barn and I’d just come to think that was just muzzleloaders. How wrong I was.

So fast forward 10 years to 2018. It was April and I’d just ordered myself a lyman gpr cap gun in 50 with the rb twist. And I was determined to figure this thing out. Mostly because life happened and I didn’t think I’d be able to afford another one if I’d ruined this one. Lo and behold I found myself on the muzzleloading forum. And I kept that rifle in literally new condition and shot the living manure out of it and slayed a many a deer. No issues with cleanliness or accuracy whatsoever. Time to step up. You guys taught me everything from cleaning, troubleshooting, maintenance, load development, and so many other things. The list goes on. And for that, I am forever grateful and I will pass it on. Thank you all.

So enough of all that. The rifle. Back in may I ordered myself a tvm kit. I really did not have any interest in building it, but financially, and the fact that I needed a left handed rifle, it was the only option I had. So I waited and waited and it finally came on July 7th. I could go on about how honestly for $1100 there was in my opinion way too much wood work to do. I’m a machinist, not a miracle I mean wood worker. Also the rear sight dovetail was filed too big and canted severely to the right but whatever man, I’m finally getting a flintlock. So I worked away on this thing for nearly a month and a half and finally finished it on August 18th. It is no beauty. The stock upon close inspection would make most of you hurl. There’s gaps in my inletting and things that just simply ain’t right but I did my best. The fit and finish simply put is awful. BUT, it really captures a poor man from the mountains of Appalachia very well. Which is my family lineage.

Doing the flintlock thing. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what to think my first range trip. What a crazy, odd, BEAUTIFUL, contraption this lock mechanism. Then I got home and attempted to clean it with the TOTW flintlock flush kit. Total waste of money…. So I hit up the forums search bar and read and cleaned. Went to bed frustrated. Shot some more, read some more. Wax on, wax off. Then yesterday and today it all came together and a friend of mines words came to mind “keep it simple stupid”. Lol. Cleaning is a literal breeze. It’s NOT a big deal. Toothpick that flash hole and do the thing. And as far as shooting goes, everyone I know was like “Hey man, hur dur duhhh that things gonna misfire like crazy with that old technology.” Or “Hey man, hur dur duhhhhhhh that flintlock is gonna have such a delay you won’t hit s***!” Omg how foolish and ignorant are they. I’m putting 5 shot groups at 50 yards on paper that most of my unmentionables can’t produce. It’s incredible. I don’t know that I’ll ever pick up another rifle for any reason unless I build another one and try to do a better job. Everything about it is simple, shooting or cleaning. The thing just feels right in my hands. It just feels a certain way when I’m carrying it even down range to look at my target. I can’t explain it. Fire, swab the bore, load again, pick the vent and let er rip. No issues period. Now that’s reliable.

Thank all of you guys for your wealth of knowledge and helping this guy get here. I had taught everything I learned to my dad as I was going here with our cap guns and he was having a blast and actually enjoying the hobby. I lost him this summer from covid. But I know he would have been right on my heels and we’d be building him a flintlock now after he got to experience this with me. I’m alone now, but I’m sure I’ll pass it to someone along the way. If you made it this far through all this thank you for reading. Just telling my story here around the fire at the muzzleloading forum. Thank you! -Dillon
Sorry for the loss of your father.
 
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