Tower Pistol

[Don Morgan]

A friend gave me what appears to be a Japanese reproduction of an English flintlock Tower Pistol. Apparently these guns were sold by Dixie in the late 60's and early 70's. It's a .67 cal. (Measured by my gunsmith at .665 at the muzzle.) Any thoughts on where to get ammo to shoot in it? Nothing in that size comes up on a cursory internet search. Also, how about powder loads?

 

[Don]

Take off the barrel and check the breach first. A friend gave me on that had a breach that was tack welded on in two spots. I don't trust it to shoot it.

Don

 

[firefoot]

I had one of those in the Bicentennial. We shot it no problem. Their as safe as the jap Brown Besses. Same era. There are plenty of ball choices now, try .630-.640ish 30 grains of 3f powder. BUT check your particular gun before using, as it's 40 years older now then when I shot mine and who knows what has happened to it since it was new.

jim c.

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the Forum.

As you may know, all of these muzzleloaders are meant to be shot with patched lead balls.

The balls are smaller than the actual bore size to allow room for the patching material.

That said, the problem with a .67 or .69 caliber gun is the cost of the balls if you can find them.

Dixie Gunworks offers .600 diameter lead roundballs but the price is totally insane. http://www.dixiegunworks.com/produ...=3662&osCsid=95693a3bf78c6b2f29b5693fb2debaee

The 2011 catalog showed these to be priced at 33.25/100 but they have jacked up the price to $50.50/100 plus postage at their website (link above).
In their catalog they say:
"Our lead balls and bullets are packaged and sold 100 per package or can be purchased individually for $.50 each: however, you must purchase a minimum of four per each size ordered. (underline added).

They have undoubtedly raised the individual ball price but if you are interested you can call them at (731) 885-0700.

Because the balls are .070 undersize they should be patched with at least 2 layers of thick material like denim. Even then the accuracy will be very poor.

The powder load for something like this would be about 25 grains of blackpowder.
You cannot use one of the synthetic black powders in a flintlock for priming the pan or for the main charge without a LOT of mis-fires.

Real black powder can be difficult to find at most local gunstores and you must ask for it. Call ahead to see if they even have it as most don't.

 

[RBK]

Hey, I got one of the same Tower pistols you speak of. Yes, the price of lead ball is insane so, I did not go that route. Instead, I have purchased at several past gunshows in Knoxville, a large bag of 00 buck for $13. Believe me, it is a bargain!
Anyway, I do 50 to 60 of Goex FFFG with a card over that then, 5 of the buck shots covered with another card. Shoots great. Economics is good.
I have been tuning the frizzen after learning a good deal about how it is supposed to go completely open when the flint goes thru the motion. Well, my pistol's frizzen was sooooo tight, it took two hands to bring it open! No wonder it was literally breaking flints, no ignition and frizzen was moving 1/4" or so.
Really bad. So, little by little, I ground the cam part of the frizzen down and polished it and now, it really works well. I have adopted it as my primary [only] flinter. Don't try this unless you feel confident about it because you will ruin the frizzen. Best take it to a black powder smith.
Enjoy your pistol.

 

[Don Morgan]

Thanks to all. I think I'm going to try RBK's suggestion first. I'll be on the lookout for those .630 or .640 balls, though.

 

[Many Klatch]

I had a pair of those, after considerable work I managed to get them both in shootable condition. One was a .66 caliber and the other was a .64 caliber. I got a custom mold from Jeff Tanner for the .64. With a round ball it was accurate out to about 15 feet. I finally decided that what they both really liked was buckshot. 8 or 9 .32 ball over a wad and 35 grains of 2F made a nice healthy charge for me.

Many Klatch