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daddywpb
09-06-2010, 04:33 PM
I just got my first ever flintlock - never shot one before. I'd appreciate any tips that experianced flinter shooters could pass on. Thanks!

waksupi
09-06-2010, 07:12 PM
What kind did you get? First thing to do, is look at the position of the flint with the hammer forward. Does the leading edge point directly at the center of the pan? You need this to be true to start out.

missionary5155
09-06-2010, 07:19 PM
Welcome to the Rock Lock club !
Need to know some Par-ti-q-lars..
Who made the lock ?
Smoothbore or rifled?
What size bore?
What-cha want to bare down on with that smoke pole ?
Are ya a gonna shoot round ball or them boolit things ?
All this will help us steer you a bit better.
I have been around flinters since I was big enough to get dragged to the shoots dad went to. Once I was at the first one I was hooked.. about 5 years old. I saw all sorts of interesting fellers in fringy leather and injens and some really fine ladies who was always trying to feed that cute little boy...
That was about 1956 and I never was the same after..

SamTexas49
09-06-2010, 07:23 PM
sparks, sparks, sparks ! stainless steel flash hole liner? I luv em ! Practice!

A good flint lock will be quicker then you expect ! I never even seen it when it went off!

As a newbie "sparkie" be aware oif anyone standing to your right ! No one likes a faceful of flash !

daddywpb
09-06-2010, 07:49 PM
The Rock Lock club. I love it!!! It's a 1970's vintage .50 caliber T/C Renegade in excellent condition. I haven't gotten it yet - it should be here on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'd like to use patched round balls, and get her ready for muzzleloading season that starts here in about a month. I'm not positive, but I think the twist is 1:48. It's got a flint in it, but I don't know what kind. Im hoping to bust a couple of eatin' sized hogs with it. Hogs are legal in one place or another from mid September until February. She's gonna be the little sister of my .58 Renegade. I can't wait to shoot this thing!

Does this mean I can ask my wife to call me "Sparky"?

mooman76
09-06-2010, 08:32 PM
It should shoot a patched RB fine. Most were made for it. I have done a little flint but others here know way more about it than me so I'll step aside.

daddywpb
09-06-2010, 08:49 PM
It just doesn't seem right to shoot anything but a PRB in a flintlock, but I could be wrong. Whatever the rifle likes I guess!

nicholst55
09-06-2010, 09:08 PM
Be certain that you're getting a GOOD shower of sparks. Try to find another flintlock shooter at your gun club or somewhere, and compare the spark of your rifle to his. T/C at least used to replace frizzens (and locks) for free if they weren't working properly.

You'll want to try your gun with the flint in both the 'bevel up' and 'bevel down ' position, to see which creates the best spark.

The best thing you can do is to practice, so you can learn to overcome the involuntary flinch between the 'click' and the 'bang!' With a good flintlock, the time lag is minimal, but it's still there.

Here's a pretty good read on flintlocks: Flintlocks: How to Shoot Them (http://www.chuckhawks.com/flintlocks.htm)

missionary5155
09-06-2010, 09:14 PM
Greetings again...
Caliber 50 is a good one. With the 1-48 twist Round ball will work good. Think about a .490 RB and get some patch material about .15 thick. Linen is great.. pillow ticking also. Most any cotton tite weave will work.
Your RB is going to weight about 175 grains. I would start loading about 70 grains and increase at 5 grains shooting 5 shots for groups. 25 yards is sufficient to start with for group size. For pigs you want accuracy BUT also good velocity.. pigs are tough. If 90 grains plus is accurate go with it. There is not much need to go past 100 as there you start realising diminishing return for the extra powder.
Spark.. before ever loading clean the back side of the frizzen with alcohol. This will remove any lub form theat steel surface. Clean the flint also. The flint may already be well positioned so after cleaning give it a try. It should be positioned so it starts the strike on the frizzen about 2/3 of the way up. Changing the angle of the flint in the jaws with a piece of leather or thin lead sheet and placing it angle up or angle down helps to get it lined up. Also as mentioned with the hammer all the way down it is helpful if the flint is pointing into the primimg pan. With a new to me rifle I would want to see 5 good sparking hammer falls in a row. Generally I do this in a dark room (no carpet) so I can see the spark quantity. I want to see lots of sparks. If there are few sparks the flint could be dull or the frizen is not hardened on the face any longer.
Use only Black powder. I stick with 2F when over caliber 45 in the barrel. To prime I use 4F. A good sparking lock can ignite 2F & 3f but 4f really speeds up the firing time. Use what you can get. You do not need to fill the pan. A 1/16 layer in the pan is plenty. Do not block the flash hole as to want the priming powder to flask into the hole as fast as possible. I have seen good locks fire with no priming powder. I use just enough to always get a flash. Each lock is a bit different as to How Much it must have.
For hunting use a greased patch. Crisco works well. I use my own mix of olive oil and beeswax. 45-55 (OO to Bwax) For range shooting I put a patch in my mouth to absorb my spit as I am powdering the rifle. Charge the barrel with the frizzen open and hammer on half cock. Round patches are the best shape. center the patch over a powdered barrel. Center the cast ball sprue up ( the cut off mark). If using swaged balls there is no sprue to place up. With a short starter wap it down and shove it onto the powder charge. Raise the rifle.. charge the pan.. Close the frizen, full cock the hammer and you are ready.
As i saw you already have a smoke pole then I figure you know the basics.
Feel free to ask any questions.
There will be other lube sugestions I am sure. Most are good stuff.
I just reread and this sure is very basic. There are all sorts of little tid bits you are gonna learn.. But when in dought just ask.. Flinters are a great way to hunt and are very realible when properly set up.

daddywpb
09-06-2010, 10:06 PM
I've seen videos that say to "feed" powder into the flash hole with a nipple pick after priming the pan. Is this really needed? I picked up some FFFFg this weekend.

missionary5155
09-06-2010, 10:28 PM
Hi It is a simple comparison to try.
I have usually had a quicker lock time if the vent hole was open so the "Fire" could run into the main charge with out having to burn into the main charge.
You can do the same with a percusion rifle. fire it normally. Then next load fill the percusion cap with 4F and there will be a slowdown as the flame has to burn through the powder.
You will see alot of ideas out there... but again a good lock will fire without priming. Some will fire even upside down.

waksupi
09-06-2010, 11:04 PM
I've seen videos that say to "feed" powder into the flash hole with a nipple pick after priming the pan. Is this really needed? I picked up some FFFFg this weekend.

When someone is poking powder in the vent after loading, usually means he dry balled. Right Steve?
When you pour in your charge, give the side of the rifle a little tap, or a gentle bounce on the ground to settle the powder out in the vent area. When properly loaded, no need to be poking in powder. Whoever made that video was a pilgrim.

DIRT Farmer
09-06-2010, 11:23 PM
Never use cloth to hold the flint. I have had "experts" tell me it was a good idea. Cloth can hold flame, think char cloth. Pick the vent after firing, sometimes a doober will close off the touch hole. Think clear all oil from the bottom of the barrel, a lot of miss fires are caused by to much oil in the barrel. Don't push fouling into the breach when wiping, stop the rod just before the bottom. Learn to follow through the shot. A flint will improve your shooting with every thing. Find what your gun likes in the amount of priming. The learning has just started have fun.

piwo
12-07-2010, 02:54 PM
I pick my touch hole after each shot or two: that way any char or lube that possibly was blown out through the hole when the charge goes BOOM does not obstruct that hole for subsequent shots. It hasn't happened very often, but I have had what I believe was some patch lube blow into the hole then "set up" between shots. Let’s face it, the cleanest burning powder in the world leaves residue, and a blowback DOES go out the touch hole upon firing. Why leave the grit and potential goop build up with subsequent shots. I've fired lots of shots without such fouling, but have had it happen. Never happens if I take 2.5 seconds and push a pick into the hole after a few shots...

I don't use FFFFg in my pan as I’ve never had a delay fire using the FFFg that I charge the rifle with and I've not found that it is in any way finicky to light. I found the "priming powder" to be more trouble than it was worth.

Hanshi
12-07-2010, 03:29 PM
Main thing is DON'T GET FRUSTRATED! Instead, get HELP.

Shooter
12-07-2010, 07:22 PM
FFFF is not needed for the pan. Less is more when priming, get by with as little as possible.

Maven
12-07-2010, 08:58 PM
daddywpb, A couple of things: T/C's Renegades do indeed have a 1:48 twist, which means it can shoot both conicals (T/C Maxi-Balls & Lee REAL's) and roundballs quite well. With respect to the latter, T/C bbls. are usually spec'ed for a RB that's .10" SMALLER than the caliber [stamped on the bbl.]. In your case, it means using a .530" RB (T/C and others offered molds in that caliber) with ~.014" - .016" patches (T/C and CVA also sold such patches). Try that combination first. If it isn't accurate with say 70- or 80gr. FFg, then try a .535" RB.* As for the lock, I'd strongly recommend sending it to T/C to have the hammer reshaped** and the frizzen replaced, which will insure its reliability and "sparkiness." Btw, those T/C cut agate flints have worked extremely well in one of my rifles and are worth considering. However, Tom Fuller (via Track of the Wolf) or Rich Pierce*** flints are very highly regarded as well.


*I'd opt for a box of Hornady or Speer RB's in both .530" and .535" before purchasing a mold. With the larger ball, you may need to use ~.012" patches. Bring a micrometer to your favorite fabric store and ask for 100% cotton pillow ticking and/or pocket drill. The ticking comes in various weights and thicknesses, as does the drill. Your micrometer will tell you the thickness. See if you can purchase 1/2 yd. of each thickness. Wash it in hot water several times and dry it before cutting it into strips/patches.

**T/C flintlock hammers don't hit the frizzens in the proper place, i.e., 1/3 down from the top. Moreover, their frizzens apparently soften appreciably over time, making ignition less reliable. T/C will replace the hammer and reharden (or replace) the frizzen for little or no charge, as they have a 100% guarantee.

***Longtrekflints@gmail.com

pietro
12-09-2010, 02:44 PM
You will love the purt-near instantaneous ignition for a properly set up rocklock.

I'm guided by the K.I.S.S. principle, and use the same Holy Black FFFg in my pan as I do in the main charge.

I also advise only a half-full pan of priming, and KEEP YORE POWDER DRY ! :D

.

C.F.Plinker
12-09-2010, 06:08 PM
Also remember that the black powder substitures like Pyrodex probably won't ignite with a flintlock. You will have to put 5 grains or so of real black powder down the barrel first if you want to get ignition. Of course, if you have real black then you don't need the substitute.

Get Dutch Schoultz package on black powder rifle accuracy. This was the best $20 I spent when I started walking the black powder path.

http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

daddywpb
12-09-2010, 08:42 PM
Thanks to all for the advice. I've given up the substitutes completely. Even my T/C Omega is running on Goex instead of the pellets I used to use. SO much easier to clean! My flinter just got sent off to Stonewall Creek Outfitters for a little upgrade. Can't wait to get her back!

hoosierlogger
12-10-2010, 06:31 AM
Hickory posted a super article on improving the ignition speed of a flintlock. Ill see if I can find it tonight when I get home.

Edit: found it see post #15
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=93677

daddywpb
12-10-2010, 03:59 PM
Very helpful and informative article. Thanks.