i really want to know

[johnson1942]

if you take two guns, lets say a flint lock and a prcussion lock. lets say a .45 cal 1/60 twist. idenical in every way. just that one is precussion and one a flinter. which one with idenical load of black powder and patches and balls will shoot better and more consistant than the other. my money is on the flintlock, tell if im right or wrong and why. to me science is with the flinter.

[Hickory]

You called it. Flint for me too.

[fouronesix]

For me, the percussion, given the premise in the OP. I'll let other anointed gurus explain why or why not for themselves. I can only speak for me.

[oldracer]

It does not matter since almost ANY rifle will shoot better than the shooter that is using it. The only way I was told to determine anything that can affect accuracy is to use a solid rest such as a Lead Sled to remove the shooter from the equation. In this case, both guns would need to be fired on the same day to also eliminate the weather variable.

At our matches, the shooters who are the most familiar and comfortable with their rifle almost always shoot the best. It is a toss up if it is percussion or flinter!

[Hanshi]

Any difference in accuracy will not depend on ignition system but rather on miniscule variances in the bore and the stock.

[Maven]

Any difference in accuracy will not depend on ignition system but rather on miniscule variances in the bore and the stock.

I concur with Hanshi because I once owned a flintlock Dixie Tennessee Mt. rifle. Accuracy was pretty impressive, but the flint lock wasn't all that reliable. I later purchased a little used Dixie percussion lock + a nipple & drum for it and installed them: Accuracy was the same, assuming all else being equal.

[rhbrink]

Any difference in accuracy will not depend on ignition system but rather on miniscule variances in the bore and the stock.

Yep!

RB

[waksupi]

It does not matter since almost ANY rifle will shoot better than the shooter that is using it. The only way I was told to determine anything that can affect accuracy is to use a solid rest such as a Lead Sled to remove the shooter from the equation. In this case, both guns would need to be fired on the same day to also eliminate the weather variable.

At our matches, the shooters who are the most familiar and comfortable with their rifle almost always shoot the best. It is a toss up if it is percussion or flinter!

Yep yep yep.

[dikman]

Given that the only difference between them is the ignition system, then everything else being equal they should shoot the same. The ignition system, in itself, shouldn't make any difference.

[pietro]

.

It depend upon the shooter/operator, due to possible operator error.

My vote goes to the caplock, since many rocklock shooters are inconsistant in how they fill the priming pan - which effects both consistancy and accuracy.


.

[Good Cheer]

I'm glad somebody brought this up because it's a topic I've scratched my head over.
My suspicion is that an added variance is introduced by the size of the flash hole on a flinter.
There is just no way that the plasma flow of combusting elements will flow through the flinter flash hole the same from shot to shot, as closely as produced by the small hole in a fresh percussion nipple.
Would you try to shoot for target accuracy with the hole in a percussion nipple the same size of a flinter flash hole?

But, what I've wondered about is in real life how much difference does it make?

[docone31]

The Rocklocks I have seen fired, seemed to be slightly faster than cappers. I do not mean the foreign wanna be's, I mean quality handmade rifles. With good flash hole placement, good timed lock, and Real BP, they just seemed faster. I fire pyrodex in my capper, and the person I was next to was definately faster. Just my opinion. I can see where it is true though.

[johnson1942]

the first shot fired in the battle of new orleans was was fired by a long rifleman by the name of morg. with a rifled flintlock long rifle he took a british officer of of his horse with a head shot at 216 yards off hand, then it began. that is hard to beat.

[starmac]

I have not been around flinters much at all. I have always heard they were faster and more dependable. I also have always wondered how much faster than right now, and more dependable than every time. lol I will admit I haven't used mine in the rain that I can remember, and all of my experience has been in areas with very low humidity, so that might change things up some. My cheap old cabellas shoots better than I do, so anything that shoots better is really waisted on me. lol

[Lead Fred]

"They never made a firearm better, only faster" John Browning

A tuned flinter is faster than any cap gun, period. Even with an Uncle Mike's hot shot nipple, the rock is going to win.
The air inside the capper, will slow the flame down, sometimes even snuff it out.

[BruceB]

Quite a few years ago, a high-speed camera study was performed on flintlock rifles.

It was astonishing (at least to me).

The camera showed that, in a well-tuned flintlock, THE BALL EXITED THE MUZZLE BEFORE THE COCK STOPPED MOVING.

This was shown many times, just to ensure the finding was valid.

How 'bout that, sportsfans?

[koger]

I have shot a lot of competition, local, state, an national level, offhand, prone, an chunk guns. A really dedicated flint shooter/rifle combo is astounding to watch, accuracy is top notch! That said, on nearly all levels of competition, the flints are scored separately for a reason. Almost always, the cap shooters will score higher, just the facts. It is easier for the majority of people to shoot cap lock , than flint, does not require the dedication an expertise nevcesary, therefor a greater number of accurate shooters overall. The top 3-5 shooters in each class would be neck an neck, but the scores usually fell of quickly as you went down the line on the flint side. Again, not my opinion, just facts from shooting, taking notes when competing at NMLRA matches, often w hundreds of folks in each match/class. Check the scores online, they don't lie.

[johnson1942]

lead fred, you said where im coming from when i posted the question. the air in front of the cap hurts the flame, their is no such thing when a flint goes off. also i wouldnt be surprised that the flinter when inginted sucks are for a more complete burn. the other post have it down that the shooter and his skills are the main thing. however ive always had it in my mind that flinters tuned right ignite fast and suck air fir a faster better burn. also i wonder if they are a little cleaner to shoot than a precussion if they both are uses the same powder, same barrel length and same ball. i, on most of my guns have put a very small vent hole in to the powder chamber just for the reason lead fred said. to me the air infront of a precussion cap is the difference and if that is eliminated all else should be the same. i dont own a stone lock but i sure do admire them. they are a beautiful machine.

[mooman76]

A fellow on another board actually did tests cap vs flint using high speed cameras and timed them. He used more than one flint and cap clock and the flint locks were well tuned, quick and reliable. The cap locks won. We are talking very little fractions of a second. His thoughts were the flint lock seems faster due to the flash. With that and all other things equal I would say the cap lock is more accurate and not because of the gun itself but because it is being fired held by a shooter so human error. The longer you try to hold aim, the more you can move off target. This again would be so tiny of a difference that it really doesn't matter.

[Janoosh]

The speed and reliability of a cap lock all depends on the type of cap lock. A drum and nipple as compared to a snail as compared to an underhammer where the nipple is directly in the barrel. My simple H+A underhammer has never failed to fire, whereas my Mountain State Classic flint is still a learning experience.
For sheer speed, I'd have to go with the underhammer.