So....who is gonna try it?

[farmbif]

when I looked a week ago, black powder is still available from the big suppliers at normal prices. definitely the way to go if you have not been into the reloading hobby for some time and have your gear in order to weather these shortage storms

[megasupermagnum]

Don’t flintlocks use a special powder in the flash pan? I’ve only ever shot one once about 25 years ago and I thought my friend used some kind of flash powder in the pan.

No, any real black powder works. Some claim to notice the finer powders are faster. Highspeed testing has shown that finer powders are faster, but not really to an amount a human can notice.

[Baltimoreed]

If we’re backing up that far I’d buy a compound crossbow. Lethal and quiet.

[megasupermagnum]

If we’re backing up that far I’d buy a compound crossbow. Lethal and quiet.

The flintlock rifle's prime age was about 1630 to 1830; about a 200 year run. At first percussion caps were various designs, and didn't really come into full force or reasonably standardized until 1840ish. Percussion caps were popular until just after the civil war; about a 25-30 year run. Rimfire cartridges were actually invented in 1845, but brass/copper cartridge ammunition did not really take off until after the civil war, with improved manufacturing. Lets say primed brass cartridges have been popular since about 1870, and that remains true today; about a 150 year run so far.

I'm sure the compound crossbow was around sometime after 1966, when the compound bow was invented. I would have to say compound crossbows have not been really popular until real recent, maybe 10 years now.

[Baltimoreed]

My thinking was the compound crossbow would give a comparable range and have a little faster reload. The first crossbows date from the 1st millenium BC but wouldn’t want one that primitive.

[rbuck351]

I like about anything that shoots. I have normal rifles, pistols, revolvers, and shotguns as well as a crossbow, recurve and compound bows and percussion and flintlock front loaders. I haven't been able to find any real black powder lately but I have made some that works almost as good as store bought. Some of this emergency stuff is fun to do just to see what it takes to do it. Most emergency stuff takes a lot of time and I'm glad I had the foresight to buy before the dry spell.

[Stephen Cohen]

My Gran dad did something similar to load his 218 bee during WW2 when primers were unavailable. One other way he showed me was to place a small piece of the match box striker in the primer and put the removed match material on top and gently replace anvil. Since that 218 bee fed his family he felt justified taking the risk. Regards Stephen

[megasupermagnum]

My thinking was the compound crossbow would give a comparable range and have a little faster reload. The first crossbows date from the 1st millenium BC but wouldn’t want one that primitive.

No. A flintlock muzzleloading rifle with open sights in the hands of a practiced person is accurate to over 150 yards. About double a crossbow, and far more effective. Reload speed varies depending on your set up. With a modern speedloader, you could likely match a crossbow. More traditional loading methods take around 45 seconds. You could always get a swivel breech, which takes about a second.

[jdfoxinc]

Adder semi automatic recurve crossbow. Holds 6 boolts. 5 second reload.

[oldsalt444]

Since my primer stash is getting low, I've taken up remaking my old primers using the Prime All kit. It is a tedious, time consuming, meticulous PITA. Following their instructions (a scoop of this, 2 scoops of that, drop of acetone) resulted in abject failure for me. I'm sure it works fine for others, but it didn't work for me. I was lucky to get 1 out of 15 to go bang.

So I did some research and found the formula for the old military H48 compound, which is what the Prime All kit components are. By weighing out the components, using denatured alcohol and letting them dry for 2 days; I'm getting close to 100% bang.

http://aardvarkreloading.com/resourc...2019-06-28.pdf

[mdi]

Hmm. I guess I'll cast up some more 1/2" balls to use in my Wrist Rocket. I haven't run any across my chrony, but pretty effective out to 15 yards...

[Duckdog]

Crossbows are still bound to the physics of the projectile, which is the arrow. Same as a bullet. A carbon arrow may be fast, but the kinetic energy falls off quicker than a heavy aluminum shaft, like a 2219. In any case, those of us who came up when there were only 45# recurves and no camo clothes limit our shots to 30-35 yards... if that.

I'm reading this thread and I see some folks always know someone who knows someone what blew their fingers off. I've been messing with the H48 for a quite a while and I have all my appendages. Follow the instructions and advice you get and you'll be fine, should you choose to do it. There's always guys that are going to pass their fear of the unknown on to others as fact. While we should respect their opinions, it is not gospel. Fear, like misery, loves company....

[Idz]

With the insanity legislation from the leftists I would expect all explosive and propellant compounds to be outlawed, lead banned as hazardous waste, firearms registered and heavily taxed, and ammunition regulated. Then next year they'll go after airguns and the year after bows and knives.
Quoting crazy uncle Joe "there are dark times ahead"

[Shawlerbrook]

No thanks !

[onelight]

Don’t flintlocks use a special powder in the flash pan? I’ve only ever shot one once about 25 years ago and I thought my friend used some kind of flash powder in the pan.

A lot of people use 4f for the pan (even used a small powder horn to carry it ) and 2f in the rifle . But I think the paper cartridges they used for the military the method of loading was to tear off the tail with the teeth if they had any and prime the pan with a bit of the main charge and then ram the rest down the bore.
In spite of rumors to the contrary I was not around when this was popular so this is all secondhand

[ButchC]

A lot of people use 4f for the pan (even used a small powder horn to carry it ) and 2f in the rifle . But I think the paper cartridges they used for the military the method of loading was to tear off the tail with the teeth if they had any and prime the pan with a bit of the main charge and then ram the rest down the bore.
In spite of rumors to the contrary I was not around when this was popular so this is all secondhand

I've gotten to the point where 3f works well enough in the pan that I can't tell the difference with 4f and it's one less powder size to have on hand and does double duty in the cap and ball.

As to the folks looking at a modern crossbow, while I respect the idea, if things get squirrely that'll be a trick to fix the workings of in your workshop. It's my opinion at least that the flintlock, so long as the barrel is in good shape can be tinkered with by the owner well enough to keep it running a long time. Add to that the cost of good english flint nodules is $4/lbs before shipping and with a little skill, notes from a few threads on this forum, and access to Home Depot you can shoot it almost forever.

[onelight]

I used 3f or pyrodex p in every thing also . From .32 to .54

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Be sure to have your next of kin to post here and let us know if you survived the blast or not. And what the arrangements are.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[jdfoxinc]

The amounts Marshall recommends making would cause at most 2nd degree burns unless contained. Wear a full face mask and tight leather gloves. And yes I would do this.

[Duckdog]

Hold a firecracker in your open hand and light it, you might have numb fingers for a bit.... close those fingers and it's a whole new ballgame It's not like we're making rocket fuel. I do mix this, and have never had an issue. We load ammunition and make controlled explosions, that can have extremely detrimental effects if done improperly. This is no different.