RepackboxRotoMetals2Snyders JerkyInline Fabrication
MidSouth Shooters SupplyLee PrecisionTitan ReloadingLoad Data
Wideners
Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: How do you tune a flintlock?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    Texantothecore's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Jersey Village, Tx
    Posts
    1,382

    How do you tune a flintlock?

    I would like to know how you tune a rocklock.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    398
    Send it to Brad at Cabin Creek muzzleloaders. www.cabincreek.net

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
    GARD72977's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    TUPELO MS
    Posts
    1,733
    Im guessing you want to do it yourself. I have wondered the same thing. Im sure someone will chime in with advice. Not sure If I would do it but I would like to know how.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
    Texantothecore's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Jersey Village, Tx
    Posts
    1,382
    Quote Originally Posted by GARD72977 View Post
    Im guessing you want to do it yourself. I have Johnwondered the same thing. Im sure someone will chime in with advice. Not sure If I would do it but I would like to know how.
    That's the idea, to do it myself and learn how these guns work at a really basic level.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    2,796
    It's an art- achieved only with luck on a first try or by some work and a lot of experience. There are a few on here who have done a lot of FL tuning. I've watched and listened to one very experienced FL shooter who has his own secrets. I've tuned a few of my own FL guns. I've read most there is on the subject. My conclusion is- it's an art mastered only through lots of experience, punctuated by some trial and error. But I absolutely do know one of the first steps- shot to shot consistency with lots of spark straight down into the pan.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master pietro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    5,291
    .

    Please read "Tuning a Flintlock for Success" here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ck-for-success



    .
    Now I lay me down to sleep
    A gun beside me is what I keep
    If I awake, and you're inside
    The coroner's van is your next ride

  7. #7
    Moderator Emeritus / Trusted loob groove dealer

    waksupi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Somers, Montana, a quaint little drinking village,with a severe hunting and fishing problem.
    Posts
    19,415
    It is all the relationship between sear, tumbler, and trigger. It is something much easier learned by watching it done a few times, then buggering parts. First thing to remember, if you own a Dremel tool, throw it as far away as possible.
    I did go through some of it on boerranchjoe's thread on shooting the trade gun.

    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...e-gun-shooters
    Last edited by waksupi; 09-10-2013 at 11:03 PM.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
    John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"

    Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!


  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
    Dryball's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    New York
    Posts
    427
    easiest way to tune a lock...buy a Jim Chambers lock and slap it on, then go shooting
    Domari Nolo

  9. #9
    Boolit Man Dirty30's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Wyoming
    Posts
    99
    Look for videos on youtube. That said, make sure the demonstrator is a reputable builder and not some Bubba with a video camera. Hershel House did a good video on lock tuning, I seem to recall Jim Chambers doing one as well. They may or may not be on there, but it's worth a look.
    If you're gonna shoot shoot, don't talk.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Bloomfield, Nebraska
    Posts
    6,072
    Well you turn the tuning peg till each string... nah.

    There have been numerous articles and I believe there is a sicky somewhere on this. You are asking a question that would require pages of text to answer. IIRR the book of buckskinning covered this pretty well in one issue. The other problem is that how and what you tune depends on the lock. A Harpers Ferry lock in positivly the worst designed lock ever made and a Nock needs only to have a flint installed.

  11. #11
    Moderator Emeritus / Trusted loob groove dealer

    waksupi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Somers, Montana, a quaint little drinking village,with a severe hunting and fishing problem.
    Posts
    19,415
    Quote Originally Posted by Dryball View Post
    easiest way to tune a lock...buy a Jim Chambers lock and slap it on, then go shooting
    I think Jim's locks are the best on the market at the time, but I still end up putting in an hour or two fine tuning them.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
    John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"

    Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!


  12. #12
    Boolit Master



    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    tropical southern vermont
    Posts
    3,218
    Plus one - on Waksupi's comments. Some seem to need a little less - or more time. But the best on the market for my money
    Being human is not for sissies.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
    Texantothecore's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Jersey Village, Tx
    Posts
    1,382
    Thanks. The threads are illuminating.

  14. #14
    In Remembrance / Boolit Grand Master

    BruceB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    nevada
    Posts
    3,537
    Apropos of nothing at all...

    A few years ago, I read of an experimental high-speed photography project involving flintlock rifles.

    Actual filming revealed that, in a well-tuned rifle, the ball exited the muzzle BEFORE the cock stopped moving. Now, THAT is impressive.

    "Click-whoosh-bang"??? Uhhhh.. no, I don't think so...
    Regards from BruceB in Nevada

    "The .30'06 is never a mistake." - Colonel Townsend Whelen

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check