32 flint or cap

[lead chucker]

Hi guys. Just sold a 243 win that i never shoot so i have the cash to get my 32 cal BP rifle. With such a small caliber what is more practical flint or cap. I like the flint and have had good reliability with the 50 cal. Is the 32 particular or problematic with the flint verses the cap? Any advice would be appreciated. On a different subject do you guys leave your BP rifles out in a un heated shed or building or in your truck the night before hunting so that the barrel doesnt sweat when you take it from a worm building in the morning to the cold out side.

[Hickory]

I like flintlock guns, they are easier for me to shoot then a caplock gun.
While hunting, I don't bring an unfired muzzleloader inside where it can draw moisture.

[rfd]

Hi guys. Just sold a 243 win that i never shoot so i have the cash to get my 32 cal BP rifle. With such a small caliber what is more practical flint or cap. I like the flint and have had good reliability with the 50 cal. Is the 32 particular or problematic with the flint verses the cap? Any advice would be appreciated. On a different subject do you guys leave your BP rifles out in a un heated shed or building or in your truck the night before hunting so that the barrel doesnt sweat when you take it from a worm building in the morning to the cold out side.

i've had and well used both ignition systems with .32 bore rifles. caplocks are not for me and all my trad ml guns are flintlocks. there's nothing problematic with any trad ml caliber, from .25 to .79, but each gun is unique in one or more ways that you get to learn as it's used. smaller bores can require more attention to fouling control as the layer of bp residue can be of the same thickness whether in a .32 or .62 bore, and therefore more restrictive to the little holes. depth and type of rifling plays a part in both load and fouling control, as well. a .32 flinter is a fun gun, but for me it served lesser of a purpose than a larger bore. i sold off the .32 and had the .36 reamed to .40, and then life was much better. but that's me, not you.

i don't "climatize" any gun, ml or cf, but i do allow them to get to ambient temps and swab their bores before their first load and firing.

a jack garner southern inspired .36 turned .40 - a very sweet shooter that's my number one for woods walks, or even hunting tree rats ...

https://i.imgur.com/UAHBC3f.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SzHXCK2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7d7QTtz.jpg

[arcticap]

Since you're asking, I only shoot cap guns myself so I'm biased.
And my smallest caliber is a .36.
That may be because I also enjoy the .22 rimfires.
However, I have enjoyed shooting BP smoothbores down to the .410.
They give the option of using either PRB's or loads of shot.
And cap guns also allow for the use of sub powders such as 777 (3F) which may be closer to using 4F.
Many cap guns can also be converted to use musket caps or 209's for those who want to experiment
with other sub powders that need a hotter flash and may burn cleaner in the small bores.

I have always left my loaded deer hunting BP guns out in the cold to protect the load, and I cover the
muzzle with a balloon after loading. I live in NE with a freezing weather ML deer season.

[mooman76]

It doesn't sweat going from warm to cold. Only cold to warm. I see no reason why a different caliber in flint would be less reliable than any other caliber. If flint is what you like, then get flint.

[Dvedw]

Wow that is one fine looking rifle rfd. I do enjoy my 32 crockett cap that I purchased from you a few years ago though. It is dead on accurate out to 40 yards, southern woods squirrel range. Reliable ignition too. Has harvested many many bushy tail and a few cotton tail as well..

[missionary5155]

Greetings Another flinter here. No ill regards against the cap lockers either.. This is a preference situation.
Once you start shooting a flinter and figure out the fun little quirks you will be very happy to carry it.
One day the percussion caps will be gone from most stores. But hard rocks can always be found in many creeks and other places.
Mike in ILLinois

[MAGA]

I just ordered a Crockett percussion myself

[rfd]

the crockett .32 is a darned good rifle for the money.

[RU shooter]

In my area there aren't any caps to be found anywhere . So they would need mail ordered so I've always been a flint lock guy . If you can buy caps locally take your pick both have worked well for many many years . For me though a flint rifle is easier to clean than a cap gun . Stick a toothpick in the flash hole add some water swab a few times dry oil and I'm done
As to your other question during deer season here in Pa it's always cold after I load up I'll bring it into the "mud room" which is just an I unheated totally enclosed porch . If I know I'll be going back out the next morning I'll just leave it in the case in the car.

[Tasbay]

RU Shooter,
Have always had difficulty finding percussion caps here till recently. If I`m just plinking or going after something like rabbits or goats I use Kids toy cap gun caps on #11 nipples. Very cheap $1 for a pack of 72 compared to $20 for a tin of 100 #11 percussion caps.
They are reliable with commercial or home made black powder and grip on the nipple. Only difference is it pays to carry a pin as sometimes the plastic cap can be pressed into the nipple and just needs picking out.

[RU shooter]

RU Shooter,
Have always had difficulty finding percussion caps here till recently. If I`m just plinking or going after something like rabbits or goats I use Kids toy cap gun caps on #11 nipples. Very cheap $1 for a pack of 72 compared to $20 for a tin of 100 #11 percussion caps.
They are reliable with commercial or home made black powder and grip on the nipple. Only difference is it pays to carry a pin as sometimes the plastic cap can be pressed into the nipple and just needs picking out.
You mean those red plastic caps that are in a ring of 6 . lol, I haven't seen those since my childhood ! Never would have thought they be hot enough to work . Good to know though if I ever stumble across a perc. rifle that's super cheap . All we can use percussion guns for in Pa is small game anyways deer season is flintlock only .

[Nobade]

RU Shooter,
Have always had difficulty finding percussion caps here till recently. If I`m just plinking or going after something like rabbits or goats I use Kids toy cap gun caps on #11 nipples. Very cheap $1 for a pack of 72 compared to $20 for a tin of 100 #11 percussion caps.
They are reliable with commercial or home made black powder and grip on the nipple. Only difference is it pays to carry a pin as sometimes the plastic cap can be pressed into the nipple and just needs picking out.You must be able to get better ones than I have been able to find. I couldn't even get them to fire my underhammer. They are also very corrosive. I just order a case of caps at a time from powder valley or elsewhere and it keeps me going for a long time.

[Tasbay]

You mean those red plastic caps that are in a ring of 6 . lol, I haven't seen those since my childhood ! Never would have thought they be hot enough to work . Good to know though if I ever stumble across a perc. rifle that's super cheap . All we can use percussion guns for in Pa is small game anyways deer season is flintlock only .

RU Shooter
Yes the red plastic ones for kids cap guns. Where I live in the South Island of New Zealand there were not any Black powder suppliers (AK`s and AR`s yes) unless you belonged to one of the few clubs. Not in my area anyway. So thinking outside of the box began to make my own powder and then thought I`d try kid`s cap gun caps just to see if it would work and cripes me they worked. I use them all the time on my Zouave, Hawken's, Mountain rifle.

Nobabe
Corrosion has never been an issue, I always boil out and clean my BP guns after every use. Never any corrosion issues with nipples either.

Home rolled Balls, Powder ,patches and kids caps makes it a cheap day out

[Nobade]

Nice! Yep, you must still be able to get the good old type caps. The ones I have found in the US have been dumbed down and are nothing like what was around when I was a kid.

[Tasbay]

Nice! Yep, you must still be able to get the good old type caps. The ones I have found in the US have been dumbed down and are nothing like what was around when I was a kid.

Just pulled a packet out. They are called Star-Caps made in Taiwan with 72 caps in rings of 8, just cheap and nasty. For use by children 3yrs and over.... well that figures.

[arcticap]

There's a new product to make your own percussion caps & priming compound.
The priming compound needs to be mixed & added to the home made caps that can be punched out with the provided die.
There's a youtube video showing the process on the product page linked below.

https://sharpshooter-22lr-reloader.myshopify.com/products/11-percussion-cap-maker

Their website has another video showing how to mix the powders for the priming compound.
And the website states that they ship internationally.

Prime All priming compound: https://sharpshooter-22lr-reloader.myshopify.com/products/prime-all-repriming-compound

Home page: http://22lrreloader.com

[MAGA]

My Walmart just started putting out hunting stuff

I almost bought an entire case of CCI #11’s

$4.96 a hundred

That’s cheaper than I can buy online not counting the hazmat fee 8-)

[lead chucker]

Thanks for the info guys. I think im set on the flint. Now im second guessing whether i want the 32 or 36. The more i read bout the 36 it might be a little more versatile. The only thing i will be shooting with it is cans paper and snowshoe hair.

[Tasbay]

Thanks for the info guys. I think im set on the flint. Now im second guessing whether i want the 32 or 36. The more i read bout the 36 it might be a little more versatile. The only thing i will be shooting with it is cans paper and snowshoe hair.

I always found 50 cal to be versatile. Hard wheel weight roundball and 40-60gr powder for small game. Soft roundball 80-100gr powder for Goats , pigs ,Deer.

[Tasbay]

Thanks for the info guys. I think im set on the flint. Now im second guessing whether i want the 32 or 36. The more i read bout the 36 it might be a little more versatile. The only thing i will be shooting with it is cans paper and snowshoe hair.

If you looked at something like the Pedersoli Hawken or Kentucky rifle they have generic locks that are common on a few of the Pedersoli firearm range ,so the flintlock can be swapped for the Caplock by just switching the vent/flash hole for the drum and nipple. I have one of each of the above rifles and just swap locks as I feel the need. When I got My Kentucky second-hand it arrived with both the Flint and percussion locks. Certainly removes the dilemma of flint or percussion.

[toot]

I hallways discharge all of my weapons be fore i exit the woods when done hunting at the end of the day. never bring any of them home loaded, i know a cap lock is considered unloaded with out a cap and a flinter unloaded with no powder in the pan! but when you discharge them they are unloaded!.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The flintlock depends on low-pressure powder gases entering through the vent, so you can't reduce the vent much below normal diameter. If you tried to make a .17 flintlock long gun, I wouldn't be surprised to find so much gas from the charge leaking away, that either the projectile wouldn't make it out of the muzzle, or its velocity would be excessively unpredictable.

A .32 wouldn't be anywhere near that bad, and would probably be a very satisfactory firearm for many purposes. But I can't imagine it giving the accuracy of a larger calibre. A percussion firearm, on the other hand, normally seals the nipple, and even with exceptionally high-pressure rifles, which lift the hammer, the hole in the nipple is too small to materially affect pressure and velocity.

[mooman76]

Actually when accuracy starts to drop off one of the cures is to replace the nipple as the nipple hole gets enlarged from firing.

[Nobade]

I just find 32s exceptionally difficult to shoot at much distance. I have a Dixie 32 Cal flintlock, and at 25 yards you can cover the groups with a dime. At 50 yds it's more like a baseball. It seems like it shouldn't open up that fast but it always does. My larger caliber rifles are much more consistent. I also learned that the 32 ball goes so fast that it blows up squirrels, unless you load it really light. A 40 or 45 causes a lot less damage to them.

[fiberoptik]

I just find 32s exceptionally difficult to shoot at much distance. I have a Dixie 32 Cal flintlock, and at 25 yards you can cover the groups with a dime. At 50 yds it's more like a baseball. It seems like it shouldn't open up that fast but it always does. My larger caliber rifles are much more consistent. I also learned that the 32 ball goes so fast that it blows up squirrels, unless you load it really light. A 40 or 45 causes a lot less damage to them.

How about backing down your load to say, 15-20 grains instead of 30ish?


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[sharps4590]

32-36....I've tried more than a couple of both. I settled on the 36 simply because I liked it better and, as you mentioned, felt it would be just a bit more versatile. Between the two, I could discern no difference in the accuracy or how destructive either was on small game. Paper ballistics give an advantage to the 36 but the advantage is mostly on paper. Some say cleaning the 32 is more of a pain but I never came to believe that if proper jags and size patches were used. Pick the one you like best and be happy.

[midland man]

is the ramrod on the 36 bigger than the 32??

[Nobade]

is the ramrod on the 36 bigger than the 32??They're both going to need 5/16" rods since the next size up is 3/8". Unless you could find a metric size between the two.

[scattershot]

Like the old mountain man said,” Them newfangled cap guns will never catch on. With a flinter, ‘long as ye got rocks, ye got fire.”

[Dvedw]

How about backing down your load to say, 15-20 grains instead of 30ish?


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Yep with my 32, 15 grains goex fffg out to 25 yards on squirrel, around 1/4" grouping.

[stubshaft]

Like the old mountain man said,” Them newfangled cap guns will never catch on. With a flinter, ‘long as ye got rocks, ye got fire.”

Amen Brother. Rocklocks rule!:bigsmyl2:

[midland man]

Amen Brother. Rocklocks rule!:bigsmyl2:

i just sold my last percussion rifle now i only own a 45 caliber kentucky rifle in flintlock and soon gonna add a squirrel rifle flintlock only!!

[fiberoptik]

Anyone converted a Dixie poor boy (.32) from cap to flint? Can you go back and forth?


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[mooman76]

I have converted it from flint to cap, they sell a kit or at least used to. Some day when I have more time and can get into flint seriously, I will convert it back but I wouldn't want to do it all the time. It would put wear on the parts.

[lead chucker]

I got the 32 flint the tracking number says it's out for delivery at the post office. Have to wait till Monday to pick it up. I cast up a bunch of balls last night. Should be fun when I take it out. We have a lot of snowshoe hairs here and spruce hen. I will have to put it to work this fall.

[Good Cheer]

Reading this thread is giving me the itch for another smallish bore.
Maybe something that could shoot round ball but also use .357 molds?

[Nobade]

Reading this thread is giving me the itch for another smallish bore.
Maybe something that could shoot round ball but also use .357 molds?I have given some thought to getting a custom barrel made that could do that. You'd have to think hard about twist rate, probably keep it as slow as possible and stick with lighter bullets. Get the blank extra long so you can use part of it to make a pre rifling die to size and groove your bullets so they don't need to bump up to seal. It should be workable, just takes money.

[Good Cheer]

Don't think something like a 358311 cast straight lead could work well, lubed or paper patched?

[Nobade]

Probably. Of course you have to keep in mind roundball rifling should be a lot deeper than bullet rifling ideally.

[Good Cheer]

Yeah, shooting round ball would likely be reduced loads; heavier for the longer boolits.

[RU shooter]

Probably. Of course you have to keep in mind roundball rifling should be a lot deeper than bullet rifling ideally.
Ideally your right but some shallow groove barrels shoot ball well . My Dixie poor boy barrel has 6 thou grooves and does very well . My dads TC 45 hawkin is only 4 thou groove and shoots balls better than my colerain deep groove . Only rub is unless your using spit as the patch lube you need to swab the barrel about every 3 shot or you ain't getting the next one down the barrel without a mallet .

[MFGordon]

Many years ago, when I was a young adult my mother didn't know what to get me for Christmas. So in frustration she told me to get something not too expensive and put it under the tree and she would reimburse me. So I ordered a Thompson Center Cherokee in .32.

Over the years I have shot round ball and maxi balls through this rifle and it has always proved to be accurate. My round ball load was 20 grains of 3f and my maxi ball load was 25 grains. The light 45 grain round ball doesn't buck the wind very well, in my experience, so from fifty yards out the 105 grain maxi ball beats the round ball in accuracy. I'm not sure you can shoot anything other than round ball in a flint lock. For that reason along I would lean toward a percussion rifle. If you can find one my advice is to buy a T/C Cherokee.

Mom is gone now and I'm not sure she realized that that year I got the best Christmas present ever.

[MAGA]

I just got a .32 traditions crockett percussion. I really want a flinter now too

[rfd]

as wonky as traditions guns are, i WISH that .32 crockett was also offered in flint. be on it like flies on ....

[thunderthud]

flintlock for me, in damp weather a flint gun if loaded properly will fire. some percussion guns the dog leg channel in a patent breech can get clogged up. I see this all the time at our monthly matches when its snowing , damp, or raining. as for bringing it in , I keep mine inside and clean it well, the night before the hunt I swab it out with rubbing alcohol so its bone dry. load the next morning as usual, never me or my friend ever had it fail in 30 some yrs. for our hunting loads we use beef tallow or the bore butter type stuff we both shoot round ball. I've been building flintguns since 84. gun luck with whatever you choose.