What do Y'all Think of Pedersoli Flinters?

[Dak47]

What are the thoughts on quality of the locks on the Pedersoli? Was eyeballing a Hawkens but it is an internet sale so no chance to handle. Or go thru Track of the Wolf with their more customizable options, with White Lightin' liner and a swamped barrel? Is it worth the extra $$?

This will be my first foyer into BP but I like learning, want to go flintlock but want reliable ignition with a good lock time. I cannot see on the site if the Pedersoli is a hook breech and tang, I'm assuming it must be? Ripping thru the stickies above now, just wanted to throw this out as the Pedersoli could be in my mitts in no time, other options - not so much.....

Cheers.

[RU shooter]

Friend of mine has a pendersoli pa rifle he's happy with it and hasn't had any issues with it sparking enough using knapped flints .
If this is your first go around with flintlocks don't worry about swamped barrels and name brand liners . Yes there are better guns to buy or be built besides the imported ones but what's your budget ?

[Dak47]

Budget is 2K or so for the rifle, accessories all gather up along the way. Was just looking at some Sitting Fox offerings, looks like some quality to my untrained eye. Working from home is going to be dangerous but fun...... It is neat to jump into something new, I've withheld for years as BC doesn't offer a special season for muzzleloaders they are lumped in with the general rifle season which has irked me for many years but now we have a second home is Texas so.......

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon
PM Waksupi here at Boolits He builds them
Mike in LLama Land.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I have a pair of Pedersoli Kentucky rifles, one percussion and the other a flinter. Both shoot extremely well with patched round ball.

Took me a while to get the flinter working properly but I discovered Wano 7A flash powder works much better than 4F. Ignition is 100% reliable, in fact I think it is faster than the percussion. Keep the flint nicely shaped by wetting it and touching it on a grinder every 100 rounds or so.

https://i.imgur.com/SY6JH8Gl.jpg

[sghart3578]

I have a .54 cal Pedersoli Frontier flintlock that I like very much.

It is very accurate.


Steve in N CA

[smithnframe]

I have a 50 caliber Pedersoli PA rifle that has been working fine for about 10 years now!

[rfd]

most of the italian built trad muzzleloaders will overall be decent guns. my two cents about most trad muzzy things to ponder ...


it's Very typical for offshore trad muzzleloaders to employ some manner of "patent breech", where there's a narrower ante-chamber directly behind the barrel's main chamber. this will usually require special attention for fouling control and cleaning. most onshore trad muzzys employ classic flat faced breech plugs.


of all the offshore trad muzzleloaders, and i've worked on many different brands and models, only those built by investarms (lyman, cabelas, DGW, and other re-brands) will allow their breech plugs to be relatively easy to remove. some brands, such as traditions, emphatically state that their breech plugs can not be removed and removal will destroy the barrel. for most folks, breech removal won't ever be a concern, but it will be if that "rare" occasion occurs when something goes awry and the plug needs go come out. therefore, if i wanted to "dabble" in a trad flinter muzzy, and it had to be an offshore brand in order to save money, it'd be one from investarms.


the offshore flint locks themselves from pedersoli and investarms are usually OK. this is the heart of the ignition system and the better the lock's geometry, materials and build, the better the gun will function. this is extremely important for flintlock guns. however, there are some things that can be done to most any lock to make it function better and be more reliable. if i can't get an offshore flint lock to perform i'll typically replace it with an L&R RPL lock.


no matter what the trad muzzy is or where it came from, it should be fed real black powder - NO subs. subs will not work reliably, or at all, in the lock's pan.


no matter whether real black or sub powder is used, how well you take care of the tube and lock are Extremely important because if yer lax about proper cleaning and maintenance any of those powders can too easily cause major frustrations down the road. this is NOT to say that black powder residue cleaning is difficult. on the contrary, i can clean a trad muzzy with plain water in less time than most folks can clean a bolt rifle. as usual, this comes down to both knowledge and practice.


at the very least, take the time to learn as much about trad muzzys as possible, decide why you want one and what personal use requirements it will fill, then make yer gun choice based on facts and not fiction.


if at all possible, if you have the buck$ to spend, or can delay buying and save up the proper buck$, i would ALWAYS recommend an onshore built trad muzzleloader first and foremost; there are many good builders here in the states, and rik carter (waksupi) surely is one of the best.


not looking to preach, only educate. i trust some of the above will help. PM me if need be.

r.

[RU shooter]

With that budget I would go with a Kibler rifle kit over any other kit out there for a first timer . Pretty much it's all drop in fit on the parts and they are gonna be in the proper location , you just finish the wood and metal
As it suits you or they have assembled in the white options they have two styles a southern rifle and a colonial style
Rifle both are accurate to the style . Jim chambers also offers build kits but with more work on your end . Stay Away from sitting fox .

https://kiblerslongrifles.com/collections/rifle-kit

[rfd]

having built a kibler colonial that is now my #1 trad muzzy, i can only second RU's endorsement.

however, IME, there WILL be some crafting and tooling skills required.

[Longknife]

Those Pedersoli locks can be Kantankerous but sometimes you get a jewel. Its a crap shoot!!!! If You don't plan on building it your self and have $2K I would not hesitate on this one!!! You WILL be happy!!!!,,,ED
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=59058.0

[scattershot]

Over the years, I have had several Pedersoli rifles, both flint and percussion. No problems with any of them.

[Dak47]

Thank You All for the awesome feedback, plenty to chew on right there, the stickies were great also.........My wife would like to shoot it also she's saying so I gonna try to balance the scale of the rifle against her 120lb frame. Was thinking maybe a .32/.36 cal just for paper, bit of small game and see if (I know it will) it truly takes. Then get the .54/.58 for whitetail later........ I like these kind of internal struggles lol.

[rfd]

you can greatly download black powder charges in a trad muzzy and make it for powder puff recoil.

so, getting one good .54 would make good value and economic sense.

[Dak47]

Yes, I see that the smaller cals can get even heavier as the OD of the barrel is staying the same. I have to shift my centre fire type of thinking....... Point taken!

[rfd]

Yes, I see that the smaller cals can get even heavier as the OD of the barrel is staying the same. I have to shift my centre fire type of thinking....... Point taken!

not exactly so as there are octagon sectioned diameters to chose. then there's also the matter of straight versus swamped, where swamping the barrel makes for sweeter offhand balance.

rice barrels, as an example ....

3/4" available in .32, .36 and .40 caliber.

13/16" available in .32, .36, .40, and .45 caliber.

7/8" available in .32, .36, .40, .45, and .50 caliber.

15/16" available in .32, .36, .40, .45, .50, and .54 caliber.

1" available in .50, .54, .58, and .62 caliber.

[Wayne Smith]

Look at Tennessee Valley Muzzleloaders. I got mine there - a .40 A weight swamped barrel of 42", AAA wood, poor boy simple rifle with iron furniture and a Chambers lock. If you do pay the extra freight for the wood box - when I got mine something had punched a good 1/4" into the soft wood side of the box.