Flintlock Rfle

[Renegade]

I Got this Tennessee Mountainf flintlock rifle in a trade about 6 months ago, out of my 3 flintlocks this is by far my favorite. The lock is a Large siler lock and is as fast as any of my percussion locks. The 42" green mountain barrel with a 1: 60 twist is extremely accurate out to 100 yds, which is farther than I wnat to be for deer hunting, being a 45 cal. I will not take a shot farther than 70 yards with that caliber. Can't wait for hunting seaon.

 

Edited August 11, 2013 by Renegade

[Lawdwaz]

Nice looking gun.  What is your powder charge?

[Renegade]

Nice looking gun.  What is your powder charge?

 

70 grains of 2F  seems to the winner in this gun.

[Dinsdale]

Thats cool; look forward to hunt report from that one.

[Cabin Fever]

She's a beauty! 

[Pygmy]

That's a FINE lookin' rifle gun there, Renegade...

I'm a little too twitchy to shoot a flintlock.

After the pan goes off I flinch about four feet off target before the charge goes..<<grin>>...

[DanceswithSkunks]

A properly tuned flintlock will have a faster lock time than a side lock percussion rifle. A good frizzen, using German agate milled flints,  4F powder in the pan, red hot touch hole liner, and a quality set trigger is the way to go. Also, your pan  charge is very critical. I see so many guys load the pan up to the brim with 4F and have a lock time that you could measure with a sun dial. Your pan charge should be no larger than the size of an eraser on the end of a pencil. I use a 2 grn pan charger and one charge is all I need. Once the charge is in the pan, rap the opposite side of your lock, left side for a right handed lock, with the heel of your hand to move the powder as far away from the touch hole as you can. Most think that that the pan charge burns it's way in to the breech. Wrong! It's the hot gases that are created in the pan that move through the touch hole that ignite the main charge. The touch hole acts like a venturi in a carburetor accelerating the gas velocity thus making it hotter {ie sheer temperature}

[Pygmy]

Skunkie...Sounds like you are very knowledgable about flintlocks..I readily admit I am not..Owned a TC Hawken flinter for a couple of years, but never got into the finer points of operating it.

Thanks for giving a very articulate and interesting explaination of how a flintlock should work.

Hehehe..I was one of those guys who thought the more priming powder in the pan, the better it should work.. No wonder I couldn't hit anything with it...!!..<<grin>>..

Edited December 12, 2013 by Pygmy

[nyantler]

A lot of us at our gun club shoot flintlock during our winter league... I don't hunt much with mine because of how I hunt end up losing much of the powder out of the flash pan while tracking, but I shoot it quite a bit at the range. We shoot 25-100 yards regularly... very nice looking gun

[DanceswithSkunks]

Losing powder out of the pan can be overcome by tuning the lock. Remove the lock from rifle, close frizzen and hold up to a white background. There should be no space between the frizzen and top of the pan where the two edges meet. If there is a gap use a small flat sharpening stone and remove the high spots. Another spot where the priming powder exits is between the lock and barrel. That would require some touch up work on the inleting of the stock.

 

I check and change my priming powder all the time. Open frizzen have a look, rap the side of the stock to re-position the powder or change it. I also have a touch hole tool I made from an old toothbrush. Cut the handle down so the overall length is about 3 or 4 inches. On the cut end, heat up a paperclip the diameter of your touch hole, and when it's red hot stick it in the cut end of the brush. Brush out the pan then poke the touch hole and put fresh powder in the pan, close frizzen give the stock a rap, check position of powder and close her up.

Edited December 12, 2013 by DanceswithSkunks

[Suilleabhain]

This is good. Tell me more about shooting flintlocks. I have my eye on the Traditions Penn

[DanceswithSkunks]

This is good. Tell me more about shooting flintlocks. I have my eye on the Traditions Penn

I haven't handled or inspected a Traditions Penn. About ten years ago a friend of a friend had a traditions flintlock that was nothing but trouble. The construction and design looked like a 6th grade shop project that went terribly bad. I would look for a used T/C Hawken or Renegade in good condition and change the lock to a L&R replacement made just for the T/Cs. Minimal inletting will be required. The Lyman Great Plains Rifle would be my second choice. I'm itching to work up a flinter this winter. Either a .62 Jaeger or a halfstock Hawken in .58. The hang up is the barrel. Just can't decide on make model and over all length.  Getz is out of business so I will probably be going with a Colerain barrel, and have it cut down and re-crowned.  

 

As far as the care and feeding of flintlocks I would recommend reading this article written by Chuck Dixon. The man has forgotten more about black powder weapons than most will ever learn. His shop is less than 30 minutes from my parents place and I always make it a point to go out and visit and talk with Chuck whenever I'm in the area.

 

http://www.cherrytreefamily.com/muzzledixon.htm

[nyslowhand]

I Got this Tennessee Mountainf flintlock rifle ................

Never thought I had the patience for a flintlock, but I can appreciate a gorgeous rifle when I see one!!

 

Out of curosity, what makes this a Tenn Mtn style? If you hadn't described it, would have thought it was a PA influenced flintlock. Not that it matters what it's called, beautiful longrifle!

[DanceswithSkunks]

Most if not all Flintlock longrifles are influenced or copied from one of the many schools of PA longrifles.