Trouble shooting the Lyman GPR Flint Lock.

[flinter54]

Good evening everyone. I recently purchased a Lyman GPR Flint Lock in .54. My first trip to the range left me much to desire. First time I loaded it, it fired. I have not got it to fire since. However it is my first ever experience with a flint lock. I think it is a sharp looking rifle, I would like it better if I could get the thing to shoot. For priming powder all I have is Pyrodex P. I just ordered some Goex FFFF, I hope this will help out a little.

Anyhow, I load the main charge with a pick in the touch hole. I only fill the pan a 1/3rd full, I have also filled it completely full, but nothing seems to work. Does anyone have one of these rifles? Or does anyone have any pointers when shooting a flint lock? Also, any pointers on calming the desire to flinch when the priming powder ignites?

Thanks for your help

Flinter54

[Buckskins & Black Powder]

haha pyrodex can not be used in a flintlock, ive tried it and you can get by with using it as a main charge, does ok, but for pan priming, No way!

Hows the lock spark? Im waiting for my .54 GPR flintlock to come in.

[quickdtoo]

You would do well for yourself to use real blackpowder in the flinter, both for the main charge(FF or FFF) as well as priming(FFFF), that in itself will make a world of difference, pyrodex doens't work well for either purpose. I've read of duplex loads using a few grains of blackpowder dumped in the bore before the main charge of substitute, but myself, if you can get Goex or one of the other real blackpowders, you'd be happier.

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,118120.msg1098386766.html#msg1098386766

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,30351.msg165751.html#msg165751

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,104097.msg1098288587.html#msg1098288587

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,53846.msg318539.html#msg318539

[DakotaJeff]

I've tried Pyrodex granular powder (not pellets) in my flintlock and I am not impressed.  I have used Triple Seven for the main charge for a long time and it does just fine.  I have not tried Goex for the main charge.  It took me forever just to find Goex FFFFg for the pan, luckily a 1 lb. can goes a long way for the pan.  Where I live (AK), Goex is very difficult to come by, no one carries it due to shipping restrictions.

As for your troubles flinter54, the previous two replies are correct.  You definitely want to use FFFFg Goex black powder in the pan.  The small grain size and low ignition point of black powder help it ignite much easier with a spark off the frizzen than the higher ignition point of bp substitutes (like Pyrodex and Triple 7).  One day at the range my pan primer ran out and I left my supply of Goex at home.  So out of curiousity I took some Triple 7 FFg I was using as the main charge, ground it up a bit, and put it in the pan.  Probably took me 25 tries to get it to ignite.  And when it finally did ignite, there was one heck of a delay.

[flintlock]

As mentioned, it's not the guns fault..Ditch the Pyrodex, the ignition temp is too high...I wouldn't even use as the main charge, stick with real blackpower and she will be fine...

I use Goex FFF as both my main charge and priming...

[captchee]

 you can use 3F in the pan but  it must be BP not a sub
 now the main charge can be a sub if you flash hole is of the right size  to get alot of heat . some folks get this to work ok but i have never found it acceptable . in fact  those that i  shoot with that do use sub for their main charge normally  go back to real BP when  they try it and experience the difference

 Also check your spark  you should see  very noticeable sparks coming off your frizzen and  falling into the pan .
 Now keep in mind that if your doing this  and you have a loaded bore , keep it pointed down range . Flintlocks can go off  without a charge in the pan

 If your not getting spark , take a close look at your flint and its position . Sometimes a  new shooter will get the flint set to far back and the   top of the cock screw will contact the frizzen just before the flint strikes . Thus knocking it out of the way  before the flint can make spark .
 I also have witnessed some of the Lyman’s with  very hard frizzens  that  simply do not spark well with  a good flint . These seem to like the cut agates better .
 The other thing you need to look at is  whether the flint is bevel up or bevel down .
 You need to see which way sparks better for your rifle  so try both .
 The flint should strike roughly at ¾  of the frizzen face 

[flinter54]

Thank you everyone for your responses. It appears I will be using the real stuff. I was not aware the flash point was higher in sub powder than in real black powder. I really look forward to getting to the range with it again. As for the lock, i'm getting a good shower of sparks.

Other than just time at the bench, is there anything a new flint lock shooter can do to tame the flinch?

[flintlock]

Flinching is another problem...Start with lower powder charges (like 50grs) so you get to know the gun...With a properly setup flintlock you should not have enough lag time to hurt you...Touch hole location and size are often over looked...A properly positioned touch hole is behind the frizzen when it is closed...Or located high, above the top of the pan...This keeps the powder from having to burn down in the pan to the level of the touch hole...The flame is hotter up high, if that makes sense...This is why you hear of guys having to use a half a pan of powder or having to turn the rifle away from the touch hole before they shoot...I always use a full pan of powder, but mine flinters are custom built...

Make sure as well that when you clean between shots you don't use too much cleaner and leave the breach area wet...This will contaminate the powder and make the second shot a dud or slow ignition down...

Once you go to real black powder, it will be a totally different gun...