help with flintlock

[tree rat]

I am new to flint lock, only 4 shots so far, and need some help. T/C fire-hawk, elephant 3f. OK I know to pick the touch hole to clean any debris, but do I need to pick again after the main charge is seated or do I want that to stay compacted? also on the prime, do I want a fuse into the touch hole as my book says, or do I want the prime against the far side of the pan so when it ignite it is drawn into the touch hole?

[lonewolf5348]

What gun are you talking about the fire hawk is not a flinter.
I would say real BP is needed in a flintlock and when charging the pan I use only 2 grains of powder and I like to tap the charge away from the vent liner.
I would say also t/c has new vent liner that are .070 compared to the older ones and if you have a older lock the new style hammers are the way to go.

[tree rat]

sorry! Its a fire storm, it was designed with pellets in mind, but mine will only see REAL black powder. in my owners manual it wants a fuse effect into the touch hole, but I figure this is because of the pellets, which I will not be using! so you are saying to keep my prime charge at the far side of the pan so it will flash over and be drawn into the touch hole? (no fuse effect?) now how about the pick, should I load the main charge with the pick in? or pick after charged? or only use the pick after the shot to make sure the touch hole is clear for the next shot?

[captchee]

 you want to keep the  pan powder away from the flash hole . having the powder  covering or going through the touch hole will create the longest delay

as to picking.
  some folks pick  and then load with the pick still in the vent hole .
 myself i pick after loading .
 the reason is as you load  the charge and projectile  cinders or fouling can once again clog the flash hole

[flintlock]

How much powder you put in the pan depends upon how the gun is setup...I have 2 custom made flinters and the touch hole is covered by the frizzen when it is closed, so I can put a full pan of powder in them without the fuse effect...This is the proper position for a touch hole, high and centered over the pan...

When casual shooting or squirrel hunting with my .40, I don't pick, no need to, the gasses from the previous shot come out of the touch hole so it cleans during the shot...When shooting in competition and hunting, I load into a clean barrel and the touch hole is also clean...

Now, I use Goex FFF in both my .40 and my .54 and charges in the .40 are 25 grs and 80 in the .54...If you use higher charges of FF then you might have more residue left after the shot, so picking might be necessary...I'd suggest trying both ways (picking and various pan charges) to see what your gun prefers...Good Luck

btw...I have noticed on other boards that Elephant usually doesn't yield the same velocities as Goex...It seems that Goex is stronger and burns cleaner, so your results might vary...

[tree rat]

Thanks folks, I will be using Goex from now on, I just happened to have a partial can of elephant from years ago that I figured I would use up just making sure I could make smoke. now I need to sight in, and stop flintching. a .375 J.D.J. in my contender has created a terrible problem with anticipation flinching. I hope learning to shoot a flintlock will make me a better shot with other guns too, because of the need to follow through with sight picture longer.

[flintlock]

I'll bet shooting a flint lock will help with your modern rifles...Through the 80s I shot a lot of competition with my flintlocks...Once you shoot 40-50 shots a day with a flinter, the modern rifles seem easy...Just relax, touch her off and let her do her thing...Enjoy...