New member to this forum from chilly Canada

[Canuck Bob]

Hello from western Canada.  You know that wicked Arctic cold front from Canada you hear about from the weatherman, you should try it in Canada!

I've just received my Lyman Deerstalker .54 lefty flintlock.  I almost bought a Handi to get back into shooting but our gunlaw red tape discouraged me.  Flintlocks are not regulated so I joined the dark and dirty side.

I am going to shoot this weekend as it should warm a bit.  Early plan is to shoot 100 Speer .530 balls with .015 patches.  Supplies will include Hoppes #9 BP lube, Goex 3F for charging and 4F for priming and traditional flints.  I am planning light loads, 30 to 45 grains by volume, and 50 yard range to familiarize myself to muzzleloading. 

Canadian response to global warming....Whats taking so long!

[Semisane]

Hey there Canuck Bob.  Welcome.

Going with a flintlock for your first foray into muzzleloading will be interesting.  You plan sounds practical.  Take your time and enjoy (you may even get to enjoy the thrill of dryballing).  If you have ignition problems, with a flash in the pan but no ignition of the main charge, consider replacing the Lyman touch hole liner with an RMC liner.  The sawed flint that came with my Great Plains flinter wasn't much of a sparker and didn't last long.  I've found the black English flints from Track Of The Wolf to work real well, as do the white chert flints from Rich Pearce.

I'm looking forward to your full report on the first session.

(And please keep that cold air up there where it belongs.)

[Ron T.]

Welcome to the Forum, Bob...

Here's some help for you... reducing your cost of flints... good flints, too!

Here's the email addy for Rich Pierce:  rpierce@dom.wustl.edu 
 
Rich gathers his own white flints and sell 'em at a very reasonable price... about $10 (US) a dozen + $1.50 handling & postage... and they spark darned well... as good or better than the English flints I was using.

I bought a dozen from him last summer and most of his flints not only have given me good spark, but because I bought what Rich calls "small fints" (5/8ths inch), he sent me 13 flints (a "baker's dozen") for the price of a dozen flints along with a note that said, "Try 'em and if you like 'em, send me $11.50, but if you don't think they spark good enough, send 'em back."

I gotten over 100 shots from 2 of the 3 Rich Pierce flints I've used so far... and I've kept all three flints that I've used because I bought a set of diamond-imbedded files and I believe I can file the used flints a bit and get another 25 or so shots out of 2 of them.  The 1st. one kinda "shattered" and I doubt that I can squeeze any more shots outta it, but we'll see.

You should consider getting a COČ "gun" with extra COČ cartridges in case you "dry ball" (fail to put powder in the rifle prior to loading the patched ball) your rifle.  The COČ "gun" is a LOT easier and more simple to use than the "ball puller" which can be a real task.  You can find the COČ "guns" for sale on the net ranging anywhere from $10 (US) to $30 including a fitting for use with a flintlock.

The "word" among flinters about "dry-balling" is... "There are those who HAVE dry-balled and those who WILL."... and that's the truth!!!     

I must have "dry-balled" at least a half a dozen times until I got my COČ "gun"... and haven't dry-balled since.  It's what is called a "Psychological crutch", I guess.  Butttttttttttt... I'm SURE I'll eventually "dry-ball" again at some point in the future.  My black powder shooting buddy who has been shooting a percussion cap rifle for over 20 years just "dry-balled" again last month for the first time in close to 20 years... so it CAN and DOES happen to the best of us.  My shooting buddy PROVED that last month!!!   

Of course, in many percussion cap rifles, the flash-hole is large enough that one can stuff enough powder into the flash-hole/flash-channel to enable one shoot the ball out and clear the rifle's barrel... but that's hard to do with a flint-lock.  I've done it with my Traditions "Shenandoah" a couple of times, but it took several "trys" before I was successful.  But then, I got the COČ "gun"... and stopped dry-balling my rifle.  Go figger, eh?   

Good luck with your flinter...  and as Semisane advised, take your time and enjoy what you're doing.  There's a "learning curve" to using a flinter successfully and it takes time and experience to "get-it-done", so take your time and enjoy the "ride".  "Pushing" the issue only leads to frustration, so just enjoy the experience and have fun.   


Strength & Honor...

Ron T. 


 

[Semisane]

Now that this has turned into a DryBall topic, I will say I've never done it (intentionally  ).  I don't have a CO² discharger, and don't use the ball puller.  What I do is remove the lock, remove the touch hole liner, trickle powder into the patent breech, reinstall the liner, reinstall the lock, and touch her off.

[Ron T.]

Yeppers, Semisane...

I could do that too... but instead of spending a fair amount of time doing all that stuff you do, if I ever "dry-ball" my rifle again, I can "shoot" the COČ to it in 3 seconds and I'm good-to-go again.

Of course, it's a lot more difficult to get the powder into the flash-hole/flash-channel in a flinter than it is in a percussion cap.

This is why I recommended the COČ unloader... buttttttttttttttt, different stokes for different folks, my friend... n'est pas?   


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

[Semisane]

This is why I recommended the COČ unloader... buttttttttttttttt, different stokes for different folks, my friend... n'est pas? 

 

You bet Ron.  Just wanted to give Bob another option in the event he needs it.

Does your CO² unloader hold the gas over time, or do you need to put a new cartridge in it for each use?

[Canuck Bob]

I will never load a dry ball!  Yeah right, it is amazing but every experienced shooter warns it will happen sooner or later.

The advice is priceless guys thanks and keep it coming.

The weather broke today and I will spark a pan this weekend.  My little girls have never seen a gun go off so thier first will be Daddy's flintlock!

It actually hit -48C/-54F in Edmonton about a 100 miles north.  For a short period of time it was the coldest recorded spot on the earth!  I wonder if that got mentioned in Copenhagen.

[Semisane]

Hey Bob, make sure no one is standing to the lock side of the gun when you shoot.  A pretty good blast of gas comes out of the touchhole and can injure someone a few feet away.

[Canuck Bob]

Thanks for that safety tip!  Any others a greenhorn might miss.

[Semisane]

Thanks for that safety tip!  Any others a greenhorn might miss.

The end with the hole goes towards the target.   

[Canuck Bob]

Well Semi, which hole you refering to?