need advice

[rebel57]

i hunt with a tc/hawken 50 cal prb....i live near raleigh nc....i feel like i would like to hunt like my ancestors must have, but a hawken is not period correct....am i ready for flint................................what is an economicalgun for a poor boy to deer hunt with that is 1750-1775 ''''correct...i have no mentor, no one to askhelp...im alone in the desire to muzzleload...all the other guys bow hunt til rifle then go  centerfire...any ideas?

[necchi]

your right, the T/C doesn't look like anything but a T/C but it will serve you well. You kinda got me stuck when you said economical,,,you can swap out barrels and lock on the T/C for I'm guessing 200 or less (used parts) and make it a flint

[bluecow]

what ever you do dont buy a cheep flinter.  though ive not been in the merket for some time ill say look to spend 500 plus.  ive seen some have good luck with the cabelas mt. rifle (?)  the lock is the heart of your new rifle get a l&r, cambers, davis ect.  that may be your less $$ option is to get a older cva/traditions long rifle and replace the lock.  fellow that i used to shoot with did that.  uesd a bolt that fit where the drum was, filed it flat and drilled a new touch hole with a hand drill.  good luck, and dont forget a smooth bore.

[simonkenton]

If you want to hunt like your ancestors did, get an atlatl.

[longcaribiner]

For about $250 you can get a drop in L&R flint lock for your TC stocck annd a drop in Green mountain barrel.  As said above, the lock is the key in flintlocks.    There are some Italian made long rifle reproductions, but some have insufficient drop to fit most adult men.  There are custom shops  probably hundreds of theem across the country.  You can get a pre inletted or semi finshed gun to finish yourself.  Check out Jim Chambers,  Cabin Creek in Hellam PA, and there are others.  But such custom or semi custom guns are not"economical"  Perhaps $800 and up. However, if you get such a gun, it is an heirloom and not likely to depreciate significantly, when compared to a TC or Lyman.     

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Ooof!  The words economical, period correct, and flintlock all said in the same breath!

That's a tall order pard.

What do you consider "economical"?  Is a Cabela's Blue Ridge rifle economical enough for you?  I think they're fetching $600.

For economical, I would shop used at rendezvous.  Learn a bit about names of barrels and locks.  Then perhaps you'll find someone with a use Southern Mountain rifle with a set of decent components that needs to send his kid through college.  You're still gonna spend $400 to $1000 though.

$500 -$600 should get you a good "kit" from a place like Track of the Wolf.  If you know anyone who is handy with wood and metal they can help you put it together. 

See, with a flintlock the quality of the lock makes a big difference as opposed to a caplock.  A caplock simply has to have the hammer strike the cap with enough force to set it off.  A flintlock has to have the right kind of steel for the frizzen to make sparks.  It has to have the geometry just-so so that the sparks are directed towards the priming charge.  The springs on the lock should be balanced along with the proper striking angle so that you are dulling flints or destroying them prematurely.  This all takes a fair amount of attention to detail to produce - not something that you pay a college student $6/hr for.

But, Pedersoli makes some sharp looking longrifles that should be fairly reliable.  I've owned their Kentucky in .32 flint.  I had great fun popping squirrels with it.  However it did dull flints quickly so I had to dress them every 15 shots or so to maintain reliability.