Flintlock bbl and lock on the way.....

[kevthebassman]

I'm going to switch my Renegade caplock over to a flinter.  The bbl is a .54 with a roundball twist.  I'm afraid I've been bitten badly by the muzzleloader bug, specifically the traditional variety.  As stupid as our deer are, I've been trying to give them every advantage.

[coyotejoe]

Actually, that change may be giving YOU an advantage. Once you learn the idiosyncrasies of your flintlock it is no handicap at all, at least not in dry weather and your new barrel will almost certainly be more accurate than the original T/C shallow groove barrel. What kind of lock and barrel are you getting?

[kevthebassman]

Actually, that change may be giving YOU an advantage. Once you learn the idiosyncrasies of your flintlock it is no handicap at all, at least not in dry weather and your new barrel will almost certainly be more accurate than the original T/C shallow groove barrel. What kind of lock and barrel are you getting?

If I can manage 125 yards with it, I'll be on an even keel with what I have now.  I'm thinking I'll be able to because my current bbl was a salvage job and is pitted like the surface of the moon, and the bbl I'm ordering is a Green Mountain.  The lock is a TC.

Only bad thing is now I need to find some 4F Goex.

[Semisane]

I wouldn't bother with 4F for priming.  I prime my Great Plains with whatever I'm shooting - usually 3F, but sometimes 2F - and have never had ignition problems, even with the 2F.

[kevthebassman]

I'll try it.  I'm told that ignition is faster with 4F.

[Semisane]

I've shot mine alternating with my New Englander caplock, and honestly can't tell any difference in ignition speed between the flintlock with 3F and the caplock.

[kevthebassman]

I've shot mine alternating with my New Englander caplock, and honestly can't tell any difference in ignition speed between the flintlock with 3F and the caplock.

The only Goex I have on hand is 2F.  I will definitely try it.

[Odinbreaker]

You can take a spoon on a glass plate and pulveriize some 2 ff and use that for priming powder if the 2f doesn't ignite well.  Just make sure you do not use two items that will cause a spark.  i have done this and it works ok.

[kevthebassman]

You can take a spoon on a glass plate and pulveriize some 2 ff and use that for priming powder if the 2f doesn't ignite well.  Just make sure you do not use two items that will cause a spark.  i have done this and it works ok.

Hmmm, I never thought of that.  May see how that works and try it.

[coyotejoe]

I'm not much of a fan of "re-grinding" powder. Unless you can screen it afterward you end up with a mix of 2f and dust. The dust does not ignite well and soaks up moisture like a spounge. I obtained a couple of brass screens 12"x12" for a few bucks and find I can screen enough 4f out of my 2 and 3f to fill my needs for priming so I never have to buy 4f again. I have had good and fast ignition with 3f in the pan but not quite as good as 4f and 2f is quite noticably slower.

[kevthebassman]

I'm not much of a fan of "re-grinding" powder. Unless you can screen it afterward you end up with a mix of 2f and dust. The dust does not ignite well and soaks up moisture like a spounge. I obtained a couple of brass screens 12"x12" for a few bucks and find I can screen enough 4f out of my 2 and 3f to fill my needs for priming so I never have to buy 4f again. I have had good and fast ignition with 3f in the pan but not quite as good as 4f and 2f is quite noticably slower.

Well now that's another idea I never thought of.  Where I work we happen to have brass screen... I wonder if it's fine enough.

[kevthebassman]

My new flintlock bbl and lock came in the mail Friday.


Here it is with my other new baby, a Ruger Blackhawk .44 mag.  I took them out and shot them today.


75 yards, .530 ball and .020 patch.

The flinter shot pretty well once I got dialed in to the right patch/ball combo.  It needs a mallet to get the ball started down the barrel.  I'm hoping that once I get a couple of hundred rounds down the tube it'll loosen up a bit.  With a little fine tuning this rifle will be a first class deer slayer.  Unfortunately my range session got cut short by rain, maybe I'll get back out tomorrow.

The Ruger shot wonderfully too, in case you're interested.  Recoil was fairly mild thanks to the good rubber grips and the weight of the 8 inch barrel.


25 yards from standing position.


25 yards from a rest.