Pedersoli Frontier flintlock rifle...any good?

[Norseman]

Hi Guys,

  Well, I am still shoppin round for an affordable flintlock rifle.  Avoiding  going custom...due to the bucks, although I might consider TVM.  I currently own a .54 GPR in percussion and got a couple of bucks WITH it,
that is the 4 legged kind!  Had it 8 years and love it.  I now want to get into historical re-enacting, especially Golden era of American longrifles.
  Any inputs from owners of the Pedersoli Frontier Rifle?  I also realize that it has the 1/47 inch rate of twist.  I never used this "inbetween twist" and plan on using round balls.  Can I expect good accuracy from this twist?  Also, is the lock a good sparker?  Help me out boys!  My wife will scalp me if I go custom (TVM). Pedersoli or not? :?

                                       "Keep your powder dry"!

[mamaflinter]

The Pedersoli Frontier is a fine rifle. I've seen a few of these and my husband has owned two of them. They are well balanced and quite accurate. You will be pleased.

[Norseman]

Are there anymore of you guys who have experience with Pedersoli Muzzleloaders?  I am interested in the Pedersoli's Frontier Rifle specifically.  The "Black Powder Fever" has hit me bad again!   :-D .  I would like to go flint and need more inputs on how well their flintlocks spark etc. Help me out guys, there must be someone out there who has the Frontier Rifle or have seen one in action.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Of the production guns, Pedersoli flintlocks are probably the best.

I had one of their Kentuckies in a .32 cal. flintlock.  The flints dull way faster than my Jim Chambers lock.  

The Frontiers, or Cabela's Blueridges, have even better locks.

There's some small pains that I found with Pedersoli flintlock guns.  Cleaning was not simple.  The width of the flats were too small to allow a proper seal with one of those flush tube clamps.  The breach was a "patent breach" which prevents the cleaning jag from reaching all the way down, and the barrel was pinned in.

Modifying any one of those features would have greatly simplified cleaning.  Because of the shoulder in the patent breach the only way to clean the breach effectively was to really flush water through there.  The flush tube wouldn't seal, and removing the barrel was complicated by using tiny pins instead of nice big wedges.

This of course is no reason to avoid the gun entirely.  It may be that the larger calibers have bigger barrel flats that would allow a flush tube to work better.  Otherwise, you do what I did for many years.  You happily clean the gun as best you can and realize that you are fortunate to at least HAVE a flintlock to clean for the amount of money you spent.

[filmokentucky]

With rifles or pistols that won't accept a flushing kit, I just stick a funnel in the muzzle and pour very hot water through them until the water runs clear. Pistols I do over a sink, the long guns I do outdoors. If the water is hot enough, it evaporates so quickly that it doesn't cause rust. Then I lightly oil them.

[Dan Chamberlain]

I have the Frontier in .36 caliber!  It is a squirrel/rabbit huntin iron and works very well!  It's very accurate with 20 grains of black and carries like an old friend.  The barrel is not pinned in like a traditional long rifle!  The barrel is held on by screws hidden under the ramrod pipes and there is the bolt running from the off side to the lock and one other small screw.  Taking the barrel off is about a 2 minute job and then you clean it like a half stock!  

Dan C

[Norseman]

1.  What is this "patented breach" thing with Pedersoli's?  Are you saying that if you put a cleaning jag down the barrel it will not go all the way down the the bottom-breach wall?  That sounds very strange.  Whats up with this?

2.  I am hearing that small pins, not being able to knock out under barrel wedges, pins etc are a deterrent to cleaning a muzzloader?  I can relate to this since I have always had, and have now Hawken type half stocks with wedge pins and a hooked breach -that the barrel comes off and you can run hot water down the barrel after cleaning.  BUT...most old traditional early muzzleloaders didn't have this option!  Disassembly would be an absolute pain and highly improbable as a common cleaning chore.  For example, concerning this question...a buddy of mine owns a custom flintlock, and I brought this same scenario up with him, and he just runs cleaning patches through the barrel until clean, oils and no problem.  So, whats the truth on this?  I eyeballed his barrel on numerous occasions and guess what-not a problem.

[Norseman]

There must be someone who shoots the Pedersoli Frontier Rifle out there?  Inputs are desperately wanted, seeing there haven't been that many replies.  CVA's need not apply!   :eek:  :eek:  How good are the Frontier Rifles (flint) are they good sparkers, etc?  Comm'on... there must be more replies of y'all that have experience with this particular rifle?  Thumbs up or down?  There must be an economical medium between custom Long Rifles, and mass production ones?  What do you think?  


                                                  " Keep your powder dry boys"

                                                     The Rebel Norseman <><

[xnmr53]

I had a Dixie poorboy at one time, with a screw in vent liner that was, IIRC 1/4-28, and which could be easily unscrewed.  Somewhere I got a unit which screwed into the liner hole, and which had an o-ring on one side and a length of plastic tubing on the other. You just dropped the end of the tubing in a bucket of hot water, and cleaned the gun. No fuss, no muss.

[fffffg]

it will probably be a decent  entry level gun..if you get it from cabellas you can return it.. what that means is if yoj shjoot it for a year and put it in the closet your not out alot of money, and you wont wear parts out needing repalcement,,(the horror unheard   story of pedersoley) i have two of them and dont care to shoot them now that i have a good jim chambers gun..   it takes a lot of blood and sweat and money  to get one of these put togher, but nothing equals it,.. so for starters buy one that you think  you might want, and if its not good enough for you in acouple years move up to a custom gun..  you may be able to go to some shoots this summer an d get a good used gun.. gun builderss love to build guns and sell thier old ones so they can build more.. if you run into one of these guys you can shoot the gun for a day at the shoot and see what happens after 30 shots on a flint.. something pedersoli doesnt worry a bout..  if i were to buy an entry level gun id get a lyman great planes.. dave.

[Norseman]

Hi Dave (fffffG),
   I have had a Lyman Great Plains rifle .54 percussion since the early 90's.  I have figured what load and ball thickness (.530-.535), patch thickness etc.  I have found that it took some time when, I originally bought this rifle to go through experimentation and have found that killing a few whitetailed deer with it, and going to the range, it's is an outstanding Rifle!  My Lyman has always been most accurate with a .010 patch lubed with Oke Yoke Wonder Lube, a 100 grain charge of FF. and using CCI Magnum #11 Caps: 25 yards almost one holer.  50 yards same/ slighlty higher in impact.  100 yards 1 1/2" group 2 1/2 high.  Dead deer under 100 yards little travel.  
   I like the slender style of the early Longrifles.  The technology of the time couldn't compare to modern steel etc.  Why then, couldn't a Pedersoli do OK as the Lyman GPR which some people look down their noses at? I am sure there are buryied in the ground many examples of Longrifles that have never seen the light of day in 200 years, close enough is close enough?


               Keep you powder dry boys,

               The Southern Norseman

[fffffg]

to me its aobut lock geometry and parts..  i have a mortimer and its a rock crusher.. good locks have a rock in them the size of a quarter and they dont break easily.. full sized locks are best becouse you can refresh the stone in the lock, i dont know the size of the lock on the gun your talkinhg about..   if you need a sight, a lyman sight will be to you proably in 10 days.. the pedersoli probably sight replacement will never show up..   if you need a lock spring you will probably have to spend about 200-250 dollars for a new lock an d i most likely wont fit..  im serious ,, they change patterns and fit parts like the old days..  many many companies have dropped pedersolies like track of the wolf becouse parts and repair problems.. otherwise a beautiful gun.. i boughth three nipples i orederd for my 10 gauge, only one held a cap.. i called richerd fromflintlocks etc that handles pedersoli in usa..  he said to put some fingernail polish on them and he would not alow me to return them . i tried for a year to contact thier repair station in texas.. they finally wrote me back about aonther problem and said my gun was out of waranty and they dont work on or supplly parts for guns out of warranty..  so i dont like pedersoli..  dave.

[rich e]

Norseman, I have the Cabelas Blue Ridge, in flintlock, 50 cal. Which is xactly like the pedersoli fronter rifle, can honestly tell you its a fine rifle, shoots vary good, and flintlock is fast and throws a good shower of sparks.The only thing I didn't like about mine was the ramrod, but I made a new one out of a hickory blank and burned stripes on it, looks a lot better than the one that came with the gun. However the one that came with it is still a functional rod, and I use it as a spare, its just I like the contrast of the lighter hickory with the stripe, its just a preferance of mine. Mine is a 1 in 48 twist but it has deep rifling, not shallow and does shoot a rd ball accurately. The lock is a good sized lock and takes about a 7/8 flint which is a fairly big flint, so it does throw a good shower of sparks. I love mine, and don't plan on parting company with it, I also have a GPR by Lyman which is a fine rifle also, mine is perc. so I can't respond to how well there flint locks work.

[Norseman]

:shock: There surely must be more Pedersoli Frontier rifle owners out there!  How about more inputs?  I am also pushing the edge and looking at TVM muzzleloaders....how about it....Pedersoli Frontier or TVM?

[mamaflinter]

We currently have a Frontier rifle in .36. It's a great squirrel gun and fun to plink with.

What exactly do you want to know? They are well built rifles and will give you many years of dependable service.

[cbagman]

Are there anymore of you guys who have experience with Pedersoli Muzzleloaders?  I am interested in the Pedersoli's Frontier Rifle specifically.  The "Black Powder Fever" has hit me bad again!   :-D .  I would like to go flint and need more inputs on how well their flintlocks spark etc. Help me out guys, there must be someone out there who has the Frontier Rifle or have seen one in action.

Norseman... Phooey on the flinter.. The frizzen has to be hardened with Case-n-nite to get a decent spark. Even that has to be redone often as the surface wears.. Ignition is sparodic at best compared to a quality flint lock. They don't cost a lot so if you want to get one remember you get what you pay for.. It would be better to get a well made flinter with a Siler lock or a L&R Flintlock on it with deep rifling and slow twist.. For me "Traditional Muzzleloader" means an open sighted flintlock rifle shooting a patched round ball only.. In primitive weapon deer season I use a .50 caliber southern mountaiin style flinter made by Jack Garner at Tennessee Valley Arms.. I also use several other rifles from .40 to .54 caliber and ALL of them are flinters. If the Great Father wanted us to shoot percussion caps, He woulda left them burried in the ground like He did flint rock.. cbagman

[Stinky]

Hi, I have a Pedersoli Frontier rifle in cap lock. Going to change it to a flinter with an L&R lock very easy done. As far as cleaning its a snap do it eyes closed. After every shoot I take them Down totally its just the way I do things . All the way or none. Basically peace of Mind knowing my friends are all clean. My Ped Front. .50 shoots great traditional buckhorn rear blade front.. I take the barrel off fill a bucket of blazing hot water with a little dish soap put the breech end in . Then cleaning rod with jag and cotton patch faily tight and let suction do its job. Up and down like churning butter. No mess at all at my bench not outdoors nice and warm. It dries in seconds. A little bore butter done. Blow out the lock with blaster cleaner pray with silicon not oil . Stays clean longer. Small drop oil on sear pins done . 1 hr. tops.

[Stinky]

Norseman hi, Ped Front's spark fine I use English flints or stuff from southern states. No prob.make sure your flint hits 1/3 from the top of the frizz.nice long scrapes more sparks it'll get hotter as it get to the pan that way it works for me . Clean frizz with alcohol before u shoot. Hope this help u.

[Cuts Crooked]

I recently did some work on one for a friend. The main spring was WAY too heavy and trigger pull was a nightmare. When I removed the lock I found that main spring had actually been epoxied into the hole it was fitted to in the lock plate! In trying to get it free with a spring vise, the damned thing broke.

Guess what.......that spring is no longer available! Tried three different sources for Ped parts and all told me that they can't get them anymore. Pedersoli had changed the geometry of the lock and discontinued the parts. However they told me they get me a complete new lock for $230.00

I ended up redrilling the lock plate for a CVA spring that is more commonly available and fitting a new tumbler & sear to the lock. Works nice now.

[coyotejoe]

I have a Blue Ridge, which is Cabelas somewhat stripped down version of the Frontier. It was the rifle which made me a flintlock shooter. Prior to the Blue Ridge I had tried flint several times and always end up either selling it or converting it to cap lock. That big lock on the Blue Ridge with a 7/8" flint sparks very well, fires fast and reliable. Mine's a .45 and it has won quite a few rendezvous shoots.  Some people do find the patent breech to be a problem. It mostly seems to be trouble for people who like to swab the bore after every shot, they end up pushing wet fouling down into the powder chamber where it wets the next charge and they can't get their gun to fire. The powder chamber seems to be about .22 caliber and can be fully cleaned with a patch wrapped around a .22 bore brush. Bear in mind that every production muzzleloader of which I am aware does have a patent breech of some sort. So far as removing the barrel for cleaning, it is not that difficult. First remove the lock, then  just two screws through the ramrod thimbles and a tang screw. The screws do have a way of getting lost when cleaning at the range or camp.
Here's a photo of the Pedersoli breechplug. This one is percussion but flint is the same except a vent liner instead of the nipple drum.
 
 

[BE Wild Willy]

Thanks for the pic coyotejoe. I just acquired a Frontier flintlock in 54 cal. and it's nice to get a visual of what I'm cleaning down there.

[eastbank]

i just finished up late season flint lock by killing two deer with my pedersolie blue ridge FL useing 80grs fff and a .490gr RB with a .010 patch with good english black flint, both under 70yds. i had carried the rifle over 3 hours primed and when it came time to make meat the rifle went off without any hesation at all,the temp was 19 degrees. eastbank.

[BE Wild Willy]

Awesome job and beautiful scenery, thanks for sharing...

[Mike in Virginia]

Pedersoli makes quality guns.  I've had some, but not the Frontier.  But I feel certain it will perform perfectly.  The thing is, like the Cabelas Blue Ridge, the Pedersoli is a generic.  It does not match any particular historical firearm.  Still, you can't do better than Pedersoli for quality.  Fit and finish are always first rate.  I'm trying to buy their Hawken model now.  It's not a perfect replica, but close enough for me.  To get a perfect replica of any actual historic muzzleloader, we have to go to the custom builders who make them one at a time. 

[eastbank]

mike, i agree. but not many can afford what a good custom FL cost these days. i had a custom left hand tenn poor boy built by kenny ishler,a local rifle builder and it was a very good rifle but the lock was a small one and the small flints it used did not perfrom very good for me, i like the larger flints the pedersolie uses and it sure is a great sparker. i paid 300.00 for my pedersolie from a man who thought he would like to try black powder hunting,but he lost interest very quickly with the cleaning prosess and smell. i used my TC .50 last year on this late season deer. eastbank.

[Ken Rummer]

I have the Blue Ridge version.  The trigger pull is 10-12 lbs.  The set trigger works fine.  I personally don't like this heavy trigger pull.  Would prefer a 4 lb pull.  I don't want to set the trigger each time I shoot.  It adds some time delay to a shot if hunting.
The ramrod is 9mm dia. and has 10-32 thread on one end only.  Hard to pull a dryball in the woods.
The barrel is 7/8 wide and has a published max load of 80 gr Swiss 2F for my 54 cal.  I prefer heavier loads.
It is a shooter.  I have shot 3 shot groups of 1.5" at 50 yds from a bench, which is the best I have ever done with a flinter.  Really had a good day.
If I had it to do all over I would not have bought it.  I would have kept shooting my GPR.
 

[Rock Home Isle]

Hi Guys,

  Well, I am still shoppin round for an affordable flintlock rifle.  Avoiding  going custom...due to the bucks, although I might consider TVM.  I currently own a .54 GPR in percussion and got a couple of bucks WITH it,
that is the 4 legged kind!  Had it 8 years and love it.  I now want to get into historical re-enacting, especially Golden era of American longrifles.
  Any inputs from owners of the Pedersoli Frontier Rifle?  I also realize that it has the 1/47 inch rate of twist.  I never used this "inbetween twist" and plan on using round balls.  Can I expect good accuracy from this twist?  Also, is the lock a good sparker?  Help me out boys!  My wife will scalp me if I go custom (TVM). Pedersoli or not? :?

                                       "Keep your powder dry"!

I have this firearm in both .32 calibre and .50 calibre. Both firearms were purchased used and I inspected both carefully before purchase. I have now owned both guns for many years and have enjoyed them on the firing line many times in that last 10 or 12 years. I have had to replace a tumbler on the .32, while the .50 has offered no problems. Once they are sighted in and shooting, my experience is that they are fine shooters. My little .32 has taken many fine tasting squirrels over the years, while I have done very well at the shooting line with the .50 cal.
 
I did have a bit of a noticable delay in the ignition that I did not quite like, so I drilled out the flash hole to 1/16 inch...problem solved.
 
These days I shoot mostly my TVMs...if you are considering a TVM, you will get a fine rifle and a company that stands behind their work.