Got the TC flinter

[Good time Charlie]

Well, the flinter got here and I tried it out. It was less than a resounding success! It fired the first time I loaded it. It seemed like 3 or more seconds slow. How ever I have never fired a flinter before so it probably was not as slow as I thought, but I still think is slower than it should be.
     After that everything went down hill. I had many misfires and flash in the pans. The frizzen most times dose not open all the way. I hope someone knows a fix for this. I only had the flint that was in the gun. I have some ordered from TOW. This may help a lot. Any tips on getting this thing shooting will be appreciated.
                                                   Charlie

[Thomas Krupinski]

Charlie,

That is going to be pretty hard to do without taking a look and see what you have there.  But just trying to go over it in my mind I have a question on the flint that you are using.  Is it locked in tight and could it have moved?  

Is it hitting in the right place to throw the sparks to the pan?  Check it without a charge in the pan and see if it throws a good shower of sparks.  

What grade of blackpowder are you using to prime with?  Is it at least 3 or 4F?

Are you using a flashhole pick to create a small cavity in powder charge in the barrel on each load?  

How full are you making the pan?  Try just about quarter full.  If you use the flashhole pick to make that cavity in the charge it exposes more surface on the charge to the flash from the pan and speeds ignition.

[crow_feather]

Good time Charlie,
If you want a fast ignition, you have to have a straight shot from the flash to the main charge.  Remember that the flash in the pan goes up and out and the flash hole must be free of powder.  I place a feather quill in the flash hole before I begin loading and pull it when I'm ready to shoot - except when hunting, then I pull it after I load..  

You might not have your flint correctly in place.  It should strike high on the frizzen.  This might be why the frizzen is not opening.  Sometimes the flint needs to br turned over to work well.  And make sure that it is as tight as possible in the jaws and evenly contacts the frizzen.  If your flint moves backward, it will not spark correctly.

Most of all, do not give up on your rifle.  It's like riding a bicycle.  Once you learn the tricks of flint shooting, you will wonder how you ever had a problem.

Best of luck - C F

[Good time Charlie]

I am loading and priming with triple seven three f. I have ordered some flints from TOW. I hope they are the right size. Had to go by the one in the gun, may or may not be right one. Don't have a proper pick yet, have been putting a tooth pick in vent while loading. Probably have been using to much powder in pan. I won't give up on the gun, to dam hard headed for that. Thanks for any and all help.
                                                  Charlie

[Thomas Krupinski]

Charlie,

Not sure about that tripple 7 powder.  What is the flash point of that compared to blackpowder.  Does it ignite at the same tempature?  I have never used any of the substitutes, only blackpowder and I think that may be part of your problem.

[Good time Charlie]

There is a trading post just down the road that has the real stuff Gotex. I guess I'll get a pound and try it. I have a large supply of triple seven but will use it in my GPR.
                                 Charlie

[crow_feather]

Good time Charlie
In order to use up a lot of pyrodex that I had at one time, I loaded with 5 grains of 3f Goex and then the Pyrodex. Now, I just use straight Goex 3f for everything but priming and my 10 guage.  Lyman flints are usually 3/4" wide - I believe that they are called 3/4" flints.  I also used a #2 drill on my touch hole liner to get a faster boom, but then you would need a bigger toothpick.

Nothin be sweeter than the crack of lightnen commin from a well tended flinter.

C F

[Ramrod]

If you want to get rid of a lot of pyrocrap real fast get a cap and ball revolver, and some kids together, and have at it. Great way to make converts. Anyone who has ever shot mine was hooked. If you want sure ignition don't use anything but REAL black powder in a flinter. I don't even use anything else in my caplock rifles either.

[Bob/FLA]

Get rid of that fake powder and get some balck powder...hence the name...black powder rifle.  Flinters are very fussy to begin with.  Why tempt fate by using anything less.  

Also good advise above on flint positioning.  Some like it flat up, others flat down.  Don't worry about the "geometry" of hammer strike vs face of the frizzen...manufacturers have it in the ballpark and it ahould work fine.  Besides, most folks that start bending parts to fit usually dork it up beyond repair.  

There is only one secret to flintlocks...FLINTS!  Buy the best and guard them with your life.  I've had flints that were done after 10 shots.  I now get almost 100 shots per rock and have one flint that went over 150 shots!  The secret is in the rock.  

I always recommend using the same powder for priming that you use for loading.  There is no reason it should not work.  I use 2f for priming and loading on my .72 and 3f on the .34 without issue. Both guns are fast beyond belief.  

I had my.72 relined with a new touch hole liner and opened it up to 1/16" ....that really helped.  I don't advocate plugging the touch hole while loading.  As a matter of fact, I usually have a couple flecks of powder drop into the pan when dropping the main charge.  That powder is kissed right up against the hole ready for any spark to light it up!  And boy, that gun is very fast!!!!!

Priming the pan.  Just a couple of grains should do it.  Most folks over prime A LOT.  You only need about 1/4 of the pan full.  If overfull, the flame jumps too high, missing the touch hole and causing misfires.  

Hope this helps and never give up!  Again, welcome aboard!

[xnmr53]

Very good comments so far.

To recap a few points.

Forget the fake powders. Their ignition point is higher than black.

Test your spark. If you're not getting a good spark it could be either your rocks or your frizzen -- you'll have to experiment.

Don't use much priming powder. One of the small priming dispensers is a good investment to get consistent results.
[/list:u]

A couple of points that I haven't seen made

The centerline of your touch (vent) hole should be aligned with the top surface of the pan.

When you raise the rifle to your shoulder, tip it so that the lock is down, thus throwing the priming charge to the outside of the pan and ensuring that the vent hole is uncovered. It is the blast wave from the detonation of the priming charge that sets off the main charge, and you want the path unobstructed.

With a flintlock, consistency is everything. Once you find a method that works, don't vary your routine. If you do, your results and accuracy will also vary.
[/list:u]

[Good time Charlie]

I put a new frizzen on it, but that was no help. I finally did like you guys suggested and bought some Goex fff and she shoots like a charm. It is shooting every time and seems to be pretty fast. It was all over the target but I can work on that now that she is firing. It just would not shoot the triple seven. Thanks for the help. I otherwise would have most likely have dumped the gun.
                                            Charlie