.69 Tower dragoon flint lock pistol

[willysjeep134]

I just put together my old tower pistol my neighbor gave me as a kid. I found out that to my surprise it is not a .58 but a .69!

 Now the only load data I could find for any similar pistol was for a .58 1855 pistol carbine, which Speer said would be safe with 40 grains of FFg. I figured, being a much larger bore, that about 45 grains would be safe. So far, I am right. I don't see any problems arising from the few shots I've taken so far.  The only loads I have shot out of it so far are buckshot loads. I use 45 grains of Pyrodex RS, (Just to get rid of it), a wadded up cut square of paper, a cotton ball with Bore Butter worked in, then six 00 buck pellets, another small wad of paper over the shot. It may seem a little odd having a "wad of paper" as part of a load, but they are really just taking the place of overpowde and overshot cards. The lubed cotton ball acts sort of like a wad. Over all it seems to work pretty well. The recoil is very light, but this big pistol sure speaks with authority.

I have a question for any of you avid flint shooters out there though. It seems like after a few shots my flint gets really chipped and short, so that I have to re position it to get a spark again. Also, after about 20 or so shots it is too busted up to work at all.  Is my mainspring too strong (I worked on it a little), are my flints crappy, am I positioning them wrong, or am I getting about the standard life out of them?

[filmokentucky]

I use a fifty grain charge of ffg under an equal volume of shot in my .62
flintlock pistol. I use standard 20 bore wads now, but at first I used cotton balls and even tissue paper as wadding. The gun never seemed to notice.
   Could be you have a very strong mainspring but it's more likely the flints. I finally gave in and only use the best English flints available. TOF is
a good source. If the edge of the flint is square with the frizzen face, it's probably the flints.

[maddmaxx]

In the old days of hand knapped flints, they gave about 20 shots max. Now you can buy cut flints of better quality, as mentioned. For a rule of thumb, with a ball on a flat surface, or open palm, powder enough to just cover the ball is about equal volume. In a pistol, your most consistant loads will probably be light ones. -For what it's worth.

[willysjeep134]

I'm using some Traditions hand knapped english flints, but they seem a little too narrow for the lock. ALso, I had to reshape and re temper the mainspring after it cracked and was welded. I'm hoping the spring will get a little weaker over time, and that I might find some wider cut flints that might last a little longer.