Anybody Here Into Flintlocks?

Brookwood

After many years of shooting and hunting with percussion rifles and pistols, I had a hankering to try a flintlock. That was nearly 20 years ago and I must have caught the bug for them! I very rarely ever take a percussion piece out of my gun safe anymore! 8-)

hillbille

used to have rifle and shotgun, shot a deer with the rifle few years back, just so I could say I had, and used the shotgun to rabbit hunt, hard to miss rabbitt when you put little extra shot down barrell, only drawback was the kick, older I got the more I liked my shoulder than liked gun so sold it, same with the flintlock rifle can't really see the iron sights anymore so let it go to.......

navc130

The only flintlock I have actually shot was an original rifle of my uncle's. It was missing the lock, had a bad bore and some missing wood. I rebuilt it with a new Dixie lock, had it re-rifled by Roy Southgate and replaced the missing wood. In the last few years I have acquired a few Contemporary Kentucky rifles but have not shot them. The few times I deer hunted the black powder season in Michigan I used a caplock. Never had a shot.
I am always on the lookout for Roy Southgate rifles and would love to have a Leonard Day. over-under.

Chief Shaway

I only own two caplocks. A .50 pistol, and a .32 revolver.
Have a .45 and a .50 long gun flinters.
Brown Bess, and a short barreled .50 smoothbore flinter.
Tower pistol.
One Matchlock.

Chief Shaway

The Matchlock

He Dog

A couple of years ago I picked up an unfired TC Hawken flinter, when they were at a low point in value. Have not fired it yet, but hope to when the Honey-do list gets shorter. If that ever happens.

charliemeyer007

There was a guy in the local black powder club with a couple of flinters he built. They seemed as fast as a cap lock for ignition. I find all that flash distracting. At one time I really wanted to build a Ferguson rifle from scratch.

Brookwood

Chief Shaway wrote:

I only own two caplocks. A .50 pistol, and a .32 revolver.
Have a .45 and a .50 long gun flinters.
Brown Bess, and a short barreled .50 smoothbore flinter.
Tower pistol.
One Matchlock.

Nice group of smoke poles Chief! I'd like to know more about your PA\Kentucky rifle with the brass patch box. Looks like a custom built piece.

Chief Shaway

Thanks.
It is.
A gentleman from our club made that one.
It was one of his first.
He was not happy with the carving on it but I like it.
It has a Siler lock and I have the parts to convert it to a caplock if wanted.
The one with steel furniture is the 45.
It also has a Siler lock and a Douglas Barrel.

44mag4

If God had intended for people to shoot percussion cap rifles, he would have left percussion caps laying all over the river bottoms instead of flint.

PA Shootist

I call my rifles "Flinchlocks"! Because, that is what my nerves tend to do when all that commotion is going on right underneath my right eye.  I have a  TC Hawken .50, and a Traditions Italian-made "Pennsylvania style" long barreled .50.  It usually takes me 20 or more shots with light loads to learn to concentrate on the sights and follow through and hit accurately. Here in PA there is a special deer season season for flintlocks only, since the early 1970's.  It is a nice hunt, without much of a crowd in the woods, and one can hunt natural deer movement.  Learning reliable and fast (relatively!) ignition is a process.

truthful

It takes a lot of practice with a flintlock rifle to get the hang of keeping your sights on target, and your stance correct in the interval between when the sparks ignite the pan, and the pan ignites the main charge.

Brookwood

https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11313516#Comment_11313516

If you have a well designed flintlock using a coned flash hole liner like the one sold by Jim Chambers Flintlocks, (White Lightnin) your ignition will be quicker than your senses can register. And also if you keep your aiming eye on your sights and target, you will not even see the flash when the gun goes off.