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Pedersoli flintlock not cocking

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Toppkatt

32 Cal
Joined
May 23, 2023
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I have a brand new Pedersoli .32 flint lock squirrel rifle. I took it out to the range yesterday for the first time. First thing I did was make sure I had decent sparks. Then I primed the pan and made sure that went off. Next I loaded it. I used 0.310 swagged round ball ( # 1 1/2 buckshot from Ballistic Products), 30 Gr 3F Swiss and a 0.015 patch pre-lubed Ox-yore(?) . (The groove diameter was measured at 0.325). The first shot went off after 2 tries, main charge didn't ignite at first (maybe I didn't have the powder correctly at the opening of the touch hole (vent hole?) (I've only ever fired a flintlock one other time for a total of two shots previously, so I'm not experienced). Re-primed the pan and BOOM. Okay now, the shot was about 6 inches low at 25 yards and 3 inches to the right. That's okay I'm only shooting for function and group right now. Reloaded it with same load and it went BOOM again and the hole was about 1 inch to the left of the first hole and about 1/2 inch lower. Feeling good about this now :). Unfortunately, when I fired the shot it seemed to me the trigger was a bit lighter than it was for the first shot, hum. Reloaded and the trigger wouldn't stay at full ****. It kept falling to half **** position. I took out the lock screws and didn't see anything wrong. The fly seemed loose and functioning fine. I reinstalled the lock and this time it fired okay but I did have to re-prime the pan several times, again I'm NOT an experienced flint lock user so I wasn't upset too much just a bit aggravated at myself. This shot was way low and centered but off the target paper. I reloaded a fourth shot and had the same issue with the lock not holding full ****. Repeated the same process. Didn't see any dirt or anything in the lock that would seem to indicate what was going wrong. Reinstalled lock again and now I just could not get it to fire. I re-primed about 6 times making sure I have the powder was up to the touch hole but no dice. I took my ramrod and verified there seemed to be loaded, sticking out further than unloaded mark. Just to make sure I hadn't 'dry balled' I pulled out the lock AGAIN, and removed the vent hold 'plug'. Sure enough there was powder there. I used a vent pick to make sure the hole was open (which it seemed to be) and re-primed. After two more attempts to discharge it went off and the shot was touching the first hold so other than the third shot not a bad group for the first time shooting this rifle and only my second time shooting a flint lock. At this point though I was NOT going to press my luck and went home.
So, does anyone have any ideas/suggestions as to what to look for of do to make this lock more reliable and safe?
THANKS!
 
The first thing to do is make the unloaded rifle functions correctly. Holding full **** and releasing safely is critical. Look the lock over out of the rifle. It should work in a predictable fashion, are the screws tight, are the engagement of the sear positive? Does your rifle have set triggers and are they working crisply. After these are done look for how the lock and trigger are mounted in the wood. Don’t start cutting or filing unless you know where and how the issue is.
 
The lock seems to be tight and I did not see any evidence of any moving part dragging on the stock. Thanks.
 
BoomStick said:
Check the lock mortise. Somewhere the lock may be contacting wood and binding things up.
And as a tip: Don't over tighten the lock screw -snug is all that you need.
Click to expand...
I'll make sure 'snug is the policy' but I didn't think I was being a gorilla :)
 
When you're testing operation of the lock, make sure there's a flint or little block of wood in the jaw and close the frizzen. Dry firing the **** repeatedly on an open frizzen can bend the top jaw screw.
 
BoomStick said:
When you're testing operation of the lock, make sure there's a flint or little block of wood in the jaw and close the frizzen. Dry firing the **** repeatedly on an open frizzen can bend the top jaw screw.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I've always had a flint inserted held with a lead strip holding it in the jaws. Never thought of using a wood 'chip'...
 
Toppkatt said:
The lock seems to be tight and I did not see any evidence of any moving part dragging on the stock. Thanks.
Click to expand...
You may need to apply something to the high parts of the lock and press into the mortise for transfer.

Did the gun come with a lead for the flint? That's not usually used unless a bigger military lock, like on a Bess. It adds weight to the **** which isn't recommended on most locks.
 
BoomStick said:
You may need to apply something to the high parts of the lock and press into the mortise for transfer.

Did the gun come with a lead for the flint? That's not usually used unless a bigger military lock, like on a Bess. It adds weight to the **** which isn't recommended on most locks.
Click to expand...
That's how it came.
 
I would check the set trigger adjustment screw located between the two triggers. I like to start off with the screw about 1/2 way out and gradually (1/2 turn at a time) adjust the screw out or in until the trigger has the let off that I want. If the screw is all the way in, the **** will not hold at full ****.
 
@Toppkatt, you mentioned that the hammer would occasionally fall into the half **** notch on pulling the trigger. That is telling me that there may be something slowing the hammer fall. The lock may be pulled too far into the lock mortise and the tumbler is bearing on wood inside the mortise. The screws on the bridle covering the tumbler may be too tight slowing the tumbler from rotation and allowing the sear spring to hold the nose of the sear against the tumbler and letting the sear enter the half **** notch. Your lock does not have a fly to prevent this. Not a concern for a single trigger gun but can become noticeable when using a very light trigger pull.

Remove the lock from the stock and verify that it punctions properly out of the stock. Make sure the bridle is not binding the tumbler. Those screw should be only snug and that includes the screw holding the sear in place.

Look for rubbing inside the lock mortise.

Only tighten the lock bolts to snug to prevent pulling the lock into the mortise to cause internal rubbing.
 
garypl said:
when I put a lock back in a stock I snug it up and then back the screw(s) out 1/2 turn - works for me.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't shoot it with out the lock fully secured. If you get a gap between the barrel and pan, and powder gets down inside the lock enough builds up and blammmm it will blow the lock and stock to pieces. Ask my buddy how he proved this is the truth. He lived but is a bit uglier than he was before.
 
Last edited:
It's a new gun, and should have been shipped fully functional. I'd start with a call to Pedersoli customer service.

If they say something like we test them all it must be a user error and they won't do anything further, then start checking some things. @Grenadier1758's note about something slowing the lock, that could be the added lead weight in the top jaw. Swap it out with a leather wrap and it may speed up lock time and give better strikes on the frizzen. Then move next to look for contact in the mortise, bridle and such.
 
How about a photo of the backside of the lock. What was said about checking for binding, I’d agree with that… Take some lipstick or something like that instead of spending big money on in letting Blue, and just put it on the back and screw it in and take it out and look and see if there’s any color on the wood.
 
Johnny Too-Tall said:
I wouldn't shoot it with out the lock fully secured. If you get a gap between the barrel and pan, and powder gets down inside the lock enough builds up and blammmm it will blow the lock and stock to pieces. Ask my buddy how he proved this is the truth. He lived but is a bit uglier than he was before.
Click to expand...
No gap - just takes a little pressure off of the lock. Been shooting this rifle set up this way since 1980. I should have mentioned to ensure there is no gap between the pan and the barrel to prevent what you described!
 
@Toppkatt go back and re-read Grenadier1758's post. I think he is on the right path for your issue. My two cents worth on this problem is there is either a trigger hang-up or the lock is binding. I would look at the sear extension where it enters the stock as it might be rubbing on the hole in the stock. Also check on the other moving parts of the lock rubbing on the inlet for the lock. You may need to "soot" the locks internals to see an interference between internal lock parts and stock wood. A flashlight may help also.

As for your ignition issue my take on this is some oil/packing grease that is causing your failure to fire. I would give that bore and touch hole a thorough cleaning with a solvent and dry it completely and if you are not going to shoot it, I would run a VERY LIGHTLY oiled patch down the bore. When you do go and shoot it, I would run a patch with IPA down the bore followed by a dry patch BEFORE you go to the range to shoot the rifle. Clean the touch hole also. Good luck:thumb:

​

 
Toppkatt said:
I have a brand new Pedersoli .32 flint lock squirrel rifle. I took it out to the range yesterday for the first time. First thing I did was make sure I had decent sparks. Then I primed the pan and made sure that went off. Next I loaded it. I used 0.310 swagged round ball ( # 1 1/2 buckshot from Ballistic Products), 30 Gr 3F Swiss and a 0.015 patch pre-lubed Ox-yore(?) . (The groove diameter was measured at 0.325). The first shot went off after 2 tries, main charge didn't ignite at first (maybe I didn't have the powder correctly at the opening of the touch hole (vent hole?) (I've only ever fired a flintlock one other time for a total of two shots previously, so I'm not experienced). Re-primed the pan and BOOM. Okay now, the shot was about 6 inches low at 25 yards and 3 inches to the right. That's okay I'm only shooting for function and group right now. Reloaded it with same load and it went BOOM again and the hole was about 1 inch to the left of the first hole and about 1/2 inch lower. Feeling good about this now :). Unfortunately, when I fired the shot it seemed to me the trigger was a bit lighter than it was for the first shot, hum. Reloaded and the trigger wouldn't stay at full ****. It kept falling to half **** position. I took out the lock screws and didn't see anything wrong. The fly seemed loose and functioning fine. I reinstalled the lock and this time it fired okay but I did have to re-prime the pan several times, again I'm NOT an experienced flint lock user so I wasn't upset too much just a bit aggravated at myself. This shot was way low and centered but off the target paper. I reloaded a fourth shot and had the same issue with the lock not holding full ****. Repeated the same process. Didn't see any dirt or anything in the lock that would seem to indicate what was going wrong. Reinstalled lock again and now I just could not get it to fire. I re-primed about 6 times making sure I have the powder was up to the touch hole but no dice. I took my ramrod and verified there seemed to be loaded, sticking out further than unloaded mark. Just to make sure I hadn't 'dry balled' I pulled out the lock AGAIN, and removed the vent hold 'plug'. Sure enough there was powder there. I used a vent pick to make sure the hole was open (which it seemed to be) and re-primed. After two more attempts to discharge it went off and the shot was touching the first hold so other than the third shot not a bad group for the first time shooting this rifle and only my second time shooting a flint lock. At this point though I was NOT going to press my luck and went home.
So, does anyone have any ideas/suggestions as to what to look for of do to make this lock more reliable and safe?
THANKS!
Click to expand...
I bought an 1803 Harpers Ferry Pedersoli pistol from Dixie a couple of years ago and had problems from the get go with it. The geometry on the lock was wrong from what I could see as the **** when fully released was in more of a half **** position so I wasn’t getting much if any spark and it absolutely hammered my flints no matter what size they were.
I emailed Pedersoli several times before I finely got a response. The response was “we sell a lot of these and this is the first complaint we e ever had”. They said I could send it to Dixie’s gunsmith and have him look at it. When I talked with him he said they had been getting a lot of complaints on this particular model and had me send it back for a full refund. He also said that Pedersoli doesn’t realize that a lot of people want to shoot them a lot and not just hang them on the wall. Soured me on Pedersoli for sure to the point that I would never buy another one of their products.
 

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