1st time shooting a flintlock

[Red Eye]

I joined a few months ago, haven't posted much but have read tons of posts to learn about flintlocks.
Bought a Traditions 50 cal. Hawken Woodsman from a member here; finally got to the range today. Yes, way different than in-lines or even my sidelock percussion T/C Renegade.
Shooting 70 gr. of Schuetzen 3 F with 4F in the pan. 275 gr. T/C Maxi hunter. Trying to work up a hunting load for PA. late flintlock deer season.
The good...... love the rifle, went off every time out of 20 shots, only had about 4-5 shots with a slight ignition delay.
The bad.....I suck with open sights ( 70 yr. old eyes) and flintlocks, LOL. Probably flinched on a couple of shots also. I was only able to keep about 8 inch groups at 50 yards after adjusting the sights some.
I know I'll need to try different loads, maybe try the 320 Maxi or even round ball to see what this gun likes ( 1-48 twist) but I've got plenty of time before next season to figure it out.
Just wanted to thank everyone on this site for the wealth of knowledge I've already acquired. IT WAS FUN !!

 

[fishmusic]

For the flinch reaction try inserting a wooden flint in the lock and dry fire concentrating on your target. by concentrating on the target you will learn to ignore the flash. I used this method and at one time when I had a flash in the pan and didn't realize it. The flinch went away! Have fun with your flintlock.

 

[waksupi]

If you are getting slow ignition, use less prime.

 

[Brokennock]

If you are getting slow ignition, use less prime.

Yup, seems counterintuitive, but I definitely have less delays with less prime, especially when priming with the same 3f I'm loading with.

 

[Brokennock]

I joined a few months ago, haven't posted much but have read tons of posts to learn about flintlocks.
Bought a Traditions 50 cal. Hawken Woodsman from a member here; finally got to the range today. Yes, way different than in-lines or even my sidelock percussion T/C Renegade.
Shooting 70 gr. of Schuetzen 3 F with 4F in the pan. 275 gr. T/C Maxi hunter. Trying to work up a hunting load for PA. late flintlock deer season.
The good...... love the rifle, went off every time out of 20 shots, only had about 4-5 shots with a slight ignition delay.
The bad.....I suck with open sights ( 70 yr. old eyes) and flintlocks, LOL. Probably flinched on a couple of shots also. I was only able to keep about 8 inch groups at 50 yards after adjusting the sights some.
I know I'll need to try different loads, maybe try the 320 Maxi or even round ball to see what this gun likes ( 1-48 twist) but I've got plenty of time before next season to figure it out.
Just wanted to thank everyone on this site for the wealth of knowledge I've already acquired. IT WAS FUN !!

I'd definitely try patched roundball. Those fancy conicals get expensive and aren't really necessary for deer.

 

[Red Eye]

If you are getting slow ignition, use less prime.

Yep, I experimented 2 quick "plunges" from the spring loaded primer tool and 3 plunges. Did seem to have quicker ignition with less primer in the pan. Like I said, new to this and will be experimenting for a while.
Have learned a lot and appreciate all comments.

 

[Red Eye]

I'd definitely try patched roundball. Those fancy conicals get expensive and aren't really necessary for deer

Will be trying that also.
Years ago when I shot my T/C Renegade caplock, it really liked the T/C maxi and hit deer hard; that's why I thought I'd start with these and see if I got the same results. Gonna try them again with a stiffer charge, maybe 80- 85 gr. to help push that big slug.

 

[Freedom]

The round ball with a nice wet patch adds so much to the enjoyment of shooting a Flintlock, ditch those big heavy conicals.

Black powder ignites with heat. So the closer you can get to a thermal nuclear explosion in the pan, the faster it'll fire. Been proven time and time again with computerized equipment. Even though it sounds slower to our ear,... extra prime does not make it slower.

 

[Don Steele]

Welcome to Flintlock shooting.
Coupla thoughts come to mind that you might find useful. In no particular order:
1. Learn to knap your flint as needed so that you’re getting the best performance ( read: fastest ignition).
2. Front sight is critical, when you squeeze the trigger….Hold Throooouuugghh the shot.
3. An optometrist who has experience with older eyes and iron sights can provide some help. I’ve used Decot shooting glasses for 43 yrs. As my eyes aged ( I’m 73) I lost the ability to use iron sights. They “ tweaked” my prescription for my strong eye and got me back to seeing sights well enough to take a small Whitetail with a patched round ball at a measured 100 yds. ( I had a rest ) 1shot… DRT.
4. I’m also going to suggest that you try round balls. Mild loads of 50-55 gns of powder and a tight ball/ patch combination will surprise you out to 50 yds. Less cost, less recoil… more fun..!

 

[deerstalkert]

along with faster ignition, less powder in the pan makes less flash in front of your eyes. less eruption, less flinch.

 

[waksupi]

No need for that much powder with those heavy bullets. Deer are like shooting through a card board box, they ain't bullet proof. Round balls will do all you need if you do your part of putting them where they need to be.

Will be trying that also.
Years ago when I shot my T/C Renegade caplock, it really liked the T/C maxi and hit deer hard; that's why I thought I'd start with these and see if I got the same results. Gonna try them again with a stiffer charge, maybe 80- 85 gr. to help push that big slug.

 

[stikshooter]

Yup the point of where it needs to be is worth mentioning , also if you screw up that part a conical saves your bacon ! Not to argue but that is fact and with critters that matters , glad your blessed with perfect eyesight and you shoot bullseyes every time but mere mortals screw up and I shoot whatever is legal and the gun likes and it ain't always a round ball aside from that yardage thing that pops up on occasion/Ed

 

[Brokennock]

The round ball with a nice wet patch adds so much to the enjoyment of shooting a Flintlock, ditch those big heavy conicals.

Black powder ignites with heat. So the closer you can get to a thermal nuclear explosion in the pan, the faster it'll fire. Been proven time and time again with computerized equipment. Even though it sounds slower to our ear,... extra prime does not make it slower.

There's a difference between "sounds slower to our ear" and a noticeable delay, enough to cause doubt about full ignition.
I get no hang fires or noticeable delays with just enough powder to cover the bottom of the pan,,,, but there are occasional noticeable delays if I pile the powder in there.

 

[TDM]

Glad you got to try out your new flintlock! A little trial and error and it will all fall into place.

 

[Jaeger]

Williams Gunsight sells a front and rear sight set with fiber optic elements. The front sight is a red dot and the rear sight is two green dots. I bought a set to replace a peep sight on a modern gun and I LOVE it. Visually lining them up is easy and instinctive. I know they are not historically or period correct, but for an old guy doing hunting and not reenacting, I think they might be ideal. I haven't installed them on my Dickert flintlock yet, but as I get older I might be tempted. If I did I would make them easily interchangeable somehow.

 

[Freedom]

There's a difference between "sounds slower to our ear" and a noticeable delay, enough to cause doubt about full ignition.
I get no hang fires or noticeable delays with just enough powder to cover the bottom of the pan,,,, but there are occasional noticeable delays if I pile the powder in there.

I know what you mean about the delay, it's pretty obvious.. LOL
In competition I can definitely tell the difference when I prime with 4ffff vs 3fff.
I feel that the most reliable way I've ever been able to remove the hangfire/delay/pan flash, has been to load with a quill in the flash hole.. or just a piece of coarse grass.
When you pull the quill from the touch hole, a little bit of powder gets dragged out, but leaves the open hole. Then prime.. Of all the experimenting, this seems to be the most consistent way to speed ignition of my flintlock. And I think it greatly increases reliability too,.. as long as my flint is sharp.

 

[DixieTexian]

For the flinch reaction try inserting a wooden flint in the lock and dry fire concentrating on your target. by concentrating on the target you will learn to ignore the flash. I used this method and at one time when I had a flash in the pan and didn't realize it. The flinch went away! Have fun with your flintlock.

While this certainly helps, I'd argue the better lesson is to shoot it until your flint gets dull and your lock gets so dirty that you never know if you will even have a flash in the pan or not. When you have that uncertainty, you will learn whether or not you are flinching and eventually to follow through properly. Just let things get fowl, on concentrate on relaxing. Practicing with a wooden flint can certainly help, but letting it get dirty and your flint dull makes a big difference as well. Obviously only do this while you are at the range and not when actually hunting game.

 

[Youngblood]

Maybe a few of you could post a picture of your pans primed?

Id be curious to see the differences or similarities and im sure it would help the OP, and a few others of us.

 

[Brokennock]

I know what you mean about the delay, it's pretty obvious.. LOL
In competition I can definitely tell the difference when I prime with 4ffff vs 3fff.
I feel that the most reliable way I've ever been able to remove the hangfire/delay/pan flash, has been to load with a quill in the flash hole.. or just a piece of coarse grass.
When you pull the quill from the touch hole, a little bit of powder gets dragged out, but leaves the open hole. Then prime.. Of all the experimenting, this seems to be the most consistent way to speed ignition of my flintlock. And I think it greatly increases reliability too,.. as long as my flint is sharp.

I use the feather/pin/wire in the flash-hole method with one of my guns as well. Since I started doing that years ago, based on a period account of a hunter loading his gun, I've not had a flash in the pan with that gun since.
My other gun only sees improvement doing that when loading with 3f powder, when loading with 2f the plugged flash-hole seems to cause pan flashes. So, as with most things muzzleloading, personal experimentation is required.

As to shooting live fire until the gun doesn't reliably function to try to cure a flinch,,,,,,,,, this is just stupid. Every live fire repetition with flash and flinch reinforces the flinch. Why burn up powder and use up lead when you can get the desired result more reliably with dry fire? Why keep practicing the wring thing? We have a lot of cliche saying in the shooting sports but kne of the better ones from the training world, that I don't think gets used enough, is, "be careful what you practice, you might get good at the wrong thing." To just keep shooting, burning resources, hoping the next time the gun fails that you won't flinch seems a waste of ammo and practice time. Dry fire has been used for quite some time in the modern training world and recently has been seeing a large increase in trainers advocating it and teaching how to do it properly, go with a known beneficial training and practice method.

 

[Brokennock]

Maybe a few of you could post a picture of your pans primed?

Id be curious to see the differences or similarities and im sure it would help the OP, and a few others of us.

I'll see what I can do later.
I won't be headed to the range with a flintlock soon, so won't be able to take pics and shoot for results, but I think I can dig up or take some pics of about the right amount in my Early Virginia's pan.