1st time

[db3]

Well I made it to the range for the 1st time with my new flinter(TC fire storm 50 flint) This was the first time shooting a flintlock. Overall I would say it was a good first outing. My 1st couple of shots did not go off because I think I had to much anti seize on the breech plug & flash hole. Tore it down punched the bore & cleaned excess lube off everything and put it all back together. I put a pan charge (4F) down the barrel followed by 90 gr of pyrodex RS then a 240 gr XTP & sabot. Nervously I set up for the shot BOOM almost like a center fire it went off, 2" high at 25 yards! Two more shots followed very close. After a few shots I moved to the 50 yard line with good results. I did have one more misfire but overall I did not think it was so bad. This was my 1st time out so I only went with one load(KISS). With the results I got with this load I do not think I am going to change. After shooting I cleaned up with Olde Turkey Track powder solvent. Everything wiped out very easy, was a quick and easy cleanup. I do still have one question. I ran an oiled patch down the barrel after cleaning, before shooting the next time should I run a dry patch down to mop up any excess oil or will it be ok? Sorry so long but I am still excited!

 

[rabjr]

Well, theres no turnin back now! :thumbsup: :haha:

 

[Trench]

What kind of oil did you use? You'll deffinitely want to wipe it if the oil is petroleum based. An alcohol soaked patch should do the trick. Then follow up with a dry one. I use Bore Butter, so I just wipe my bore once with a dry patch before I hit the range.

Congrats on your first time out with a flintlock! Is real BP hard to get where you're at? That was smart using 4F to help ignite your pyrodex. Why not use real BP for the entire charge?

 

[lonehunter]

db3, I am also new to flintlocks,These fellas are going to tell you to use only real bp in a flinter, it took some looking for me to find some BUT i have used real bp and have been real picky :rotf: about keeping the touch-hole clear. I have not had so much as a hangfire(stop grinnin fellas I know its coming)so far so good.Get that pole smokin and you will be ate up with it too :grin: Read this site and use the knowledge given here these guys are full of help for a newbe. :bow:

 

[db3]

I did my final wipe down with Rem-oil. Its what I use on my other guns. I do not want to start a whole thing about BP vs Pyrodex, I have read what people have said on this site and I have talked to people who shoot flinters and this is just where I chose to start. Is it right, I don't know but it was a good start for me. I would like to try BP also just to compare the two. I don't want anyone to take this wrong, I do trust what you all say.

 

[blacksmithman64]

you might find that with real BP you will be dead on at 50 yards instead of 2" high! :wink: been there, done that! Welcome to the MLF

 

[Swampman]

For any flintlock, I'd use 3F Goex. There is no right or wrong, it either works or it don't. Sounds like you're on the right track.

 

[mckutzy]

sounds like u had fun, glad to hear.

I see u have a TC Firestorm. Now when/if u decide to upgrade, u will have to take a different approach when cleaning. This gun has a breach plug designed to be removed, on pretty much every other gun, they are NOT removed. so your gun maybe easy to clean now, its going to be a bit trickey later on. just to let u know.

later on u may also decide to shoot with PRB and cleaning can be just as easy, u wont need solvent or the like cause no plastic sabot are there and if u get a mold for the ball, casting will be well worth the money spent on the mold as opposed to the cost of the bullets/sabots shot.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[MSW]

welcome, and

another convert to flint! HA HA! (to paraphrase Yoda) once flint have you banged, forever will it dominate your destiny...

you did well to get the rifle to fire using Pyro- i've used the mix trick before with limited success, and i'm pretty sure you will like shooting Goex (or other real BP) better, but go with what works for you.

after a while, you'll have an uncontrollable urge to purchase another flintlock rifle, then a new on in a different caliber, then a smoothie or two... it's like an addiction, but there's no twelve step program, so

make good smoke

 

[paulvallandigham]

Rem-oil is OIL. Its petroleum based. Use it on your other rifles and guns, But DON'T use it in a MLer. Use a vegetable based oil in your MLer. Olive oil, or even the vegetable oil you use in the kitchen to cook.

Do use a patch soaked in alcohol to get the oil out of the barrel before you load ANY KIND of powder in it the next time. The alcohol will dissolve the oil and congealed grease, and a dry patch following it will remove the residue and leave you a clean, dry bore to load.

We do recommend that you use only Black Powder in these guns. Pyrodex is almost impossible to light with a flintlock. The other subs are even worse.

Do not touch your sights with a file or anything else until you have a chance to shoot with Real Black Powder. Its makes that much of a difference.

Welcome to the world of Flintlocks.

 

[db3]

After I clean any rifle I give it a light coating of oil inside and out for storage. So for my flint I should only use olive or veg oil? OK thanks, that my have been the problem when I 1st tried to fire it. Powder was all clumped up in the breach. I thought it was anti-seize. Will the cooking oil be ok over long storage? Thanks again everyone for all the help and tips.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I will repeat myself. I clean the oil out of my barrel with a cleaning patch soaked in alcohol, before I take any gun from storage to the range or to hunt. It doesn't matter if I have used olive oil, vegetable oil, ballistol, or bore butter. Any oil is going to pool in the back of the barrel if you stand your gun upright in a rack or against a corner of two walls. As oils dry out, they thicken, or congeal, and you have to get it out.

Petroleum based oils are worse, because they don't burn completely when Black Powder is fired in the gun. They produce tars and other thick residues that are much more difficult to clear from any gun. In percussion guns, those tars and residues clog the flashchannel, preventing the gun from firing. You see fewer problems with flintlocks, but in those made from percussion designed breechplugs, with a flash channel leading from the vent to the back center of a powder " chamber" in the breechplug, the same problem with clogged channels does occur.

Vegetable oils burn cleaner with black Powder, and don't gum up. That is why we recommend their use. If you just have to use that Rem.Oil someplace, save it for the INTERNAL parts of your lock, where BP residue is least likely to go( but not impossible). I use Rem Oil on my modern gun actions that shoot smokeless powders only. There is no problem with using petroleum-based oils in smokeless powder guns.

The only oil I have had problems with was WD40, and it is its own solvent, if you find a stored gun has not been oiled frequently enough, so that the oil has congealed into a hard crust of grease. Squirt some more WD40 on the crust, and give it a few minutes to dissolve the crust of grease. Then wipe it off, and put more WD40 on it.

I recommend a periodic full cleaning of modern guns with any kerosene based, or Petroleum distillate based solvent. Just be careful which you choose so you don't strip off the bluing. I use a paint brush to wash the gun parts with the solvent, and then wipe them down with paper towels or a rag, or both. I don't let any solvent sit on the finish of any gun too long.

 

[flintlockmdj]

welcome, and

another convert to flint! HA HA! (to paraphrase Yoda) once flint have you banged, forever will it dominate your destiny...

you did well to get the rifle to fire using Pyro- i've used the mix trick before with limited success, and i'm pretty sure you will like shooting Goex (or other real BP) better, but go with what works for you.

after a while, you'll have an uncontrollable urge to purchase another flintlock rifle, then a new on in a different caliber, then a smoothie or two... it's like an addiction, but there's no twelve step program, so

make good smoke

Sir you are mistaken, there is a twelve step program. After the first twelve muzzleloaders you buy you start thinking about the next twelve.

 

[jtmattison]

Rem-oil is OIL. Its petroleum based. Use it on your other rifles and guns, But DON'T use it in a MLer.

All I've ever protected my ML's with is Rem-Oil in the spray can. I have never had any problems, ever.

On my cappers I pop one cap and run a dry patch before loading. On the flinters I run a dry patch before loading also.

Rem-Oil is very light and doesn't cause any trouble with black powder.

:v

HD

 

[shmrck1]

I agree with HD....Although I don't use it
exclusivly I have never had a problem using
Rem-Oil.
snake-eyes