Another Flintlock is Born

[Zonie]

Well, some things take a while. This one took a little longer but it turned out a little better than a sharp stick in the eye.
The Bastard Gun is about as finished as it's going to get, so I thought you might like to take a peek:

This is a .54 cal Colerain barreled gun with a Davis Fusil lock.
here are more photos of it in the Photo Forum area if your interested.

 

[Rat]

Wow! Purty fancy for sure. All bright and brassy too!

Now on a gun like that, will you let the brass age, or will/would you keep it shiney? I assume the steel will be allowed to age...or?

Sorry if you have already posted about this rifle...but more info? Built from scratch? Kit? Where did the castings come from? Shot it yet? Built to use, sell or trade?

Rat

 

[musketman]

You know what Zonie?

For a guy who is the moderator of the percussion section, you seem to have a large number of flintlocks... :hmm: :haha:

Nice "B" gun...

 

[Zonie]

You know what Zonie?

For a guy who is the moderator of the percussion section, you seem to have a large number of flintlocks... :hmm: :haha:

Nice "B" gun...

Ye kan't hav two meny o' a good thin, Ah says!
Ah got's ah bunch o em kap firin guns two! ::

Tha onlee kin Ah don't hav are one o tham new fangled muzzeloaders at shoots em litell cat dab thins (thair two big ta be rabbit pellets. Rabbit pellets are what we use ta call "smart pills", but at's a long story).
Ah thin Ah is also one o' tha few who dosent have an AR15 or a SKS neither :shocking: :shocking:

 

[Musketeer]

Zonie! That is SWEEEEET! :: :thumbsup:

 

[musketman]

Ye kan't hav two meny o' a good thin, Ah says!
Ah got's ah bunch o em kap firin guns two! ::

I'm just rufflin your hackles a bit Zonie...

I am in awe by your skills, is that gold wire inlay on that thar "B" gun?

 

[nit wit]

Zonie:
That sure is purty, you do nice work.
Nit Wit :master:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Zonie, you sure do purty work.

Just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover. ::

 

[Hoyt]

That's a fine lookin gun Zonie..you sure you didn't put anything extra with the Tru-Oil..I couldn't get my stock that dark with just Tru-Oil.

 

[All Hell]

WOW! :master:

 

[cayugad]

Zonie.. that sure is a beautiful gun. You really did a nice job. :thumbsup:

 

[No Deer]

WOW! Very nice looking gun. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Just out of curiousity, from a non-builder, about how many hours did it take you to complete it?

 

[rich pierce]

Zonie, you are a wild man. It looks like you are a guy who uses some traditional methods when shaping the stock. (I have this theory that the type of tools used affects the shape and flow). Either that or you have good instincts. I really appreciate the angles of your photos because they show you know how to handle transitions really well. I love the motifs you selected for the carving and etc., the Schreit carving, etc. All in all, it's a great looking "story gun", where you can explain how and why it was made that way. I think many early American rifles have a "story" that involves salvaging of parts, etc., so to me, you are right in the middle of mid 18th century tradition.

 

[Zonie]

Rich: I don't know that I deserve all the praise.
As for the form, the stock is Pecatonica Rivers "Transitional" style. It has extra wood in most places so I refered to a full size plan of the Marshall Rifle and a Jaeger rifle, to help define where and how much wood to remove. I used these more to keep the general shape and relationships than to actually copy or try to reproduce the drawn guns.

As for the story explaining the Bastard Gun this post gives some of the reasons for the American/German/French parts and influence.
The B Gun Link

Musketman: What? Do I look like I have enough money to afford gold wire? No, really it is just brass wire inlay stock. (For those who don't know, "wire inlay" is actually ribbon inlay. You don't actually inlay a wire.)

Hoyt: I stained the stock with several coats of alcohol based Walnut and Maple stain before finishing it with Tru_-Oil.
I rubbed it out with Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen which left it a little duller than I wanted.
I then used rotten stone which made it more polished than I wanted so I lightly reapplied the Stock Sheen to get it back about halfway between the two.

No Deer: I really don't keep track of the time I spend on one of these projects because it's a hobby. You know, work on it, put it aside, work on it.....
I would guess I have over 250 hours in it, but I'm always slow when I build one of these.
Being slow isn't a bad thing when you realize that when one's done, I start thinking about what to build next. I can't afford to buy $500 worth of parts & wood very often. :shocking:

 

[Zonie]

Well, there comes a time for all things to be tested.
Today I went to the range with the BG to see if it would fire.

Having learned long ago not to take only one gun, I also took my "Southern?" flintlock because it is also a .54 caliber.

Using the .018 red and white Walmart Pillow ticking for patches, Hornady .530 dia swaged balls, Bore Butter lube and 60 grains of Swiss FFg powder in the bore with Elephant FFFFg in the pan she fired 25 shots.

I would like to say there were no misfires but I can't.

Out of the 25 shots, she misfired 6 times.
I attribute these to two things.
First, the Davis French Type C fusil lock has a very shallow pan. Even though the touch hole is positioned correctly I think it is too close to the bottom of the pan.
Second, I left the liner hole at the original factory size. I think this is too small for reliable ignition.

At 25 yards, she was shooting a 2 inch group, located on center for elevation, but 2 inches to the right.
This is good because by drifting the rear sight .044 the group should center. Removing about .020 from the front sight should place it at +.4 inches at 50 yards and zeroed at 75. All easily done.

She is muzzle light (as we all knew she would be). The single trigger plus the light muzzle made it rather difficult to hold right on target. I hadn't polished the sear so that was also added to the little tweeks needed.

I did fire one load at 85 grains of FFg, and I note that for me, at least, the rounded top of the buttplate permitted the stock to rotate downward and disengage itself from my shoulder. (Remember, she only weighs 6 3/4 pounds.)
The wide buttplate did spread out the load, so, although my shoulder is still telling me something shoved it real hard, it's far from life threatening.

After the fixes are incorporated, I'll let you know how things work out.

Oh, the Southern?, As you may recall she has a 1 inch octagon barrel and weighs over 10 pounds.

No muzzle lightness here!! Even with a Single trigger, she put 5 .530 balls into a group you could cover with a .50 cent piece.

 

[Herb]

Zonie, the small flash hole alone will cause the flashes in the pan (FIP). I had a drilled hole in my .40 Jacob Wigle, about .078, and Swiss 3F leaked out. Dickert lock. So I installed a White Lightning, 5/16 size, .052 hole. I thought it was supposed to be perfect, and they don't come with directions. My first 49 shots of 40 gr Goex 3F (no cleaning between shots at all) had 33 FIP, with 13 times I picked the vent (to put a hole in the powder column) and 13 times more that I picked and then tipped the 3 grains of 4F flash powder into the hole. Drilled it out to 1/16" (.0625) and got 3 FIP for next 35 shots. Drilled it to .070 and no more problems.

 

[Zonie]

Thanks Herb: I knew the hole would be too small, but when you get to the end of a project, I, at least forget some of the little things and start thinking about the fun of shooting it.

I have just drilled the hole out to .071.
As this is a .54, and I come from the "old school" which teaches that that caliber uses FFg, I don't think powder leaking out will be an issue.

Speaking of Swiss Powder, I can't say enough good about it.
That's what I was using today, and with over 40 shots fired (between the Bastard and the Southern?) I didn't have to wipe once. Smooth ramming, all the way down to the powder.