Faa Boom

[dfs730]

I have a 50 Caliber TC Hawken flintlock. When I shoot there is a very slight hesitation before the 4F charge in the pan ignites the 2F in the barrel. The hesitation is very slight but enough to pull me off off target. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[ShootistJack]

Is the flash hole covered by the amount of powder in the pan when this happens?
Maybe fill the pan only enough so that's not the case?
Link:

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Tap the powder towards the outside edge of the pan (away from touch hole) and see if you still have the delay.
There are a number of things that can cause delays. Do you have it on the first shot with a clean rifle?

 

[Bearkiller]

Video pretty much covers it. We need to know a little more about your rifle. Where is the flash hole located in the pan? How much powder do you put in the pan? Sometimes enlarging the flash hole can help with ignition.

 

[tenngun]

I blow down my barrel after a shot before I load. You can do this with a rubber tube or just a damp patch on a jag, just so you get a clear whoosh out of the touch hole.
You might try a toothpick in the vent while loading.
Don’t over fill your pan
Is your touchhole big enough? 1/16 or 5/64 seems around best size in my experience
Having the powder on one side hasn’t worked for me. I don’t think the powder will stay that way as you cast off the gun, but some folks swear by it
I’ve been shooting almost exclusively flint for forty years. My shots seem simultaneous. I don’t notice a delay. But….. I’ve let a lot of folks shoot my guns and they have all said words to the effect of noticing a delay
Slow mo photography seems to always show a pause. And I had a photo of a flash in its little mushroom cloud before the gun fired.
For all the talk of fast ignition there is always a gap tween flash and fire.
So….
Concentrate on your hold.
Get a flat piece of wood in a flint shape and dry fire on a target. Practice staying on after you squeeze the trigger.
Shoot shoot shoot, pretty soon you won’t notice a delay

 

[deerstalkert]

everything Tenngun says and this bit added. will get flamed but here goes.
in my tc hawken i noticed i need to bounce my rod on my charge to be sure the ball/patch is not hung on the crud ring.
that slight gap will and does create a short delay. jmh experience.

 

[ohio ramrod]

The T.C.'s have a version of the patent breech which gives you a slight "tube" between the pan and the powder charge. This must be kept clear of fouling for good ignition.

 

[dfs730]

I use a small amount of 4F and below the touch hole. Happens after I clean the gun with very hot water and Dawn dishwashing soap. Then it happens on every shot first to last. I do not think I have ever shot it without the hesitation. I also have a 40 caliber kit gun that goes off like a percussion although it is also a flintlock. I also clear the touchhole with a paper clip and a between the teeth small brush before every shot.

 

[jdw276]

And then there is coning a touch hole, drill it out for larger port of entry, coned powder side, where is the flint hitting the frizzen, 3/4 up the frizzen or higher? Probably 20 things you can do to speed things up. Then the larry pletcher tests and video high speed tests on different locks to help id ways to help.

Www.blackpowdermag.com wealth of test info.....

 

[deerstalkert]

I use a small amount of 4F and below the touch hole. Happens after I clean the gun with very hot water and Dawn dishwashing soap. Then it happens on every shot first to last. I do not think I have ever shot it without the hesitation. I also have a 40 caliber kit gun that goes off like a percussion although it is also a flintlock. I also clear the touchhole with a paper clip and a between the teeth small brush before every shot.

take a small portion of your priming powder (1/4 teaspoon) and place it on a hard dry safe outdoors surface. using a long match or hot wire set it off. if the resulting flash is orange the powder is damp. it a white flash it is bone dry. i have ignited powder that i could squeeze moisture out with my bare hand.
also it could be your main charge is damp. or if your 2f is a substitute, that will slow down ignition.
just some thoughts.

 

[hanshi]

In taking slo-mo videos Larry Pletcher verified ignition is the fastest when the prime is "banked" toward the flash hole without necessarily covering the hole. But the real world sorta throws a wrench into the works. The wrench is that when shooting a flintlock the prime actually moves all over the pan and stays in no particular location. But that's okay. I get fastest ignition when I prime with only a quarter to a third of what the pan will hold.

 

[Mr. Flintlock]

P

I have a 50 Caliber TC Hawken flintlock. When I shoot there is a very slight hesitation before the 4F charge in the pan ignites the 2F in the barrel. The hesitation is very slight but enough to pull me off off target. Any advice is appreciated!

Pick the vent with a vent pick before each shot. See if that helps.

 

[Packrat]

Depending on how long you have been shooting, new shooters and some old one's too, flinch when the pan goes off. Flintlocks are not like percussion with almost instant ignition. Practice, will help

 

[LSLibelo]

I shoot a .50 TC Hawken flintlock 15/16". I have 1 stock, 1 coned 1:48" TC 28" factory flint, 1 TC smoothbore converted from cap to flint using a Track Of The Wolf breechplug.

The original rifled TC with the original touch hole liner was prone to flash in the pan syndrome. The smoothbore, with a sharp flint, has always fired almost as quick as my cap Green mountain LRH (soon to be converted).

I swapped the touch hole liners in the flints and the flash in the pan followed the liner to the smoothbore so I measured the vents and opened the smaller to 5/64" and the problem was cured.

Now with a sharp flint both barrels seem to be the same and fire faster than I flinch.

 

[Timber Wolf]

P

Pick the vent with a vent pick before each shot. See if that helps.

I have made an effort to add picking everytime I load to my routine and it has really helped ignition reliability for me.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

Too much powder in the pan causes a fuse effect....less powder should help.

 

[Howard Pippin]

Is the flash hole covered by the amount of powder in the pan when this happens?
Maybe fill the pan only enough so that's not the case?
Link:

I really enjoyed your video, I've had somewhat of a problem like this with my Lyman flintlock, not continuously, but there sometimes is a noticeable delay between the primer gunpowder and the shot. I generally use ffff powder for priming and I tried to keep it to the offside but that isn't always successful. Looking my rifle over this afternoon after watching the video, I could see that this touch hole is just below the imaginary line rather than above. Anyway with the hook type barrel amount, All I needed to do was remove the receiver, place a thin washer under the front end, and it was enough to raise the touch hole just above the imaginary line. Thank you, it really hasn't been a real bad problem just annoying and I think this will probably fix it. As soon as I get a chance I will try to get out and take a few shots.
Squint

 

[ShootistJack]

I really enjoyed your video...

I take no credit for the production of the video sir. I saw it on you tube
and I though it was well done. I am glad you may be aided by it!

 

[Cholla]

I had a beautiful Narragansett flintlock back in the late 90s. I loved the look of it but I swear I could run to the next county before the main charge would go off. I wish I had it back to try some of these tips.