First flintlock necessities?

[Brett K]

I plan on picking up my first flintlock today. I really know nothing about them. As with any hobby, there is a lot of useless stuff out there and some things I should not be without. I plan on picking up a Lyman Deerstalker in .50 cal for Pa's flintlock season. Do I try and find real black powder? I plan on buying the gun from a local shop, but I have a lot of Cabela's gift cards to use up for supplies. what do you recommend?

 

[EC121]

Flintlocks only work properly with real black powder. Other types may ignite but will be slower to ignite or won't ignite at all. Are you starting from scratch or have you been shooting the cap locks?

 

[Brett K]

Starting from scratch. I have always been into archery, but hurt my back so I can't climb trees right now. I sat out this archery season and I'm going crazy sitting around.

 

[roundball]

I plan on picking up my first flintlock today.
I really know nothing about them.
Do I try and find real black powder?
What do you recommend?

Wow...I have to be honest and say from my starting out experience, you have a very steep learning curve to get through in order to be ready for the pending PA Flintlock season. That said, anything can be done given enough time and resources.

As mentioned, real black powder is a must.
And another important rule of thumb that relates to a number of bore/ramrod accessories is this:
"Anything that you put down a bore, you need to have the accessories and the ability to get it all back out of the bore, as you may not be able to fire it out".
(Examples are a sturdy ramrod, a T or Ball handle to screw into the other end for power, and ramrod attachments like a ball puller, 'worm', patch retriever, small .32cal bore brush to wrap a cleaning patch around to slide down into the powder chamber of the Patent Breech of the rifle you mentioned, to clean & dry it.

And of course things to carry reloading components in...either actual powder horns, or a small pocket pan primer, something to carry a few patch/ball reloads in, etc.

 

[roundball]

Just dug through my files and remembered this list:
--------------------------------------------------
A pretty basic list of blackpowder muzzleloader items I have with me for a trip to the range.

Goex 3F and 4F blackpowder
35mm film canisters of pre-measured powder charges (few dozen 50/60/70/80/90grns in Ziploc bags)
Pan primer for 4F
.018" precut/prelubed shooting patches by TC or Oxyoke (for caliber)
Hornady / Speer Balls (or equivalent) .395”/.440”/.490”/.530”/.570”/.600” cast)
Tom Fuller black English flints
Short starter
Range rod(s) (longer than barrel rod with wooden ball on top (or T-handle)
Cleaning jag(s) (for caliber)
Bronze bore brush (for caliber)
Ball puller (for caliber)
Patch retriever
Spare flints & flint leathers
Brass rod to knapp a flint’s edge when needed
Spare vent liner
Small screwdriver if adjustable sights
Medium screwdriver to fit hammer jaw screw
Allen wrench for T/C hex wrench design vent liner
Cleaning solution (like Hoppes No9 PLUS BP solvent)
Cleaning patches (buy or make lots of them cut 2”x2” from T-shirt material, etc)
Dry patches (Buy or make lots of them cut 2”x2”, T-shirts material, etc)
Natural Lube 1000 patches
(or make a few dozen 2”x2” T-shirt material saturated with NL1000 lube in microwave)
Hoppes No9 ”˜PLUS’ BP solvent & Patch Lube for Fall / Winter dry low humidity at range
Old washcloth or section of towel to wipe the pan after every shot
91% alcohol to wipe the entire lock down about every 15 shots or so
Q-tip(s) & pipe cleaner(s) for cleaning the vent area


Other items can be added for additional convenience like:
CO/2 Discharger
Spare range rods already set up with the various attachments
Bottle of tap water and paper towels to wash hands before getting into the car

 

[roundball]

And this is my approach to items I carry with me on a hunting trip:
--------------------------------------------------

My personal philosophy is there's no such thing as a fast second shot with a muzzleloader.
Wait to take the precise first shot and only take it when you're certain of a kill.
When you do that, one of two things is going to happen:
1) The deer will drop / fall in sight and no fast second shot is needed;
2) The deer will sprint 25-35yds before crashing, be out of sight just past a few trees, and a fast second shot is not possible;
When I shoot a deer, I intentionally take a good unhurried 15 minutes to thoroughly / completely clean and reload the Flintlock, then go find the deer.
==================================================
I don't carry much...it all fits into a pocket on an upland game vest I use as a hunting equipment vest for everything like food, water, flashlight, raingear, hat, gloves, etc)
ML items are:
A few PRB or Shot reloads
Short Starter
Cleaning / seating jag
Ball puller / Patch retriever
Spare vent liner / wrench
Spare flints / leathers
T-handle
Pan brush / jaw screw bar (shirt pocket)
Pan primer (shirt pocket)

A few pint size Ziploc bags holding what I call Field Cleaning Kits...I thoroughly clean after every shot, stuff the mess back in its bag, and pack it out of the woods...cleaning kit contents are:
5 wet cleaning patches in 2”x3” ziploc
5 Dry patches (loose)
1 Lubed patch in 2” x 3” Ziploc
1 sealed foil wrap alcohol wipe
1 Q-tip
1 Pipe cleaner

 

[PA16th]

I would add to the list, a storage box for those supplies. Homemade wood box or a large tackle box.
Welcome to muzzeloading. :thumbsup:

 

[AZbpBurner]

I plan on picking up my first flintlock today. I really know nothing about them. As with any hobby, there is a lot of useless stuff out there and some things I should not be without. I plan on picking up a Lyman Deerstalker in .50 cal for Pa's flintlock season. Do I try and find real black powder? I plan on buying the gun from a local shop, but I have a lot of Cabela's gift cards to use up for supplies. what do you recommend?

Let's pare down all the helpful lists, since you've asked for the basic necessities:

[] 3F Black Powder, and some kind of container to dispense it. You can use an old metal powder can and solder on a spigot of brass tubing or even a rifle cartridge with the base bored out. You can get flasks and make powder horns later

[] An adjustable brass powder measure. Pour from the powder container into the measure, then down the bore. I could tell you that my .50 cal runs best on a 50 gr. charge of 3f BP, but you may need to fine tune powder weight to your particular preferences. And you can build a fixed volume powder measure later.

[] Range rod. Make one later. Track of the Wolf is one of the many places selling hickory blanks and more rod tip options than you can imagine. For now, the stupid plastic (delrin) rod will work just fine for you. You will later come to appreciate a longer rod of larger diameter. And, be careful not to allow your delrin rod to fall onto concrete in cold weather - mine did, and the tip broke off. *** always be sure that any rod you make or use has the tips crosspinned to secure them *** Wooden rods on other Lyman/Investarms rifles have pressfit or screwed on tips that need to be cross pinned by the user to prevent the need of the owner to sheepishly ask about how to retrieve the disconnected rod end that just won't come out of the bore.

[] Pan primer and a whole pound of 4F Black Powder. OK, I'll admit that I DO have a pound of 4F, and it will likely last me the rest of my life. I only bought it because someone gave methis nifty Ampco pan primer that won't feed anything coarser than 4F. 3F works just fine to prime your pan. Consider making a tiny dipper that will dispense 3 grains of BP by volume, and for convenience you can keep a small separate jar of BP to dip from it. Be sure to keep the jar covered when firing. Don't overprime, less is better than overfilled, and you can use a number of methods to prime the pan.

[] Balls. Buy a box of .495" round balls. You may want to buy a mould and cast your own sometime in the future. You can make or buy a leather pouch later.

[] Patches. I prefer a tight fit, so I usually use .018" thick patches. You may not agree. Getting a pack of both .018" and .015" thick patches will help you decide. Get prelubed patches to begin with. You can join the heated discussion later over which patch lube is the bestest.

[] Flints. As already mentioned, Tom Fuller flints are the best value for the money. I use the ENG6 3/4 x 7/8" Fuller flints from Track of the Wolf, but others prefer the square ENG6S Fuller flints. Get a couple of each to start with and you can always buy more of your preference later. Use either leather or lead flint wrap. You can endure the contentious BS slung around detracting either material later.

[] Flash hole pick. Make one with a wire & fancy antler handle later. Meanwhile, go steal a handful of those cellophane-wrapped wooden toothpicks offa the counter of your favorite restaurant.

[] I like to carry a stubby screwdriver that I've ground to fit both the slot in the cock screw and the screw securing the lock.

[] Something to carry it all in, realizing that you will undoubtedly add more junk along the way, so be sure it is roomy. A cheap soft-sided nylon lunch box/cooler works great.

Since nobody else has criticized your choice of rifles, I'll do so to offset the burden of some well-meaning non owner Deerstalker critic from the need.

The Deerstalker is nowhere near a true Hawken design, nor that of ANY rifle of the past. You're supposed to hang your head in shame and disappointment here (nope, didn't bother me, either). The Deerstalker needs better sights, since those fiber optic jobbies stink (after the first time out to the range, I decided they're fine after all).

Lyman Locks suck. Well maybe all the rest do, but all mine work just fine.

The short barrel of the Deerstalker limits your accuracy, which will fall off even more drastically at distance. Maybe only MY Deerstalker is special, since I use it regularly at 100 yards, to bust grapefruit (when in season) and those little grapefruit-sized water balloons the rest of the year.

Sure, the Deerstalker is a "cheap little entry level rifle". I have nearly 50 years of experience shooting everyone else's hi dollar custom rifles, as well as a large number of originals, and I don't see much difference in performance in relation to the pricetag, barrel length or maker's heritage between the truly beautiful handcrafted work-of-art beauties, and my mutt-Deerstalker. Its' performance is little show and all go.

You've made a good choice for a capable rifle with which to become proficient in the craft of effectively firing a flintlock.

And don't worry about getting the right load established until you have about 100 rounds fired thru your new barrel.

 

[J.D.]

The first thing you need is Flints.

 

[graybeard]

Buy Eric Bye's book on flintlocks. It's available through the NMLRA. :hatsoff: Easily the best book I ever read on flintlocks. If he missed anything you need to know, I don't know what it is. Probably bookstores and libraries have the book, also. graybeard

 

[palonghunter]

For shooting:
Flints
Powder (I use 3f for priming and the main charge) has to be real black powder for a flintlock
Balls
Shooting patches
Lube
Powder measure
Short starter

For cleaning:
Cleaning jag
Worm
Ball puller
Cleaning patches
Pipe cleaners
Old toothbrush

Other stuff:
Powder flask/horn
Priming flask
Shooting bag
Ball bag/pouch
Vent pick

 

[19 16 6]

This looks to me like it's all going to cost a bit, as it has for me. The rifle is the big easy bit & then the little bits add up.
So money, mate you need more money.
O.

 

[palonghunter]

Money or time. If you're good with tools, you can make a lot of the thinhs on the list.

 

[Crewdawg445]

Great advice from the others, might I add since it hasn't been brought up and is absolutely critical with rock locks... properly tuning your lock is a must have! Production locks leave ALLOT to be desired in terms of quality and reliability. The biggest misconception about flintlock rifles is many think they are unreliable and slow to fire... Definitely not the case as the majority of these misconceptions come from people who have bad experiences with production guns and give up. Setting your flint up in the cock at the proper angle is one key step. You can place the flint bevel up or bevel down to raise the striking point and also help with setting the angle. Also making sure the edge is properly knapped and sharp to produce a good scrape of the frizzen through its travel is another issue people miss. With the lock you have, setting the flint up is going to be key. If you notice weak sparking, a frizzen that isn't properly hardened is not uncommon in these locks, but can be fixed with a little work. As you have seen, there is allot of good info on this site and people who are willing to help! Enjoy your new rifle as the deerstalker is one of my main hunting rifles! :thumbsup:

 

[bpd303]

All the advice is good. This article will help extensively in getting started. It's helped me even though I've been shooting flintlocks for decades. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/222420/

 

[AZbpBurner]

Buy Eric Bye's book on flintlocks. It's available through the NMLRA. :hatsoff: Easily the best book I ever read on flintlocks. If he missed anything you need to know, I don't know what it is. Probably bookstores and libraries have the book, also. graybeard

and if you shoot a fowler, you can use the pages in a pinch for wadding.

 

[Brett K]

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. I picked up most of what was posted. I did have to make due with what Cabelas had available for now. Round balls were only available in .490 and the was no 4F. I will post up what I got tomorrow.

 

[roundball]

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. I picked up most of what was posted. I did have to make due with what Cabelas had available for now. Round balls were only available in .490 and the was no 4F. I will post up what I got tomorrow.

IMO, the .490" is the best choice... a ball .010" under bore size is pretty much the standard.

I don't know how close you are, but here's a Goex distributor in PA that I happen to use.

J & J Pyrotechnics Mfg., Inc.
165 Schittler Road
Spring Brook TWP, PA 18444-6434
Phone: 570-842-3411
Fax: 570-842-1206
Toll Free Phone: 877-748-3473
E-Mail: [email protected]

And if you only have 3F, something that's easy to do to make finer size kernels for priming is to put a couple tablespoons of it in something like a 35mm film canister, drop in a lead ball and with the cap on, shake it vigorously for 10-15 seconds.

 

[AK in PA]

Most of the bases have been covered, but a few tweaks, IMO, should include:
* Get an adjustable brass powder measure instead of a fixed volume measure. It can be used to work up any load and will be the only one you'll need for any gun. (They have a square rod, with volume markings, that can be adjusted in/out of the bottom of the measure. The top of the measure also has a sliding cone to strike off excess powder and make pouring a little easier.)
* A CO2 discharger is indispensable. You WILL have loads that won't go off and need to unload your gun. These things are much easier than pulling a load. Walmart sells CO2 cartridges in 24-packs that are pretty economical.
* Skip the cleaning solvents. Water works great.
* BreakFree CLP is the best bore oil/protectant that I've used.

 

[Grenadier1758]

For the most part, I have found that 3fg powder works fine in the pan. I don't think that you need to make a special trip to get 4f powder.

At this point keep things as simple as possible.