First time out

[Bob. B.]

Finally got out to shoot the used ( new to me ) Pedersoli Kentucky rifle. Wow!! I might be hooked on flintlocks. The guy I bought it from said he couldn't get it to work, so he sold it to me for a hundred bucks and said "good luck". The flint that was on the rifle was a black one that looked to be too big and didn't spark very well. I switched it with one of the smaller white ones that he included and adjusted it's position. In my basement it threw a nice shower of sparks.
I was kind of nervous when I got out to the range Saturday. I brought along my cap lock Renegade so I would have something to shoot in case the flintlock was a bust.
I loaded her up with 50 grains of Graf FFG and primed with Graf FFFG. The ignition on the first shot was almost simultaneous. Every shot after was good, no misfires or flashes in the pan for the first string. After I swabbed out the barrel I had a couple of flash in the pans, till I swabbed some more with dry patches. I was careful to clean out the vent and wipe the pan and frizzed after every shot.
Accuracy was decent, something I have to work on. All in all I wish I had started with flintlocks sooner. Yes, I have been definitely bitten by the flintlock bug.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Glad it works for you. What the seller didn't realize is that flintlocks are extremely fickle. You tried something he hadn't and it worked. :applause: Yes, the right flint and positioning often make the difference between 'clack' and 'bang'.

 

[mooman76]

Good for you. I plan on getting into flint next year. I been waiting for retirement when I could get out more and concentrate on it. I haven't had much time for shooting this year because I have too much on my plate but next year should open up.

 

[Kansas Jake]

That is great to hear. You got a real bargain there.

 

[Grenadier1758]

You will want to be sure to clean it really good. Pedersoli is notorious for using a lot of rust inhibiting grease in their guns prior to shipping. The grease and the black powder fouling can make a real mess to clean up in preparation for the next shot. Use a more solvent based cleaner, Okay, rubbing alcohol on your cleaning patch. That should clean out any left over grease and start in on any old crusty fouling build up.

You did use good procedures to clean the touch hole, wipe the bore, replace the flint and use real black powder. Wiping the bore after your first string probably pushed fouling into the touch hole. So after wiping the bore, picking the touch hole is definitely in order. Use of a slightly smaller jag lets the jag and patch slide over the fouling, yet when the jag is removed, the patching bunches up and drags out the fouling instead of pushing the fouling into the touch hole.

You got a fine rifle for a bargain price.

 

[swquiro]

I hope to rekindle this thread a bit. I have been looking for opinions about the Pedersoli Kentucky rifle, but so far not much luck. I would like to get a reliable, accurate flintlock rifle for squirrels, and Pedersoli offers their Kentucky and Scout rifles in .32 and .36 through Dixie Gun Works. The Scout appears to be a short-barrelled Kentucky.

I did read somewhere that someone recommended the Frontier/Blue ridge rifle because it has a larger
lock that would produce more sparks, whereas the Kentucky uses a smaller lock, the same lock that is on their pistol. Now I have no experience with flintlock pistols but I suspect the pistol also needs the same amount of spark to assure consistent ignition. Pedersoli has been producing guns for a long time and they are no slouch. I would think the lock on the Kentucky is a reliable sparker, given a sharp flint, an open touch hole, and not excessive powder in the pan. What say you?

I will appreciate any and all info you folks may provide. Thank you kindly

 

[Old Wyatt]

I have a pedersoli kentucky yes it is a small lock.I have had to notch the back of the flint to get the frizzen to close other than that very fast ignition decent set trigger. It does what I ask good luck
Broken Rod

 

[Bob. B.]

My Pedersoli Kentucky rifle is just fine. It is reliable and shoots straight. It was my first flintlock, and before I shot it I read everything I could about the rifle and flintlocks in general. It led to information overload, which made me take longer than I should have to go to the range. Once I was pretty sure I had it set up right I took it out and shot it. Well surprise, I did have it set up correctly and it is a fine rifle. Don't overthink it, get one( flintlock) and have a blast with it.