Flint at the gun show

[Rusty_Nail]

You are a lucky man :thumbsup: Great find,now go buy Lotto tickets :haha:

No doubt! I'd be testing the Mega Millions AND Lotto waters to see if that horseshoe fell out of your... pocket yet! :grin:

 

[OcelotZ3]

I would like to thank everyone again who provided information/suggestions because it really helped to track down what this was.

Stumpkiller got me to Track of the Wolf where I found their photos of the lock internals which helped. Tom Knight gave possible ideas for frizzen & spring coloring and convinced me to not worry so much about it. Excess650 got me down the Womelsdorf path which led me to contact a certain custom rifle maker who then said it looked like a Jim Chambers rifle. BillnPatti for recommending the spring vise and nchawkeye for pushing me to contact Jim Chambers regarding the lock. :thumbsup: to all.

I have some tools/parts on the way and a free frizzen spring from Chambers after I send the old one in. I hope to have a range report soon.

 

[Alden]

...and a free frizzen spring from Chambers after I send the old one in. I hope to have a range report soon.

OK, it was fine till then but now... Ya know we hate you, right!?

:wink:

 

[OcelotZ3]

Okay, this is a bit of a thread resurrection, but I never got back regarding how the gun show flintlock shoots.

I tried it about 9 months ago but had ignition issues (flash in the pan). Then I got too busy during the summer and wasn't able to get to the range.

Today I attended a black powder shoot at my range and took the York rifle. I conversed with another shooter who had a Brown Bess and he said that during the summer he doesn't have any trouble with ignition but in cold humid weather he has to pick the vent hole every time. So I did that from the start and the rifle shoots great! Fired every time, and I was hitting the reactive targets out at 50 yards.

Unfortunately, this rifle has made me appreciate the finer points of custom rifles and I'll never be able to replicate the deal I made again!

 

[Vaino]

That's a well made LR and certainly a bargain of the first order.

The patchbox design was used by both Andrew Figthorn And Leonard Reedy of the Womelsdorf-Reading area of PA. The sideplate design was not used by any of the gunsmiths from that area.

The carving behind the cheek piece is very well done and the design could possibly be from that area......Fred

 

[Eric Krewson]

I picked up a Track Isaac Hanes kit a few months ago off an archery site classified of all places. When I ran the parts in the kit through Tracks on line order form( Rice barrel add $60 etc) I found that the parts cost almost twice what I paid for the kit delivered to my door.

I have picked up a few similar bargains over the years but yours trumps mine by a long shot.

 

[EC121]

Hard to believe someone would be able to do that quality of work and not sign the barrel.

 

[steve free]

Congrats! You hit the jackpot! :hatsoff:

 

[Brokennock]

FWIW, plug your touch hole with something while you load and don't remove the plug until you're ready to prime and fire. It will keep the hole clear through the loading process. I sometimes use the traditional small feather but mostly use a round wood toothpick or a short cut piece of bamboo BBQ skewer. I like these better cause I hold it in my teeth once the pan is primed, where the skewer is tells me where I am in the process. I have some with red ends for when I leave a charge in the gun.

 

[EC121]

I use those tiny little brushes they sell near the dental floss. They hold the powder in and let the air out. Most have a handle on them. Also between relays you can clean your teeth. :grin:

 

[Zonie]

If we are talking about a flintlock with its vent going directly into the side of the barrel in front of the breech plug face, I see nothing wrong with plugging the vent hole while loading.

If we are talking about a flintlock with one of the typical "patent breech" or more correctly chambered breech plug, I totally disagree with plugging the vent hole while loading.

These chambered breech guns have a very small flame channel that runs from the vent location thru the breech plug to connect the chamber.
This connecting flame channel hole is typically about 1/8 inch in diameter.

On these guns, if the vent hole is left open, ramming the projectile down the bore will blow some of the powder charge thru the small connecting hole. This results in some fresh gunpowder being right at the vent. Perfect for a flintlock that requires fresh powder at the vent in order for it to fire.

Plugging the vent hole on a chambered breech style gun while ramming the projectile will result in no appreciable blast of air to move the fresh powder thru the flame channel to the vent hole. With no fresh powder at the vent, flintlocks have a very difficult time firing.

 

[Pete G]

If this is from a Chambers kit, it most likely has a "White Lightnin'" vent liner. The vent is left slightly undersize and usually requires drilling out to 1/16" for best performance.

 

[OcelotZ3]

Interesting. I'll have to measure it to see if I need to ream it out.

 

[Col. Batguano]

By that same token then, it would stand to reason that the old cap ought to be off the nipple when loading a cap gun too, though, the amount of expanding gas (23 CC's) from a detonated #11 would seem to say it will reach the main charge even if the drum is pretty empty (assuming not too much leakage around the edges of the nipple).

 

[Zonie]

Although this is the flintlock forum I'll say, yes, I have found that removing a spent cap from the nipple and setting the hammer at half cock before ramming the projectile GREATLY improves the reliability of a percussion gun if it has one of the "patent breeches".

Although the flame/gas from a percussion cap is enough to get thru the flame channel it looses a lot of its heat in the process.
Having fresh powder right under the nipple makes a notible difference, especially if one of the pseudo-black powders is being used.