Flintlock Pistol ?

[Norris]

Hi everyone. Newbie here. I have several guns, but only one black powder.
I bought a flintlock pistol kit about 30 years ago, put it together, but never fired it. I would like to now, but I have questions.
Kit said .45 cal, but I don't know what size ball to get. The rifled barrel measures .439", so I'm thinking a .433 would work with a patch. Also I don't know what else it need outside of powder, patches, some type of measuring device, how much powder per load etc.
Any advice or links to products needed to get started would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for any help.

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the forum.

You'll need balls, patches, powder, caps, a powder measure, a dowel for a ramrod and something to lube the patches.
Some sort of short starter is also handy but a small block of wood can be used to start the ball and patch into the muzzle (it will be tight).

A brass cleaning jag that fits the barrels bore is also handy for cleaning the gun after firing.

You can use either real black powder or one of the synthetic black powder replacements.
Under no circumstances should you try to use a smokeless powder of any kind.

For pistols, I recommend thin patches so look for something around .010 thick.

Your powder load can vary but something between 15 and 30 grains will work nicely.

 

[biliff]

Think Zonie missed the flintlock part.

Instead of caps, you will need flints of the appropriate size and some leather to hold them in the cock.

Also, do NOT use substitute powder. Only real BP for flintlocks.

 

[Zonie]

Yup, I missed that and yup, only real black powder will work well in a flintlock. :redface: