Flintlocks at Local Shop

[MartyHaag1206]

I have been looking for a good flintlock rifle for a few months now. I decided I wanted to start on a flintlock. That being said I am looking at a "starter" flintlock. Something to get my foot in the door. Practice my aim and something not too pricey. Eventually I want to get a longrifle but for now a cheaper alternative will do. My local outdoor shop got a few in off of an estate sale. They are all at or under $600 which is where I set my price cap for a starter rifle. Two of them are CVA Mountain Rifles. 32" Barrel, Flintlock and .50 caliber. Rifles look amazing and were well taken care of. One of them is still in its original box. The next two are Thompson Center Renegades .54 caliber, 27" barrels in great condition. Some scratches throughout the stocks but nothing that will keep them from doing their job. They are Flintlock as well. The Last two are a .54 Caliber Pedersoli Hawken and a .54 Caliber Pedersoli Blue Ridge. Both are flintlock and practically new. The seller who has them up on consignment states that neither that CVA in the box and the Blue Ridge have been fired. The Renegades and the one CVA were the families hunting rifles for years and have been fired a lot. The Pedersoli Hawken though belonged to the sellers father and he doesnt know it if was fired or not but it doesnt seem that it was. So there are 4 .54s and two .50s. The .50 caliber CVAs are the cheapest followes by the .54 Thompson Centers and the most expensive being the Blue Ridge and Hawken by Pedersoli. Anybody have personal experience with these rifles both hunting and target shooting ? I have trouble seeing some muzzleloader fixed rear sights which put me off from a Mortimer being sold here on the forum and a Traditions Kentucky being sold at this local shop I went to. Anybody have a preference in Caliber ? I picked up some 2F and 3F Goex from this shop 2lbs of each. Owner said it was the best powder for flintlocks. I dont have any balls, patches or flint lock tools/ ball moulds so I am starting from scratch, ground up. Thanks for all the replies. If it helps whatever rifle I buy will be used on White Tail deer only.
EDIT: The Pedersoli rifles are at the top of the price cap at $475 for the Hawken and $575 for the Blue Ridge. The CVA in the box unfired is $350, CVA used is $250. Both Thompson Centers are $325 and $300.

 

[rusty]

I know you are chomping at the bit to get going, but from what I have learned from my own experience,I would wait until I could save more $$ and buy a good rifle with a good lock. However, you could start with a percussion rifle and then buy a flintlock...

 

[R Ellis]

I think the price of each would be a deciding factor for me so can you be more specific with the prices .The CVA and T/C are not worth anywhere close to $600 in my opinion

 

[smo]

Take out a loan and buy them all…
You can Thank me later.

 

[Thingamajiggy]

I only have experience with the TC Renegade of the guns you mentioned. Depending on price, I myself would not hesitate in buying the TC. I've shot them for years, find them and my investarm made flinters plenty accurate and reliable. With a good bore, it should serve you well.

 

[MartyHaag1206]

I think the price of each would be a deciding factor for me so can you be more specific with the prices .The CVA and T/C are not worth anywhere close to $600 in my opinion

Gladly the only rifles up at the top are the Pedersolis everything else is $350 and under.

 

[Trot]

Forget the CVAs, those CVA locks were pretty poor. I have had personal experience with several of them and none of them were reliable. Springs are weak, very small pan, just poor geometry. The Renegades are more of a modern design, with flat butt plates, if that doesn't bother you, I'd go with one of them. If you want one a little more historical looking I'd go with one of the Pedersolis.

 

[jdw276]

Forget the CVAs, those CVA locks were pretty poor. I have had personal experience with several of them and none of them were reliable. Springs are weak, very small pan, just poor geometry. The Renegades are more of a modern design, with flat butt plates, if that doesn't bother you, I'd go with one of them. If you want one a little more historical looking I'd go with one of the Pedersolis.

Personal experience with the mountain rifle? The prices are almost $100 less than what they are selling for on here and they are flinters. Not sure you can go wrong on any of em. I would go with SMO's advice. Buy as many as you can.

 

[Trot]

I currently have a CVA flintlock Mountain rifle, and a CVA flintlock frontier rifle, same lock as the Mountain rifle. My brother had a big bore flintlock Mountain rifle. All three had very poor locks. Weak mainsprings, a lot of failure to fire. The flint hammer is very small, and requires a tiny flint, even at that I often had to shorten the flint to keep it from holding the frizzen open. Pan is very small, and frizzen to pan fit was terrible on all three, causing loss of priming powder. I even had a percussion that wouldn't reliably fire a cap because of the weak spring. After quite a few years of using the CVAs, I got hold of an Investarm made Lyman Trade rifle in flint and what a difference! Haven't fired one of the CVA's since. I still kick myself for all the time lost.

 

[French Colonial]

Gather up all the money you can, then go buy a better gun than any of those.

 

[olskool]

the problem on the cheap guns is going to be the Locks. if you are handy with your handy and have some skills i would wait if i had to, get the bread together and buy a Kibler kit. you will never be sorry! you can get the lowest grade wood and still have a gem! if not then get a Pedersoli. also, Lyman used to make a good gun with a good lock,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Brokennock]

Having had a Blue Ridge (though mine was caplock) and personally not liking short guns and half stocks, I'd go with the Blue Ridge. It's cheaper than buying one new and possibly hasn't been fired, and it is closer to longrifle length which you say you eventually want. Buy it, shoot it, if you're a hunter carry it in the woods, then, when you have more money you can decide if a nicer longrifle is right for you or if you need to go shorter.

There is only one thing that would keep me from the Blue Ridge,,, the chambered breach,,, but that can be dealt with.

 

[gonpce]

I have been looking for a good flintlock rifle for a few months now. I decided I wanted to start on a flintlock. That being said I am looking at a "starter" flintlock. Something to get my foot in the door. Practice my aim and something not too pricey. Eventually I want to get a longrifle but for now a cheaper alternative will do. My local outdoor shop got a few in off of an estate sale. They are all at or under $600 which is where I set my price cap for a starter rifle. Two of them are CVA Mountain Rifles. 32" Barrel, Flintlock and .50 caliber. Rifles look amazing and were well taken care of. One of them is still in its original box. The next two are Thompson Center Renegades .54 caliber, 27" barrels in great condition. Some scratches throughout the stocks but nothing that will keep them from doing their job. They are Flintlock as well. The Last two are a .54 Caliber Pedersoli Hawken and a .54 Caliber Pedersoli Blue Ridge. Both are flintlock and practically new. The seller who has them up on consignment states that neither that CVA in the box and the Blue Ridge have been fired. The Renegades and the one CVA were the families hunting rifles for years and have been fired a lot. The Pedersoli Hawken though belonged to the sellers father and he doesnt know it if was fired or not but it doesnt seem that it was. So there are 4 .54s and two .50s. The .50 caliber CVAs are the cheapest followes by the .54 Thompson Centers and the most expensive being the Blue Ridge and Hawken by Pedersoli. Anybody have personal experience with these rifles both hunting and target shooting ? I have trouble seeing some muzzleloader fixed rear sights which put me off from a Mortimer being sold here on the forum and a Traditions Kentucky being sold at this local shop I went to. Anybody have a preference in Caliber ? I picked up some 2F and 3F Goex from this shop 2lbs of each. Owner said it was the best powder for flintlocks. I dont have any balls, patches or flint lock tools/ ball moulds so I am starting from scratch, ground up. Thanks for all the replies. If it helps whatever rifle I buy will be used on White Tail deer only.
EDIT: The Pedersoli rifles are at the top of the price cap at $475 for the Hawken and $575 for the Blue Ridge. The CVA in the box unfired is $350, CVA used is $250. Both Thompson Centers are $325 and $300.

I've had a Blue Ridge for several years, has been a very good gun Sparks well and is accurate

 

[Fitzhugh Williams]

About 25 years ago a friend got me interested in flintlocks. They were much more expensive than what I was used to paying for Walthers and Makarovs at gun shows. So I found a Traditions Pennsylvania rifle for a similar price and bought it. It almost turned me against flintlocks. It all has to do with the way the breech was made. Luckily I saw a Jackie Brown smooth rifle and bought it. It was a major step up from the Traditions. About 3 times the price, but well worth it. I still have that gun and love it. I still have the Traditions and hate it. In both cases I am out the money. One good and one bad. So before you put out the cash, think about it. Borrow a couple of guns and try them out. There is a difference.

 

[mikesto44]

As the old saying goes....Buy once cry once...!
Cheap is never the best way to go. When it comes to flintlocks. A high quality lock is everything...keep looking you will find something better than what your looking at now...Good luck...

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

For the price I'd grab both of the TC's and walk away smiling. That's roughly half what they go for in good shape. If you don't like them as flintlocks, you can make your money back and then some or easily convert them to percussion without any detrimental modifications or expense.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

The CVA's and the TC's as others pointed out can have problems with the flintlocks. In addition those rifles the breech was designed to be percussion. That creates problems when you add a flintlock to it. Pedersoli I have no personal experience with can only go by what others have said.

 

[John Strong]

Usually CVA and TC have decent barrels and will shoot accurate enough for you. An unreliable flintlock will make for a bad first experience. Replacement locks are available for TC and CVA rifles that are much more reliable, but you'll be spending another $200 to get one. I am not a fan the breeches used on TC and Pedersoli, but they will work if kept clean. I do believe that you could get one of the Investarms products brand new in your price range. Either .50 or .54 will work just fine for deer hunting. My advice is to buy the best one you can afford and enjoy.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I’d grab one of the TCs.

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

The CVA's and the TC's as others pointed out can have problems with the flintlocks. In addition those rifles the breech was designed to be percussion. That creates problems when you add a flintlock to it. Pedersoli I have no personal experience with can only go by what others have said.

The TC flintlocks have a different breach design from the percussion ones. The bad reputation those have is from the early production and mostly revolves around the geometry of the original cock. Otherwise, they are on par with any other mass production flintlock.