frizzen trouble 1795 Springfield

[ironbull]

Ok gents hopefully I didn't make a impulsive buy. Just bought a 1795 Springfield flintlock musket. This is one of those which was on the cheaper side with no vent hole drilled (later topic!). My issue was couldn't wait to try out the lock with 7/8" flints. Here's my dilemma, the frizzen won't open all the way when the hammer falls. And it just was breaking the flint all up after a few trigger pulls. New to flinter and don't know what's going on. Or did I mess up and buy junk???

 

[vulture]

Don't know if you purchased junk but I had the same problem on an L&R lock. It would work just fine outside of the gun, but mounted it would bust my flints no end, could only get a few shots when I would have to knap the flint, come to find out what was actually happening was the frizzen was rebounding, coming back down on my flint and raising cane. I finally solved the problem by loosening the mounting screw for the lock so the lock didn't fit so tight in the mortise, worked just great after that. Perhaps your frizen spring is too strong, not balanced against the main spring. This rebound was happening so fast and hard that my eyes could not pick up the action when I was watching the lock when firing, had to hold my finger down in close to the back of the frizen, sure enough I could feel what my eyes could not see.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

hotoSmile:

India made springs can be monsters. Normally they are such monsters that a bouncing frizzen isn't really a problem. A musket flint should be wrapped in lead btw.

....and double throated cocks can have geometry problems. Take a standard, wooden matchstick, with a spent head, and place this under the back end of your flint to cant up the back end and to lower the edge of your flint thus changing the angle, and see if you get the same problem, or if it diminishes or ends. If it ends, it was a geometry problem, and you can correct for that by adding an extra bit of lead as a substitute for the wood match stick....if it diminishes, it may be angle AND a heavy spring...if there is no change...look to too heavy a spring.

LD

 

[ironbull]

Ok gonna try things suggested, also another question. Pulled barrel and noticed no breech plug. Back of barrel is solid. Is this normal. My GPR has a threaded breech plug. Was surprised to see this barrel is solid and no plug!!!

 

[tiger13]

Where did you buy this gun from? It is obviously one from India,as the touch hole has not been drilled, and I am also thinking that you got this from the distributor in Canada perhaps? More information is needed from you on where you got your gun.

 

[Tom Compton]

The flint may be too short.
TC

 

[EC121]

To my way of thinking the breech should have a threaded breech plug. I have read that some of those Indian guns have welded plugs. Might also have some sort of patent type of breech like a TC or Lyman. Is there a seam forward of the touchhole?

 

[Rick Boylan]

Are you sure it's not some type of non shooting replica?

 

[ironbull]

Upon looking more at it there is a seam, so it does have a breech plug. This was pointed out to me by a gunsmith today. He has been gunsmithing for 20 plus years. And this is his exact words, "do ya have kids? And if so I hope ya got life insurance! I wouldn't touch this gun with a ten foot pole. You just bought yourself a wall hanger." And he recommended I don't drill the vent hole and attempt firing it either! The company I bought it from was at the Kalamazoo Michigan living history show, Spencer's Mercantile out of Ontario. They told me all I had to do was have the vent hole drilled and it will be ready to go. Wish I had done my research first as I feel I've just been had for $515 bucks!

 

[azmntman]

No Returns? I'd sure get a statement from the gunsmith and make a very thorough attempt :idunno:

 

[54ball]

How about posting some photos of your new gun. All may not be lost. There's not a gunsmith, especially a modern smith that will take that liability.

Understand, anything you do will be your decision.

Most of these guns are imported without vents drilled. The more reputable sellers of these "arms" make them shootable and offer customer support.

7/8 flints will not work. That gun requires musket sized flints.

Honestly that's not a gun to start shooting flintlock with. I suggest you look up Murphys Muskets on you tube. He honestly evaluates these types of guns.

 

[tiger13]

More than likely it came from "The discriminating General" out of Canada and that is why the touch hole was not drilled.

 

[Knapper51]

There are a lot of folks making muzzleloading guns in India and the range of quality, or lack thereof, is just as wide. The trick is to know which importer to buy from. I bought a Brown Bess from Middlesex Village. It had problems like you are describing plus a bunch more. It started with a trigger pull so stiff that anything resembling aiming was impossible. Once I fixed that I discovered that the frizzen spring was not only too strong but was dragging heavily on the lock plate causing the frizzen to not open completely. Then the sear would often fall into the half-cock notch on firing. I want to note that I could have sent the lock back to MVTC. They have a lifetime warranty. But I've been tuning locks for a while now and chose to do it myself.

Let me also say that once I got the lock straightened out the gun was more accurate than a Pedersoli Bess I owned. That really surprised me. So what you decide to do with your gun is up to you. If you choose to shoot it I'd strongly suggest that you tie the thing down and proof it with a double charge.

John