Getting ready to shoot a matchlock as a newbie

[user 56333]

Weird one, but is wearing a baseball/trucker cap a bad idea with a matchlock?

Something to bear in mind (if it hasn't already been brought up) ... matchlock-using soldiers in the 1600s often wore hats with wide brims. If they didn't have any issues with it, I don't see how a baseball cap would be much different...

 

[TobJohn]

Something to bear in mind (if it hasn't already been brought up) ... matchlock-using soldiers in the 1600s often wore hats with wide brims. If they didn't have any issues with it, I don't see how a baseball cap would be much different...

I actually did get a little charring/burnt powder on the rim, but it was already relegated to activities that got it dirty. It adds character to its existing infusion of sweat, bug spray, and sunscreen.

 

[user 56333]

I actually did get a little charring/burnt powder on the rim, but it was already relegated to activities that got it dirty. It adds character to its existing infusion of sweat, bug spray, and sunscreen.

Might have to get yourself a cabasset helmet next time

 

[TobJohn]

Might have to get yourself a cabasset helmet next time

I was considering one to go with my caliver, once I finish it. The options for one are frustratingly limited.

The club wont be able to handle me

 

[user 56333]

I was considering one to go with my caliver, once I finish it. The options for one are frustratingly limited.

View attachment 199807
The club wont be able to handle me

Better start working on that goatee too!

 

[RAEDWALD]

Something to bear in mind (if it hasn't already been brought up) ... matchlock-using soldiers in the 1600s often wore hats with wide brims. If they didn't have any issues with it, I don't see how a baseball cap would be much different...

I do note that wide brims were de rigeur in the days of matchlocks and the change to tricorne came at the time flintlocks were becoming the standard. I can see how a wide brim might be useful to keep the lit match dry. As to whether the observation was linked to the demands of longarm gunnery I can only speculate. Post hoc is not proctor hoc, as one was taught in school.

 

[TobJohn]

Following up on this, for a snapping matchlock.

Is there a best practice for dealing with misfires on a snapping matchlock? Do you just keep in pointed down range for a minute and then recock the serpentine, or do you remove the tinder/match first?

Are their some helpful clues to tell why a misfire happened, such as if the match chord was not hot enough? Next outing, I will have several different ignition sources to try, so hopefully that will help.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

• I'd pull the serpentine back 1st
• Then close the pan cover
• If tinder seems OK via a visual inspection, try another shot

I also gave you some tips in post #4 on Page 1 here. IMHO, less a flash in the pan (likely too little prime) the #1 reason for a failure to ignite with a matchlock is User error, i.e., in that the match or tinder was not correctly positioned or tended to, to allow for instantaneous ignition.

• Position - For newbies, I suggest you put a 'dot' of Sharpie marker on the pan cover (closed), about 1/16" to 1/8" forward of the pan center, fore to aft. The reason for the offset is that the serpentine is still arcing down as it lowers even lower than the pan cover.

Simple way to do this is with a non-lit match. Open the cover, position the match where you think it should be ... lower the serpentine slowly until it just touches the bottom of the pan. Play around with it and see how much match you need hanging out of the jaws. Is that 3/4" or 1" or so? Once you have the length 'set', retract the serpentine - lose the cover - lower the serpentine and mark a 'dot' where the match needs to strike the cover to ensure it hits the center of the pan.​

​

Leave the 'dot' intact whilst cleaning, and you'll have a 'tiny' reference point for where to position the match for each shot. I need to do this as my range makes me un-mount the match between shots ... whereas since I'm not part of any official military musket drill ala de Gheyn ... ain't a bad safety practice for us non-military personnel. I also do this ... as with various matchlocks ... it can be a 'where do I place that?' recall adversely influenced by old(er) age, LOL!​

• Tendered - Did you follow info in Post #4 and blow across the arm (pan closed) to ensure a good head of fire on your match/tinder before attempting the shot?

 

[TobJohn]

• I'd pull the serpentine back 1st
• Then close the pan cover
• If tinder seems OK via a visual inspection, try another shot

I also gave you some tips in post #4 on Page 1 here. IMHO, less a flash in the pan (likely too little prime) the #1 reason for a failure to ignite with a matchlock is User error, i.e., in that the match or tinder was not correctly positioned or tended to, to allow for instantaneous ignition.

• Position - For newbies, I suggest you put a 'dot' of Sharpie marker on the pan cover (closed), about 1/16" to 1/8" forward of the pan center, fore to aft. The reason for the offset is that the serpentine is still arcing down as it lowers even lower than the pan cover.

Simple way to do this is with a non-lit match. Open the cover, position the match where you think it should be ... lower the serpentine slowly until it just touches the bottom of the pan. Play around with it and see how much match you need hanging out of the jaws. Is that 3/4" or 1" or so? Once you have the length 'set', retract the serpentine - lose the cover - lower the serpentine and mark a 'dot' where the match needs to strike the cover to ensure it hits the center of the pan.​

​

Leave the 'dot' intact whilst cleaning, and you'll have a 'tiny' reference point for where to position the match for each shot. I need to do this as my range makes me un-mount the match between shots ... whereas since I'm not part of any official military musket drill ala de Gheyn ... ain't a bad safety practice for us non-military personnel. I also do this ... as with various matchlocks ... it can be a 'where do I place that?' recall adversely influenced by old(er) age, LOL!​

• Tendered - Did you follow info in Post #4 and blow across the arm (pan closed) to ensure a good head of fire on your match/tinder before attempting the shot?

Thanks for the follow up!

I did follow the tending to the match, but reading these tips, I think the positioning is where I whiffed it, along with the speed. I am hoping the snapping mechanism will remove some of the user error. A completely manual lever was NOT a good introductory matchlock lol.

How much prime do you use? That’s the part that I had the hardest time understanding.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

How much prime do you use? That’s the part that I had the hardest time understanding.

Just enough ...

But seriously - and that was a serious comment, lol - try more ... fill the pan 1/2-full, maybe a tad more (but note m'lock pans can be huge!) and back off until you get reliable ignition. I honestly have never, ever measured the amount of prime I use on any fire lock, but guesstimate it to be 2-3 grains?

Be aware snaplocks can blow the match out and out of the arm. I found manual m'locks the easiest to learn on, but we're all different.

 

[Rudyard]

Just enough ...

But seriously - and that was a serious comment, lol - try more ... fill the pan 1/2-full, maybe a tad more (but note m'lock pans can be huge!) and back off until you get reliable ignition. I honestly have never, ever measured the amount of prime I use on any fire lock, but guesstimate it to be 2-3 grains?

Be aware snaplocks can blow the match out and out of the arm. I found manual m'locks the easiest to learn on, but we're all different.

I cant but agree though I use snuff like primeing as I think it takes the coal most readily .
Regards Rudyard

 

[russellshaffer]

I grind 3f in a morter for priming. A good hot hemp cord and away it goes. My pan isn't too large so I fill it. I will probably jinx myself by saying this, but I have had 100% sucess with my snaplock after much trial and error with a lever trigger. Same barrel but different lock.

 

[Jay Templin]

Rained here all day and I managed to fire for every matchlock demo we did with 2F for primer. My belief is that the larger grains don’t absorb moisture as quickly as the smaller ones do. The gun was a John Buck caliver, and the match was boiled in a mix of gunpowder, vinegar, and water. I had more trouble keeping the match lit than I do with the lye-soaked match I make, but I was off when this batch got cooked.
Jay

 

[DuncNZ]

In my experience a nice cone shaped coal is the ideal. It has a larger glowing area than a flat ended coal. The cone is also less likely to go out.
I have never had a failure to fire unless the match has fallen out of the jaws .
If you have a failure to fire don't get your arm or hand in front of the flash hole while trying to correct the match, if it fires you can be in for a nasty burn.

 

[TobJohn]

After a couple trips to the range with matchlocks, I was reflecting on my most recent trip. Its amusing how insensitive black powder can be when you want it to go off. My petronel doesn’t have a flash guard, so when it wouldn’t go off, I could look up and see the match head landed directly next to the priming powder and not lighting it. It was very educational for learning to place the match and priming powder.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

My petronel doesn’t have a flash guard, so when it wouldn’t go off, I could look up and see the match head landed directly next to the priming powder and not lighting it.

But ... your Petronel does have a closing pan cover ... so, did you try yout match? Even in the old manuscripts there is a command, "Try your match!", meaning to load the match and drop it to the pan to ensure it is placed in the proper position. That position is how much head it outside the serpentine jaw and at what angle.

I'll even practive pacing the match with an unloaded arm and when I get it right so that the match drops to the center of the pan, I'll take a good picture with my cell phone so that I can use it as reference. Repeatablity rules the day! Once YOU get the visual idea for knowing where to correctly position the match for that particular arm (hence my reference picture, as I've more than a few matchlocks, lol!) you'll be good to go!

 

[TobJohn]

But ... your Petronel does have a closing pan cover ... so, did you try yout match? Even in the old manuscripts there is a command, "Try your match!", meaning to load the match and drop it to the pan to ensure it is placed in the proper position. That position is how much head it outside the serpentine jaw and at what angle.

I'll even practive pacing the match with an unloaded arm and when I get it right so that the match drops to the center of the pan, I'll take a good picture with my cell phone so that I can use it as reference. Repeatablity rules the day! Once YOU get the visual idea for knowing where to correctly position the match for that particular arm (hence my reference picture, as I've more than a few matchlocks, lol!) you'll be good to go!

Yes, I did test it with the pan cover closed. The length of match that was present in front of the jaws only took one or two tries to get figured out. Because I was trying to minimize the amount of sparks being blown back, I only used one or two dispenses of priming powder. When handling the gun to put the match on, the powder would sometimes shift and be out of the way of the match.

My musings come from looking at the pan and seeing a burning match less than a millimeter to the side of the powder and it not going off, compared to so much care needing to be taken handling gun powder due to its sensitivity to sparks and the such.

I am planning on making a removable flash guard out of copper sheet, so then I can use more priming powder. When the match hit the powder ignition was consistent.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Just prime well and it'll go off John!
Mine has no flash fence either but is no bother. wear safety glasses if that would help.

 

[TobJohn]

Just prime well and it'll go off John!
Mine has no flash fence either but is no bother. wear safety glasses if that would help.

Yes, the glasses and hat were a sufficient combo, when holding it in the way I settled on in the other thread. When trying to cheek stock it, my face was uncomfortably close to the pan and that caused a lot of spray in my face. The sparks had a habit of finding the space between my glasses and my hat. The removable copper guard would be for if I tested Rudyard’s method of cheek stocking it again.

 

[Jay Templin]

The first time I fired a matchlock, the guys warned me not to squeeze the sear bar too quickly, which I did. You know how if you stub a cigarette into an ashtray full of sand, it snuffs immediately? Yeah, you can do that with 3F, too.
Jay