GPR and TC locks

[bigted]

I am casting about for a flintlock setup. my question is two fold for you all;

1- what is your experience based opinion on the GPR lock and rifle in whole?

2- what is your experienced opinion of the replacement lock built by L&R in contrast to the TC flint style lock?

thanks for the hints and opinions on these matters. I desire to begin playin with a flintlock and want the best I can afford to play with to see if this is going to be my cup of tea so to speak.

I have a Renegade I can add parts to to aquire the flintlock to play with and the GPR will be a kit gun most probably to build/assemble a flintlock rifle.

I desire to as cheaply as possible get into a fairly good rifle to see if the flinters agree with me ... or me them.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The L&R lock is a performer. Stop your search there.

 

[Semisane]

I have three Great Plains flintlocks and no complaints with any of the locks. They are good sparkers and work just fine. I replaced the lock on a Pedersoli caplock with an L&R flintlock and can't really say it's noticeably better the the Lyman locks.

 

[roundball]

2- what is your experienced opinion of the replacement lock built by L&R in contrast to the TC flint style lock?

T/C made a major redesign / improvement of their Flintlock assemblies in the mid to late 90's...I used them on several different caliber T/C Hawkens and Cougars for almost 10 years...outstanding, trouble free, reliable locks...no need for any 3rd party replacements, etc. Just be sure you get the 'new style' lock, or upgrade the old style if you get one of those. Let me know if you need photos to tell the difference.

PS:
I ran thorough usage tests during weekly range trips with T/C sawed agate flints, French Amber flints, and Tom Fuller Black English flints...hands down, the 3/4" x 7/8" Fuller BEF's were far superior to the others.

 

[Crewdawg445]

+1, no comparison!

 

[bigted]

well I think I have made up my mind as for now anyway ... it will be a L&R lock for the renegade and going to have the 54 cal Renegade barrel re-bored to 58 cal with a 70 twist ... unless I find the price to be comparable in the end to a green mtn. barrel from TOW or Patagonia.

my Renegade has two barrels for it ... a 50 cal that shoots fine and the 54 that is fairly ruined with pits and cruddy rifling at the muzzle end about 6 to 8 inch's back from the muzzle forward to the crown ... just itchin to become either a 58 or smooth bore of some sort.

thanks all for the suggestions and like always ... I relish any further thoughts on this subject from the knowledgeable folks here.

 

[roundball]

Per requests I've received:

For general information, T/C's late '90s redesigned lock includes a hammer that is both taller and has a different angle of attack...has completely rejuvenated T/C's Flintlock environment. If time is spent on websites where there are numbers of T/C Flintlock users for example, everyone who's had T/C make the conversion (free) raves about it...I'm speaking of dozens of people that I alone know about who post on a couple of websites.

Where flints used to have short flint life and often shatter because of the old style hammer's too square / straight on delivery into the frizzen...as well as quickly eating a horizontal groove across the frizzen face...they no longer shatter and with the new style lock, it's not uncommon to shoot a couple of 50 shot range sessions on the same flint, where previously the flint life often averaged 20-25 shots in old style locks.

OLD STYLE T/C FLINT LOCK ASSEMBLY

Note severe "S" shape to hammer, and the "notch" in the outside edge of the hammer at about 12 o'clock right above the hammer mounting screw.
Also note that the old style hammer is quite short with the bottom jaw just barely clearing the fence...and the frizzen is case colored.

NEW STYLE T/C FLINT LOCK ASSEMBLY

Note the much more gentle "S" curve shape (and no notch), it’s much taller with the lower jaw clearing much higher above the fence, the frizzen is solid jet black color.
3/4" wide x 7/8" long Tom Fuller black English flints worked best for me on these medium sized locks of several I tried, averaging 60-80 shots rarely knapping, and more if they're knapped as they wear.

 

[Zonie]

Thanks for posting that and those pictures Roundball.

Anyone out there who is thinking about buying a TC flintlock needs to make a mental note of the shape at the bottom of the cock (hammer) in both pictures.

The cock with the deep cut just above the screw has problems.

The cock with just a smooth blob above the screw is the new, greatly improved lock.

These features are pretty easy to spot in photos on the web so before you buy, take a good look.

I don't know if TC is still offering to fix the problem now that they no longer make sidelock guns and S^W owns them.
Has anyone here received this repair within the last 6-8 months?

 

[roundball]

Thanks for posting that and those pictures Roundball.

If you want, feel free to sticky that post in the articles section along with the T/C Blackpowder Manual already posted there

 

[Grimord]

I have an old style T/C flint lock. I read somewher, possibly on this forum, that substituting the hammer from a Great Plains flint lock gives the T/C better geometry and longer flint life. It was my understanding that this was the reasoning behind the design change of the T/C hammer. Is this correct?

 

[roundball]

While I agree the hammer, top jaw, and top jaw screw are major elements of the upgrade, I think there's more to it.
PS:
If you do get a hammer, you must get the jaw & screw...the others don't fit

 

[Grimord]

I happen to have a spare lock from a Lyman Great Plains. I was thinking I could switch out the hammers to see if it sparks better, and the flints last longer. Right now i get about 5 shots before i have to knap the flint with the T/C hammer. I get maybe 20-30 shots out of a flint if it is a good one, less with poor flints. I am hoping to get the flints to last longer and to get more reliable spark & ignition. I looked on Flea bay and saw "New" style T/C hammer for $36. Ouch!! And the hammer does not come with the jaw and screw, so I would have to get them separately at additional cost. The switch to the Lyman Hammer agrees with my wallet more.