Guidance

[ironeyes969]

I spent the end of December hunting PA's flintlock season. I had an absolute blast with a borrowed fire storm. I've decided to buy my own flinty but my budget is under $500.

 

[ironeyes969]

I am a native Floridian and will likely only use it a few days a year when visiting my wife's family. Im trying very hard not to rush out and buy a rifle that I regret. I can get a wood stock tradition's pa pellet brand new for $450. Good, bad? I just dont know what a good deal is.

 

[andy52]

You might find a serviceable flint for 500 but it won't be easy and may take some time. if you want a little nicer rifle I'd be looking to spend more around the 750 mark.

 

[Ponderosaman]

I’m biased because I love scatter guns, but I think you can get the best value from a smoothbore. It costs money to put riffling in so all else being equal the fowler will cost less. While slightly less accurate, we don’t get into this game to make things easy and any animal in America is on the menu with a fowler. If it was me, I’d get a .58, which is a little better than a 28 guage.

 

[SDSmlf]

I spent the end of December hunting PA's flintlock season. I had an absolute blast with a borrowed fire storm. I've decided to buy my own flinty but my budget is under $500.

I am a native Floridian and will likely only use it a few days a year when visiting my wife's family. Im trying very hard not to rush out and buy a rifle that I regret. I can get a wood stock tradition's pa pellet brand new for $450. Good, bad? I just dont know what a good deal is.

I would avoid the PA Pellet. They can be serviceable guns, but can take some effort to become reliable, and if you are only going to use it a few days a year…. Nothing worse than a potentially troublesome flintlock for a beginner. Read this thread for a primer on Traditions PA Pellets.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/flint-frizzen-relationship.140886/And may have answered your question yourself in the OP. Look around for a used TC Firestorm in stainless steel. Might not be a pretty gun, but the one I have is very dependable, accurate and easy to maintain. It’s my go to flintlock when someone wants to borrow one. Would think you could find one well within your budget, leaving room for a few necessary accouterments. Just may take some looking. Put a WANTED ad in the classified here.

 

[ironeyes969]

Thank you fellas for the replies.

 

[hanshi]

A smoothbore isn't a bad idea at all. They can be loaded like a rifle with patch and ball. And the right load will do well at 50-60 yards.

 

[Brokennock]

Do not buy that PA Pellet junk. Keep digging through these posts, you will find another new forum member who bought one recently, I seriously doubt he would recommend it......

Save your money. If it isn't going to be a regular shooter for you. Then you have lots of time before the next Pennsylvania flintlock season.
Just based on what I read here and on other forums, if I were looking for a flintlock without historical considerations but on a budget I'd be looking for a GPR.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

I'd recommend finding a used investarm flintlock. They are pretty decent performers. It is what I started on. In .50 or .54 cal you could have a dependable, though not the most historically accurate flintlock. If you are patient enough you may find a used Lyman close to your price range. You may also be able to find an older used Dixie Gun Works (Tennessee or SMR) thT are solid performers. If you were close I'd let you shoot my investarm.
Best advice is to have patience. Look around, ask questions, see what you find. I can appreciate your desire to hunt the late season in PA.
If your going to be up again and you are in eastern PA, message here. I'd be happy to let you try a variety of flintlock rifles to give you an idea what you might like.

 

[ironeyes969]

Thank you for the kindness Daryl, it's appreciated. Im pretty much centered on a compact hunting flintlock.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Well then, a few Investarm models with 28" barrels should be in your price range!

 

[MAC1967]

I'd recommend finding a used investarm flintlock. They are pretty decent performers. It is what I started on. In .50 or .54 cal you could have a dependable, though not the most historically accurate flintlock. If you are patient enough you may find a used Lyman close to your price range. You may also be able to find an older used Dixie Gun Works (Tennessee or SMR) thT are solid performers. If you were close I'd let you shoot my investarm.
Best advice is to have patience. Look around, ask questions, see what you find. I can appreciate your desire to hunt the late season in PA.
If your going to be up again and you are in eastern PA, message here. I'd be happy to let you try a variety of flintlock rifles to give you an idea what you might like.

I totally agree - I bought a used Lyman Great Plains flint and it was worth it - I think you might be able to find one for $450 and it’s a nicer rifle than the traditions pellet.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I'd recommend finding a used investarm flintlock. They are pretty decent performers. It is what I started on. In .50 or .54 cal you could have a dependable, though not the most historically accurate flintlock. If you are patient enough you may find a used Lyman close to your price range. You may also be able to find an older used Dixie Gun Works (Tennessee or SMR) thT are solid performers. If you were close I'd let you shoot my investarm.
Best advice is to have patience. Look around, ask questions, see what you find. I can appreciate your desire to hunt the late season in PA.
If your going to be up again and you are in eastern PA, message here. I'd be happy to let you try a variety of flintlock rifles to give you an idea what you might like.

This is an opportunity you should really consider, getting to even hold a few different styles (No less fire them) is a fantastic chance for a new shooter.

 

[moose23]

I’d recommend a used Thompson Center Hawken or Renegade. Or a used Lyman Great Plains Rifle or Deerstalker. All 4 of these guns are currently used by either myself or family/friends I hunt with. And we’ve been killing deer with them for a long time.

 

[ironeyes969]

Thank you all. I'm considering an Investarm Bridger hawken kit. I do like the idea of some tinkering and ownership. I've built several bolt actions and msr's over the years and wouldn't mind adding a hawken or GPR to that.

Are the kits decent? Would I be wise to buy a production rifle? Not having one in hand to assess leaves me guessing.

 

[Stone]

Do not buy that PA Pellet junk. Keep digging through these posts, you will find another new forum member who bought one recently, I seriously doubt he would recommend it......

Save your money. If it isn't going to be a regular shooter for you. Then you have lots of time before the next Pennsylvania flintlock season.
Just based on what I read here and on other forums, if I were looking for a flintlock without historical considerations but on a budget I'd be looking for a GPR.

@ironeyes969 as broke mentioned I just bought the Traditions PA pellet.

Trigger pull out of the box was about 30 lb and gritty, but you can adjust it.

It has permanent sling mounts so in order to clean the barrel properly, you have to take the sling apart to get it off the barrel. However I found a fairly simple work around for that as well.

It is drilled and tapped for a scope but why? The scope would have to be three and a half inches above the Barrel in order for the hammer to clear it.

The distance from the pan to the pellets requires that you put some 4f powder in the barrel prior to loading pellets.

I believe I can ultimately make this gun work, but there are a lot of things that leave you scratching your head!

 

[Woody Morgan]

Traditions Deerhunter <--click link

wm

 

[Brazos John]

Last March, I found a barely-used Traditions Frontier .50 here for $375 + $25 shipping.
Deals are here to be found, but your timing has to be right.
Good luck with your search.

 

[hinamanra]

I picked up an armsport .54 hawken for $225 shipping included at an auction through proxibid online bidding. I replaced the trigger with a T/C trigger and now its perfect. Also a custom .58 jaeger for $500 total, no work needed. A pedersoli bess that needed the bore polished and a crack between RR and barrel channel reparied easy fixes and what looks like somebody's first build a .62 long rifle that needs the stock slimmed down but whoever built it did a perty good job, I don't think that that barrel ever fired a ball. I got both of those for $550. They all shoot extremely well and except for the bess the bores were spotless and the bess wasn't too bad. I always assume that the gun that I'm bidding on is in less than good condition and I bid accordingly. If there isn't a good discription and good pictures, I just don't bid, or i call the auction house and see what I can find out. So far I everything that I won were in 10 times better shape than what I thought that they would be when I bid. I bid an amount that I'm comfortable with and forget about it. If I win great, if I loose, No big. deal. I intended to repair and resell but after I shot them I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I really shouldn't be telling this to anyone but I'm just about at my max capacity.

 

[good ole boy]

@ironeyes969 as broke mentioned I just bought the Traditions PA pellet.

Trigger pull out of the box was about 30 lb and gritty, but you can adjust it.

It has permanent sling mounts so in order to clean the barrel properly, you have to take the sling apart to get it off the barrel. However I found a fairly simple work around for that as well.

It is drilled and tapped for a scope but why? The scope would have to be three and a half inches above the Barrel in order for the hammer to clear it.

The distance from the pan to the pellets requires that you put some 4f powder in the barrel prior to loading pellets.

I believe I can ultimately make this gun work, but there are a lot of things that leave you scratching your head!

I have a friend that bought the Pa Pellet new around 10 years ago or close to it and loves it.He uses it and it has never failed for him to go bang and he does not precharge the pellets with 4F.