Harpers ferry conversion?

[Toecutter]

Hello all, not sure if this my best or worst idea yet and i figured this would be the best place to ask. So long story short i won a euroarms 1803 harpers ferry .58 cal flinter in a raffle. Its a beautiful rifle to my eye, but to be honest im just not as taken with shooting it as i am my percussion guns. My main usage for my guns are woods walks at all the nearby clubs and truth be told i like to win. So along those lines, im just not practiced enough nor do i have the desire to shoot the flinter enough to be competeitive with it.
My logical answer to this would be to have the gun bored out smooth and made into my turkey gun. Ive been looking for a flint fowler and this would seem (to me anyway) as the perfect answer. It easily has enough meat to be bored to 20ga, havent thrown a mic on it yet but 12ga might be a stretch.
Interested in thoughts on this matter, thanks in advance.
Nathan

 

[gunmaker43]

Bobby Hoyt will bore it out 717-642-6696 keep trying--he's working.

 

[Toomuch51]

Personaly if I were not into another flint rifle, I believe I would look to sell or trade the Harper's Ferry in tact to preserve it's value and be looking for a Mortimer 12ga. (which can be bought with an interchangeable barrel so you can easily go from .54 rifle to 12ga. fowler by swapping barrels) or similar style that is already what you want.

Toomuch
................
Shoot Flint

 

[Toecutter]

Thanks for the help so far guys, in my searches on here, i also came up with that gentlemans name as the go to guy. Definitely gonna give him a call.
As far as the flint shooter goes, i really like it and shooting it from a supported position (like turkey hunting), i think would allow me to enjoy it fully. Im just not as interested in competing with it, especially since im so spoiled by set triggers.
I guess im mostly asking if theres more to making an accurate fowler out of this rifle than just opening the bore. Also should i stick to established bore sizes so that i can use store bought shot cups, or are over powder and shot cards sufficient to get good patterns?
Thanks again,
Nathan

 

[airborne2037]

Just my two cents....I have always thought the Harpers Ferry was a good looking rifle..and the fact that they are 58cal makes them more than big enough for anything that you are wanting to shoot..If I were in your shoes I would sell this gun to someone who can enjoy it for what it is and not butcher it...then you could take the money and buy exactly what suites your tastes..like i said just my 2 cents..(although my wife says my 2 cents is only worth half that)

 

[frogwalking]

What Longhunter said..

 

[wmaser]

I'm with Longhunter too.

 

[Ken Cormier]

I am confused you like to win but you don't want to practice. I have to practice just to place congrats to you

 

[kingsax26]

just because its a flint doent mean you cant win.....I know of a certain member on this forum whom i went to a shoot last year with....and watch him win the aggregate shoot hasnds down...with a flinter. most evryone else was shooting percussion....so if your not willing to practice with a flinter then sell it and buy a percusison gun. or you may be able to find something to suit your needs cheaper that what youd be able to sell that for...cvs makes a great turkey gun..is percussion...and can be had for 375.00.....you coukd sell that for paltry 800 or so...and buy a turkey gun and pocket a few hundred dollars to boot!

 

[Toecutter]

Again, thank you for all the advice. I just want to reiterate that i love the lines of the gun, and actually want a flinter for my turkey gun. As beautiful as this gun is, I just dont think this is the correct flint setup for being supremely off-hand accurate (lock time and trigger being what they are) as a rifle. I have not the slightest doubt that a properly tuned flintlock in the rt hands is an absolute tackdriver. That just isnt the case for me and this rifle. That being said i would love to make this rifle into a turkey gun if its feasible. I more just wanna know if its gonna make a good candidate if i was to have the barrel opened up. Im able to put decent groups together off the bench with it so im confident in my ability to hold it well enough to throw good patterns once developed. If theres a flint fowler that anyone knows of that would be better suited and in the general ballpark pricewise that i should look into, that would be great.
Thanks again, Nathan

 

[fusil de chase]

Browse the smooth bore section lots of fowlers to drool over.

The other option might be to have Oregon Barrel works turn you a smoothbore barrel to the exact dimensions of your rifle barrel it 'll cost about 250. Get the breeching to match as well and have rifle/shotgun for just abit more then the cost of destroying a rifle.

 

[Toecutter]

Just read ur post there Kenny, if you read my previous posts i thought i was pretty clear that didnt feel that i was gonna be able to practice enough to get proficient enough with this flint rifle to outshoot any of my percussion guns (the single trigger alone being a big factor). As im sure anyone on here will tell u, practice is the only way to get better (especially w the flintlock), and since i love to shoot, thats how i get better. Sorry for your confusion.

 

[Toecutter]

Thanks for all the help gents, gonna see if i cant find someone who wants to buy or trade (possibly with cash) for a flint fowler.
Nathan