I Need Your Advise

[vthompson]

I have been thinking about finding rendezvous near where I live, and getting involved in some of the contest's. I have been reading about the Tomahawk and knife throwing, and the traditional flint & steel to make fire with.
I have also read about pistol shooting and this is where I need your help. Should I start out with a flint lock or a percussion? Then I wondered if you could point me toward a website that had good deals on blackpowder pistols.
I have been looking at the Traditions Trapper pistol in 50cal, but I would still like your advise. Thank's for your time.

 

[erzengel]

When I started shooting bp, I was advised to try my hand first at percussion because it is more reliable and you can gain experience.

The flintlock is more difficult due to possible malfunctions though no ignition by minor defects.

I did so and I say, it was good so. But you should not wait as long as I did to add flintlock pistol. Flint lock is more fascinating and fun than percussion. Experience with percussion and bp is helpful to avoid frustration.

 

[vthompson]

Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

erzengle hit it right on. Another thing, most entry level flint lock pistols, don't come with the quality locks that flint pistol competition should have. Getting accustomed to a flint lock is tough enough, without the hassles of trying to do it with a poorly designed/manufactured lock.

I started out with a CVA flint lock pistol. It was horribly front heavy. The horrible 8 lb trigger pull and slow lock time were impossible. I was lucky to keep the shots on the paper at 25 yds. So I went strictly percussion. In trading and swapping, I came across an bubba'ed unfinished flint smoothbore rifle, that happened to have a really good Davis lock. For all the builder's faults in fitting, etc, he had the good sense to use good components. When I shot the gun, I couldn't believe how fast and sure it was. The second time I took it out, I shot it in a competition against rifles at 50 yds and took 3rd. It was that horrible old homesworkshop butcher job that got me back to flint locks.

While there is a difference between a cheap foreign production perc lock and a fine tuned quality percussion lock, the difference is not as noticeable or important as the difference in the flint locks.

 

[J.D.]

The first thing I suggest is finding a local BP club. Those folks will know what you need and where to get it. IMHO, most of what you need can be home made, but some items will need to be bought.

There are several videos on you tube with instructions on throwing knife and 'hawk, in addition to a coupla web pages about throwing. A search should turn up something.

IMHO, avoid the Indian and Pakistani made products. They are not forge welded so the blade will separate after a while.

I bought a new 'hawk cast of 4140 steel at Dixon's a coupla weeks ago. It should be a good one, but don't remember the maker or vendors name.

IMHO, pistol shoots are usually an adjunct to the main rifle competition. While some clubs use pistol scores as a part of an aggregate score, most in this area do not.

The quality of most production pistols is not all that great. I'm not a pistol shooter, so I can't comment on relative merits of individual brands of pistols, but IMHO, avoid the cheap ones. IMHO, cheap guns are really cheaply made and will often be more trouble than they are worth.

Fire with flint and steel is easy to do, with a little coaching. Bob's Black powder notebook has instructions, in addition to lots of other pertinent information. http://members.aye.net/~bspen/index.html

God bless

 

[vthompson]

Thanks J.D. for the link to Bob's blackpowder notebook. I bookmarked it for future reference.

 

[erzengel]

Yeah, I forgot about Trigger pull.

Zimmerstutzen is right, if you have to pull 3 kg it is dufficult to hit consitently.

In competiton shooting with a pistol you normally have either "französichen Rückstecher = 1 Trigger pushed forward and than pull to shoot" or "German Stecher = 2 Trigger, first push the rear Trigger and than pull the forward Trigger to shoot". You can adjust Trigger pull down to 50 gramm or less. But than you have to be gentle on the Trigger.

Many erros and bad shots result from movements during pulling the trigger.

Beg your pardon, did not find the correct translations for the Germen terms Rückstecher and Stecher in a hurry.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I reread your post. You mentioned the trapper pistol. I have one in flint. It is a big clunky pistol and with a poorly performing flint lock. It is front heavy and difficult to hold properly with a finger on the trigger guard. The old TC patriot target pistol was 45 caliber and only weighed about half as much. Although in photos they have similar lines, the patriot was only about 2/3's the size as the trapper and much better balanced.

I prefer a thinner grip than the trapper has. Everyone has their own likes. Go to a place where you can at least hold one and point it at a spot of the wall before buying. Keep in mind that for target shooting, you will be holding that weight out there repeatedly. A target gun needs some heft to it, but IMO not that much.

Pedersoli makes some good stuff. Otherwsie, there really isn't much available right now.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

The flintlock is more difficult due to possible malfunctions though no ignition by minor defects.

I take exception to this statement.

You get what you pay for. If you buy cheap, you get cheap, either flint or cap.

Ive had two well tuned chamber's locks for a few years now, and neither has EVER failed to spark.

Not once.

**********************************

Buy production firearms, and you get what you pay for. Make it, so have it made, and it will last you the rest of your life.

**********************************

I will say the learning curve is steeper for a flintlock. Folks with out any readin and writin gotem to work just fine. Their lives depended on them.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I'll agree that if you buy cheap, you get cheap.

Even a good well tuned flinter can have a spasm once in a while. Here in the rather humid mid Atlantic, a muggy summer day can create extra problems. Yes, they are rare if precautions are taken. Last time I competed with my flint lock on a misty hot day near 90, a whole lot of folks had problems with their well tuned flint locks. I probably had flashes in the pan or a hangfire about one out of every 20 shots. constant wiping of the frizzen, flint and pan, only helps so much. Even the powder in powder horns started to clump by the end of the day. Running a dry patch aginst the breech face and letting it there to mop up wet fouling was necessary.

 

[arquebus]

französichen Rückstecher = 1 Trigger pushed forward and than pull to shoot or German Stecher = 2 Trigger

I think you are referring to what we call single-set triggers, & double-set triggers.

 

[erzengel]

Yeah, if you buy cheap you pay twice. :surrender:

I have ordered a Boutet match pistol (flint lock) fully custom made. That's a totaly different class. Will takes some time.

Without goin into discussion about mass producers of replicas, even those who produce the expansive ones do not always fullfill what you expect.

I decided to try it first with a pistol I still regard as bargain. The lock ist fast and reliable. The frizen will not hold for eternity. But the frizzen can be exchanged against a new one and the old one can be rehardened.

The locks of my pistol and rifle still work fine after five year shooting.

 

[erzengel]

Thank you very much, these are the correct terms according to the english explanation I just read.
:bow:

 

[Many Klatch]

Some matches only allow flintlocks. I'd check with your local clubs and see what they use before spending any cash on the wrong kind of gun.

Many Klatch

 

[vthompson]

Thank's for all of your help guy's. I appreciate it.