If you were going to buy a flintlock for target..

.... shooting,what brand/type/cal etc. would you buy and why? thanks in advance

 

[JeffS]

If you want relatively inexpensive that is good, I'd suggest a Lyman Great Plains Rifle in .50 nice heavy barrel to hold steady. Needs a longer screw for the set trigger though. I would also like to put a thinner front sight on mine.

I'm sure others will chime in with more and probably better suggestions.

Jeff

 

[pepperbelly]

You want inexpensive? I was in Cabela's this weekend and they have their (Pedersoli) Kentucky flintlock rifles for $319.00.
I have read about problems stemming from the rifle having a small lock, but for $319.00 it might be worth it just for fun.
I would pick either a .45 or .50 caliber if it was just for target shooting. A .50 or .54 would be better if you want to hunt deer size game, or a .36, .40 or .45 for small rabbit size game.
There are a lot of choices of components in .50 caliber.
Jim

 

[Mike Brooks]

I'd contact a custom gunmaker with a good reputation for making accurate rifles.....of course I may be a little biased. :hmm:
In general, if you go for something cheap, you'll get exactly what you pay for.

 

[JeffS]

I'd contact a custom gunmaker with a good reputation for making accurate rifles.....of course I may be a little biased. :hmm:
In general, if you go for something cheap, you'll get exactly what you pay for.

Just for the record, I totaly agree with Mike here. If you want a really good rifle, custom built is the way to go. The GPR is just what came to mind first. (the easy standard answer for "what gun should I buy?" )I'm the one who mentioned "inexpensive". It wasn't in the origional post.

Jeff

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Mike is right, of course it depends on how much money you want to spend. I'd opt for a .40 or .45 for target shooting. Some say the .40 is a better target caliber but others have said it has cost them hits because the light wieght of the bullet didn't register a loud enought hit. I'd stay away from the import locks as some are a might small and don't give a good igition. Give us some more info and I'm sure you'll get some more advice. By the way I have been to Mr. Brooks' web site and he builds an awsome gun.

 

[Stumpkiller]

What distance? What type of target shooting: offhand, cross-sticks, bench, chunk gun, trail walk, Seneca Run, silhouette, biathlon, conicals, round ball, rifle, smoothbore?

Be specific and you'll get a better response.

 

Offhand shooting 25,50 and 100 yds

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greeting Pepperbelly,

I have a friend who has a Pedersoli Frontier flintlock in 45 caliber. It is a very nice looking rifle and appears to be well built.

Last week he brought it over, and out to the range we went.
With a 50 grain charge of Goex 3FFF blackpowder. .445 Speer ball, and .018 pillow ticking lubed with Ox-Yoke Wonderlube, we begin shooting at 25 yards.

The rifle shot about 10 inches low at 25 yards, so out with the file and lowering the front sight.

After shooting and filing for 20-25 rounds we were still shooting about 1-1/2 inches low. About 1/2 of the front sight height was removed, and I did not want to remove any more of the sight. It was decided to replace the rear sight with a higher sight. The factory sights are not adjustable, and elevation adjustments can be regulated only by filing.

At that point, we decided to work on developing some accurate loads. It was then we begin to experience misfires and no fires. The touch hole was picked repeatedly before and after loading each shot.

During the picking after each misfire/no fire there was no indication of powder behind the touch hole liner, so it was decided to remove the touch hole liner and have a look.

Surprise! Surprise! Not only was there no powder, but the reason was discovered why.

To begin with, ALL PEDERSOLI FRONTIER RIFLE OWNERS, FLINT OR CAP PAY ATTENTION.

The Fontier rifle breech is very long (about 1-3/8 inches long and uses a powder chamber drilled into the front half of the breech. In addition, the BARREL AND BREECH is threaded so that the touch hole liner and/or percussion drum must be removed are screwed through both barrel and breech. This design is also used in CVA rifles.

This is a very secure and safe breeching method, but in this instance, another problem and the most likely cause for the mifires/no fires was observed. The diameter of the powder chamber was very small. After 20-25 shots, burnt blackpowder residue had built up and choked the powder chamber closed.

Well, right or wrong. I do not want to be flushing or scraping the breech of a rifle every 20-25 shots. particularly during a competetive event. Wondering if your rifle is going to fire with every shot is not good for your concentration and focus on getting a good shot off.

So, it was clean up and back to the house and shop.

AFTER FIRST REMOVING THE VENT HOLE LINER, the breech was removed and yes the powder chamber was blocked with burnt black powder residue. The diameter of the powder chamber measured between 15/64 and 1/4 inch. Too small in my opinion.

The breech was screwed into a threaded collar and chucked up in my lathe and step-drilled out to 5/16 inch diameter. It MIGHT BE ok to drill the breech out to 11/32 inch since the breech plug threads are completely enclosed by the barrel threads. However, I was very comfortable with the 5/16 inch size and have successfully used this size with other breechs I have custom machined from scratch. Keep in mind, the barrel is only 13/16 inch across the flats.

After finish drilling, the powder chamber was given a high polish.

By the way, I neglected to mention that the breech was easily removed once the touch hole liner was FIRST removed.

The rifle was re-assembled and is awaiting a new rear sight before shooting again.

I have confidence that drilling the powder chamber to a larger diameter will solve the misfire problem and is also safe. I do not fault Pedersoli for the breech design. I feel they wanted to increase the safety factor by increasing the amount of threads used to hold the vent hole liner and particularly the drum for percussion use. I also suspect this rifle might be easily be converted to use as either flintlock or caplock.

If there are other Pedersoli Frontier rifle owners who are experiencing this or a similar problem, my approach to solving the problem might be considered.

The drilling is not irreversable. A sleeve or bushing can be turned, drilled, and fitted in place. I did this for a friend who had a too large powder chamber. It was larger in diameter than the bore. Even used a piece of stainless steel for the bushing.

Best regards and good shooting,

John L. Hinnant

 

I say save your money and buy the gun you really want, it is a good feeling to show up at a shoot and have people make a fuss over your rifle, after all this is a hobby and it should be fun, showing up at a shoot with a cheep gun is like showing up at a dance with a cheep date. :winking:

 

[mike alexandre]

I've been using a Pedersoli Jeager for nearly a year now. It's proving to be a very accurate target rifle at 50 and 100yds.

 

[Halftail]

Jim Chambers has great kits that you or a gunbuilder can finish.Mine with the swamped Getz barrell is one accurate shooter.Great for shoots out to 100 yards for all targets. :imo:

 

[RiverRat]

I second Vaquero's remarks on the Lyman GPR. I shoot one and it is more accurate than I can shoot it. The modifications that he mentioned would make a great gun even better. I have enjoyed mine while I am waiting for my TVM Early Lancaster to be built. I have decided to keep it after I get my new gun because it such a good shooter. :redthumb:

 

[Stumpkiller]

OK. If I were going to select a rifle for offhand target with no other restrictions than being a flintlock, I would ask a gunsmith to build me Jim Chamber's RK-11 kit in the white with no fanciness (except maybe a silver thumbpiece) and then I'd dull the metal with a bleach boil and do the stock in Tru-Oil.

31" barrel, .50 cal, single trigger with no set but built to 2 or 2-1/2# pull.

Boy, don't she look like my New Englander but fullstock & in flint. :front:


Otherwise, I'd use my deer hunting gun . . . as target shooting is just hunting practice for me. ::

100 yards is a loooong offhand shot, I'd like a long barrel with a fine blade front for that trick.

 

[CrackStock]

Kain,

Are you looking to punch paper or knock over steel at those distances with your off hand rifle?

I use a Tennessee Classic in .40 that was built with Track of the Wolf/Pecatonica River parts. It has a Siler lock which works well, but is not all that correct. The barrel is a Green Mountain. I also chose the adjustable California semi buckhorn sight from Track of the Wolf.

The .40 does a very good job on paper, but fails to knock over some heavier steel targets during silhouette matches. Hitting does not register a score. Knocking over is required where I shoot, so this has been an issue for me. I use a .54 GPR for those matches now. The GPR does not have the same great feel of the Tennessee when shooting off hand, but there is no doubt when those balls impact on the steel!

CS

 

We are talking paper punching here I should have mentioned that in my previuos post,thanks everyone,I do like the southern mountain style rifles

 

[Java Man]

Stumpy,

I like that English Gun very much too. Maybe in a .54 or .62. Yeah baby!

 

[davy]

Greeting Pepperbelly,

I have a friend who has a Pedersoli Frontier flintlock in 45 caliber. It is a very nice looking rifle and appears to be well built.

Last week he brought it over, and out to the range we went.
With a 50 grain charge of Goex 3FFF blackpowder. .445 Speer ball, and .018 pillow ticking lubed with Ox-Yoke Wonderlube, we begin shooting at 25 yards.

The rifle shot about 10 inches low at 25 yards, so out with the file and lowering the front sight.

After shooting and filing for 20-25 rounds we were still shooting about 1-1/2 inches low. About 1/2 of the front sight height was removed, and I did not want to remove any more of the sight. It was decided to replace the rear sight with a higher sight. The factory sights are not adjustable, and elevation adjustments can be regulated only by filing.

At that point, we decided to work on developing some accurate loads. It was then we begin to experience misfires and no fires. The touch hole was picked repeatedly before and after loading each shot.

During the picking after each misfire/no fire there was no indication of powder behind the touch hole liner, so it was decided to remove the touch hole liner and have a look.

Surprise! Surprise! Not only was there no powder, but the reason was discovered why.

To begin with, ALL PEDERSOLI FRONTIER RIFLE OWNERS, FLINT OR CAP PAY ATTENTION.

The Fontier rifle breech is very long (about 1-3/8 inches long and uses a powder chamber drilled into the front half of the breech. In addition, the BARREL AND BREECH is threaded so that the touch hole liner and/or percussion drum must be removed are screwed through both barrel and breech. This design is also used in CVA rifles.

This is a very secure and safe breeching method, but in this instance, another problem and the most likely cause for the mifires/no fires was observed. The diameter of the powder chamber was very small. After 20-25 shots, burnt blackpowder residue had built up and choked the powder chamber closed.

Well, right or wrong. I do not want to be flushing or scraping the breech of a rifle every 20-25 shots. particularly during a competetive event. Wondering if your rifle is going to fire with every shot is not good for your concentration and focus on getting a good shot off.

So, it was clean up and back to the house and shop.

AFTER FIRST REMOVING THE VENT HOLE LINER, the breech was removed and yes the powder chamber was blocked with burnt black powder residue. The diameter of the powder chamber measured between 15/64 and 1/4 inch. Too small in my opinion.

The breech was screwed into a threaded collar and chucked up in my lathe and step-drilled out to 5/16 inch diameter. It MIGHT BE ok to drill the breech out to 11/32 inch since the breech plug threads are completely enclosed by the barrel threads. However, I was very comfortable with the 5/16 inch size and have successfully used this size with other breechs I have custom machined from scratch. Keep in mind, the barrel is only 13/16 inch across the flats.

After finish drilling, the powder chamber was given a high polish.

By the way, I neglected to mention that the breech was easily removed once the touch hole liner was FIRST removed.

The rifle was re-assembled and is awaiting a new rear sight before shooting again.

I have confidence that drilling the powder chamber to a larger diameter will solve the misfire problem and is also safe. I do not fault Pedersoli for the breech design. I feel they wanted to increase the safety factor by increasing the amount of threads used to hold the vent hole liner and particularly the drum for percussion use. I also suspect this rifle might be easily be converted to use as either flintlock or caplock.

If there are other Pedersoli Frontier rifle owners who are experiencing this or a similar problem, my approach to solving the problem might be considered.

The drilling is not irreversable. A sleeve or bushing can be turned, drilled, and fitted in place. I did this for a friend who had a too large powder chamber. It was larger in diameter than the bore. Even used a piece of stainless steel for the bushing.

Best regards and good shooting,

John L. Hinnant

Here is the Pedersoli rifle in question .. have not had an opportinity to shoot the corrected weapon yet...

Davy

 

[benvenuto]

No strong opinion, just get a good barrel (a James Goodoien maybe?) and team it with a large, good sparking lock and good vent liner. A swamped barrel is good too, they point really well without that muzzle heavy feeling.

But the lock is the important bit - nothing will spoil your shooting more than misfire after misfire from a small, badly made lock (most of the italian flintlocks). Don't buy a cheap gun unless you enjoy tinkering a lot before you can get decent performance.

 

[davy]

John Hinnant wanted me to post this article he wrote for you to peruse ... useful info for selecting barrels etc.. this seems like a good spot...

::
http://www.freewebs.com/davyslocker/Greetings%20Allbarrel%202.doc


Davy