Ignition problems with Kentucky flintlock pistol

[stelliott80]

I have a Kentucky flintlock pistol which was built from a CVA kit about 25 years ago by my father. I've restored it and finally got a chance to try it out. The first shot went off like a champ. But subsequent shots - maybe 3 out of 10. I have been reading about touchhole position and size, and my question is more about the ignition itself. I use 3f ("P" Pyrodex). Should the primer powder be in contact with the main load via the touchhole? Or should the touch hole be more open, i.e., does the flame from the primer load ignite the main load? I had many shots where the primer would flash but the main load would not ignite. Please offer any advice; I am brand new to muzzle loaders, but have very much enjoyed the few shots I've gotten to take and would like to improve the percent of shots that go off if possible! Thank you.

 

[berickson]

pyrodex is no good for flinters IMHO. use black powder 3f as a charge, 3f as a prime in the pan & you should be ok. 4f as a prime might be better. just a few grains in the pan and keep it away from the main charge (breech hole)to keep it from acting as a fuse.

 

[freetrapper20]

Get rid of the pyrodex first and use good ol' black powder and see if that makes a difference (it should) before you worry about messing with anything else. :imo:

 

[mikee51848]

Could also be barrel fouling. How often do you clean the barrel? And buy some good Swiss powder if you can.

 

If you can get Swiss, that's great, but Goex will work just as well. The key here is, you need to be shooting REAL black powder in your flintlock. The ignition temps of the BP substitute powders are generally too high to get good ignition in a flintlock.

I have a flintlock Kentucky pistol, and when I load the barrel with 3Fg Goex, and prime with 4Fg Goex, keeping the prime as far away from the vent as possible, ignition is so fast I can hardly tell it's a flintlock, and it goes off every time.

:redthumb:

 

[susie s]

A good resource person for you in that area is Keith Bayha- has a Palmer address but lives on a mountain overlooking the Matanuska Glacier. He's very active in local, state, and national muzzleloading-a great pistol shooter and hunter. He could tell you where to get anything you need.
His mail is [email protected]. He travels around quite a bit, so may take some time getting back to you. Definitely get rid of the pyrodex! S

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I have a Kentucky flintlock pistol which was built from a CVA kit about 25 years ago by my father. I've restored it and finally got a chance to try it out. The first shot went off like a champ. But subsequent shots - maybe 3 out of 10. I have been reading about touchhole position and size, and my question is more about the ignition itself. I use 3f ("P" Pyrodex). Should the primer powder be in contact with the main load via the touchhole? Or should the touch hole be more open, i.e., does the flame from the primer load ignite the main load? I had many shots where the primer would flash but the main load would not ignite. Please offer any advice; I am brand new to muzzle loaders, but have very much enjoyed the few shots I've gotten to take and would like to improve the percent of shots that go off if possible! Thank you.

Hi Stelliott80,

As the others said, lose the Pyrodex. The Black Powder substitutes don't ignite as easily or burn as hot as real Black Powder. Use 3Fg Goex or Swiss. Stay away from Elephant brand black powder. It fouls like crazy.

OK, now that we have you on real black powder, you don't want anything between your flashhole (vent) and your main charge. If you get powder in there you will get a fuse effect - the classic phssssssst-BOOM!. So don't put powder in the flash hole and don't cover the flash hole with powder either. Too much powder in the pan means it has to burn down to the flash hole before it will go off. When you prime the pan, put the prim only on the outside half of the pan and no higher than level with the top of the pan. Less is more in this case. Presuming you are getting a good spark, the charge on the right side of the pan will ignite and flash unobstructed to and through the vent (flash hole), igniting the main charge almost instantaneously. No delay, it will go off as if it was a percussion cap. As an added advantage, it doesn't foul the pan nearly as much as a full pan charge does.

Give and try and let me know how it goes.

Hope this helps,
Twisted

 

[Bill Bryan]

I shoot a CVA flintlock pistol also. The other responses talk about black powder vs pyrodex. I agree with them on black powder. Also make sure that you have adjusted your flint so that it is giving you a good shower of sparks and they are hitting the pan. I recommend you try a file on the frizzen to see if it is adaquately hardened. The file shouldn't make much of a mark. :imo:

 

[BLAHMAN]

Yup: ditch the pyrodex stuff, get some real black powder.

Your touch hole may be getting clogged up, or there may be residue at the bottom of the barrel that is preventing the ignition of the lock to actually reach the main charge. Try picking the touchhole.

 

[kentucky bucky]

Switch to black and don't go back! :imo: