Intervention please!

[rusticbob]

I shot my first flintlock yesterday! There I got it off my chest!
I didn’t mean too, never thought I would, but nevertheless , I got hooked.
It started simple enough, I met a friend at the local rifle range, to shoot some black powder. I have a new to me .54 Hawken that I just picked up and it is my new love. My friend had a new to him , .45 LH flintlock. I expected to hear lots of psst! and swearing from the other bench. I was very surprised when his rifle went off ever time, and made nice small groups in the target, he was shooting a bit low, so he would take a few shots, file down the brass front sight, and repeat till the group was mostly centered. I was so interested in his process that I almost forgot to put in powder twice!
Then it happened! He asked me if I wanted to try it! I could not resist, I looked over at his gorgeous long rifle and abandoned my Hawken. Ya, you guessed it, now I ‘m hooked. I went home last night and scoured the websites for flintlocks for sale, then I dug out all my old issues of Muzzleloader magazine and drooled over the beautiful flintlocks on display. I know many of those pictures are professionally made of custom guns, but I could not tear myself away! Then this morning I went on this website to learn some more about flintlocks, and I found a thread called , Flintlock Porn! Now I’m hooked for sure.
Any suggestions as to what would be a good .45-50 cal flintlock to start with? All I see on the websites are Pedersoli, are they a good place to start? I’m not good at waiting, so a custom made gun is probably out of the question. Help me please!

 

[Phil Coffins]

When looking at a flintlock look mostly at the lock, your friend has a rifle with a good lock so you had a good experience.

 

[Steve Martin]

Phil Coffins said it - I have had some experience with some beautiful flintlocks with poor locks that would have completely put me off owning or shooting flintlocks had I not already been doing it long enough to realize that the lock was indeed the problem.

 

[bang]

Just got my first rock lock. Working through issues. Nothing bad just new 2 me learning experience.

 

[david w]

I don't own a Pedersoli , but some forum member like them.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I shot my first flintlock yesterday! There I got it off my chest!
I didn’t mean too, never thought I would, but nevertheless , I got hooked.
It started simple enough, I met a friend at the local rifle range, to shoot some black powder. I have a new to me .54 Hawken that I just picked up and it is my new love. My friend had a new to him , .45 LH flintlock. I expected to hear lots of psst! and swearing from the other bench. I was very surprised when his rifle went off ever time, and made nice small groups in the target, he was shooting a bit low, so he would take a few shots, file down the brass front sight, and repeat till the group was mostly centered. I was so interested in his process that I almost forgot to put in powder twice!
Then it happened! He asked me if I wanted to try it! I could not resist, I looked over at his gorgeous long rifle and abandoned my Hawken. Ya, you guessed it, now I ‘m hooked. I went home last night and scoured the websites for flintlocks for sale, then I dug out all my old issues of Muzzleloader magazine and drooled over the beautiful flintlocks on display. I know many of those pictures are professionally made of custom guns, but I could not tear myself away! Then this morning I went on this website to learn some more about flintlocks, and I found a thread called , Flintlock Porn! Now I’m hooked for sure.
Any suggestions as to what would be a good .45-50 cal flintlock to start with? All I see on the websites are Pedersoli, are they a good place to start? I’m not good at waiting, so a custom made gun is probably out of the question. Help me please!

There are lots of custom flintlocks out there that are older and still in good shooting condition that won't cause you to get a loan or have to wait for it to be made. Your best approach is to be take the time to find a decent one. Gun shows, this forum, and area blackpowder clubs can help.
If you do decide to go factory, a good lock will give the required spark, but you still need a decent breech/TH set up along with a quality barrel.
Hope you find a good one.
Larry

 

[waksupi]

Welcome to the dark side. We have cookies!

Keep an eye on the "For Sale" section here, and on the American Longrifles Forum for guns.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I shot my first flintlock yesterday! There I got it off my chest!
I didn’t mean too, never thought I would, but nevertheless , I got hooked.
It started simple enough, I met a friend at the local rifle range, to shoot some black powder. I have a new to me .54 Hawken that I just picked up and it is my new love. My friend had a new to him , .45 LH flintlock. I expected to hear lots of psst! and swearing from the other bench. I was very surprised when his rifle went off ever time, and made nice small groups in the target, he was shooting a bit low, so he would take a few shots, file down the brass front sight, and repeat till the group was mostly centered. I was so interested in his process that I almost forgot to put in powder twice!
Then it happened! He asked me if I wanted to try it! I could not resist, I looked over at his gorgeous long rifle and abandoned my Hawken. Ya, you guessed it, now I ‘m hooked. I went home last night and scoured the websites for flintlocks for sale, then I dug out all my old issues of Muzzleloader magazine and drooled over the beautiful flintlocks on display. I know many of those pictures are professionally made of custom guns, but I could not tear myself away! Then this morning I went on this website to learn some more about flintlocks, and I found a thread called , Flintlock Porn! Now I’m hooked for sure.
Any suggestions as to what would be a good .45-50 cal flintlock to start with? All I see on the websites are Pedersoli, are they a good place to start? I’m not good at waiting, so a custom made gun is probably out of the question. Help me please!

You have no idea how much I get this….I shot percussion, beginning at 13/14-ish, back in the 70’s…and had a blast. One day my dad & I made the pilgrimage to Sidney NE. I picked up a .32 percussion Blue Ridge, while my dad picked up a .32 calibre flintlock Blue Ridge from the Cabelas Bargain Cave, $200 for each. It was a grand day. My little .32 sighted in nicely, and I noticed my dad’s gun going pop every time, without issue. I was expecting a flash-poof-boom, not the instantaneous kaboom he was experiencing. Couple weeks later, I spent an entire afternoon shooting his gun. 3/4” groups at 50 yrds, caught the rock-lock disease pretty hard. Unfortunately it would be many winters before I finally acquired a flintlock of my own….but I’ve been going strong ever since.

The guns that are available on this forum are good deals, most of the time. I have not been disappointed yet with the ones I’ve picked up. Plenty disappointed with the ones I’ve missed out on.

I’ve gotten a few nice guns from gunbroker, but it’s hit or miss, and you really need to know what to look for, and what you are doing.

Local area is ideal, if possible where you live. You can pickup the firearm, hold it, inspect it carefully, and you have it right away, if you are fortunate to find your heart’s desire.

Custom & Semi-Custom have waiting times…weeks, months, on up to years before you can actually hold and use your firearm. But in my opinion, it’s been worth the wait. I’ve had 4 customs made for me, and a recent local gunmaker put a youth rifle together for my grandsons.

If you are handy with tools and even if you are only moderately handy with tools, a kit gun is an option. The beauty of the final product will be based heavily on what you are able to build. And the best kits around, in my opinion, would be a Kibler Kit Gun. Pricy yes, but the quality and performance cannot be beat, from what I’ve seen. I’ll be ordering one here in a month or so…prices are going to go up, due to rising inflation (Let’s Go Brandon).

Edit to Add: Rendezvous are a great place to get involved in different aspects of this amazing sport, and they have muzzleloaders for sale…usually. I have gotten several wonderful deals walking traders row, meeting people, and talking with venders. Cannot believe that I forgot to add going to RENDEZVOUS. It’s that Covid brain acting up again, I tell yah…

 

[david w]

"the best kits around, in my opinion, would be a Kibler Kit Gun. Pricy yes, but the quality and performance cannot be beat, from what I’ve seen. I’ll be ordering one here in a month or so…prices are going to go up, due to rising inflation (Let’s Go Brandon)."

I agree totally. Kibler's locks are top of the line.

 

[olskool]

way back my first flintlock was a Lyman Hawken in 50 cal. it shot as good as about any custom gun as far as grouping and a reliable lock. i had no problem with it at all. i killed a doe with it at about 70-80 yds,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Okie Hog]

Midway lists the Traditions Hawken Woodsman Flint Lock:

Traditions Hawken Woodsman Muzzleloading Rifle 50 Cal Flint 28 Blued (midwayusa.com)

 

[mckutzy]

Traditions hawken woodsman is not that bad for a start.... I love mine alot.

On a different thread, talking about smashing flints.. they apparently have a few issues, but relatively alright to fix.
I'm experiencing potentially either a softer frizzen, but might be more of an issue of too strong of main spring.

I've had mine now 14 years... so time is showing...

 

[Rock Home Isle]

If what you want, is a good reliable flintlock, here’s another option…if you can find an old CVA or TC Hawken (flintlock) in good solid condition. Get it.

The CVA isn’t going to matter if it’s percussion or flint, the TC Hawken, you’ll want to get as a flintlock. Then go to Track of the Wolf and order the appropriate L&R replacement lock for the gun that you bought.

Those old CVA flintlocks were very hit or miss, I’ve actually never seen one that was very reliable out of the gate, with those teeny tiny frizzens. The TC Hawkens performed better, but some had hardness issues with the frizzen and would need to be re-hardened.

If you find a CVA percussion, order the replacement lock and a touch hole liner. Then pull the percussion lock and install the flintlock, might require minor inletting. Then remove the percussion bullster from the barrel and install the new touch hole liner. Make sure that everything lines up correctly. And you should have a shooter.

You can also do the same for the Pedersoli BlueRidge rifle as well…there is an L&R replacement lock for those as well.

So that would be another option for you.

I’m still thinking of converting my ole .32 calibre BlueRidge from percussion to flint…probably this summer.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/list/Item.aspx/759/1

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Ohhhh, you're done for now ...

But you will enjoy it MORE than any other firearm shootin'!

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Production locks are manure compared to Chambers or Rice locks.
Build one with the best parts you can afford. Your rifle will be way better than some Pig in a poke production gun.

 

[Zutt-man]

Another one bites the dust!

Welcome! I went with a .58 Kibler Colonial (rifled) last fall and I’m glad I did. Exceptional quality, easy to build, quick & reliable locks, and very accurate. I don’t even shoot my .40 percussion anymore, which will more than likely be handed down to my boy (was my first ML 20 years ago)

If you’re not comfortable with not shouldering a gun, the SMR may not be for you. If you don’t mind it, then get one of both! Heck, I’ll be getting a smoothie from him at the end of the year for gobblers!

 

[toot]

Welcome.

 

[mmb617]

Hi, my name is Mike and I'm a flintlock addict.

This is how it started for me. I had a variety of modern guns that I enjoyed shooting often and I reloaded all my own ammo for them. When the great primer shortage hit I was concerned about being able to keep enough primers on hand even though I still had a good supply of both primers and loaded ammo. I'm sure I'm not the only shooter who gets nervous when their ammo supply falls to the last couple thousand rounds.

I'd never shot any black powder gun at that point, but thought it would be a good way to keep shooting if I couldn't get ammo for my modern guns. I quickly realized that percussion caps were just as scarce as primers so I bought a flintlock rifle.

Many here are familiar with the rest of the story. Now my modern guns pretty much gather dust while my growing collection of flintlocks take turns making range trips a couple times a week. And the thing is I'm not the least bit interested in kicking my addiction. I embrace it.

 

[Mwal]

Welcome to the rabbit hole. Once you fall in there is no way out lol. Got my first Flintlock in mid 80's a Hatfield in .50. I was hooked from the first shot. My current stable ha a .54 TVM and a Custom made .62 smooth rifle. I have not shot my caplocks in years. IT is a great way to spend time at the range. Even cleaning afterwards is a welcome ritual. I picked the TVM up at Track Of the wolf and the Custom on of the ALR forum so no waiting for a build.
I have been very happy with both rifles.
Mwal

 

[ebsails]

Hi, my name is Mike and I'm a flintlock addict.

This is how it started for me. I had a variety of modern guns that I enjoyed shooting often and I reloaded all my own ammo for them. When the great primer shortage hit I was concerned about being able to keep enough primers on hand even though I still had a good supply of both primers and loaded ammo. I'm sure I'm not the only shooter who gets nervous when their ammo supply falls to the last couple thousand rounds.

I'd never shot any black powder gun at that point, but thought it would be a good way to keep shooting if I couldn't get ammo for my modern guns. I quickly realized that percussion caps were just as scarce as primers so I bought a flintlock rifle.

Many here are familiar with the rest of the story. Now my modern guns pretty much gather dust while my growing collection of flintlocks take turns making range trips a couple times a week. And the thing is I'm not the least bit interested in kicking my addiction. I embrace it.

Hello Mike, We share a similar story. I haven't made the leap to flints yet, but I know it is on the horizon. About the only cartridge guns I've shot in the last eight months is a Henry 22 lever, a pair of 357 SAA, and my EDC revolver.

I am having a blast with every aspect of BP. Shooting, shopping, creating stuff, reading history, tinkering in my shop, and I'm not looking back.

Just wish I'd got started a long time ago.