I've Contracted The Disease!

[Flint62Smoothie]

There is NO going back ... you just picked up the 1st for what I envision will be MANY flintlocks! I’d say you are doomed ... but you are in great company here with many other like-minded folks !

 

[Eutycus]

You almost ruined my blood pressure reading. I was taking my daily reading as I was reading your post above. I came to the part of you're drilling and tapping the barrel for a red dot sight. Gasp! Luckily you put that Haha in there and said you were kidding.I still had to wait several minutes to resume " normalcy".

 

[Rodd Boyer]

I'm one of the many who got the GPR as my first flintlock, too..... I found a used one for $300.. I couldn't pass that up!!!! It has won me first place more than once! I now have 2 flint GPRs in .54 and a .36 flintlock squirrel rifle!!!!! Yes, they DO multiply! !!!!

Welcome and enjoy the journey!

Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,

Rodd

 

[Cruzatte]

Hi. My name is Cruzatte. And I'm a blackpowder-holic. Six, I'm here to tell you, this ain't no 12 step program. This here bunch is a bunch of enablers, for sure and certain. The crack we're all into is the crack from a muzzle loading long arm, and that distinctive, sulfurous aroma. Welcome to the mad house, buddy. Oh yeah....it was Foxfire 5 that got me into muzzle loading, too.

 

[Eutycus]

You mentioned that aroma of burnt powder. I love the scent that gun oils and solvents give off.Thats where my wife draws the line, she thinks it stinks. That and she controls the spending in our house. In other words no new "toys"for me too often, its not in the budget!

 

[Tom Compton]

I believe I’m correct that it was humorist Patrick F. McManus writing in an article in Outdoor Life or Field and Stream who coined the phrase “a fine and pleasant misery “. Iirc he was speaking of canoeing but I feel it at times appropriate for shooting MLs. I started in ‘73 w a TC flintlock and still prefer a flint longrifle but last year added a NWTG so more fun!

 

[Rodd Boyer]

I believe I’m correct that it was humorist Patrick F. McManus writing in an article in Outdoor Life or Field and Stream who coined the phrase “a fine and pleasant misery “. Iirc he was speaking of canoeing but I feel it at times appropriate for shooting MLs. I started in ‘73 w a TC flintlock and still prefer a flint longrifle but last year added a NWTG so more fun!

Yep, Patrick McManus with "the last laugh" in Outdoor Life. I bought several of his books back in the day.... it makes PERFECT sense to couple it with ML!!!!!

 

[AZbpBurner]

My name is Steve and I wanted to drop an introduction post to say hello to everyone and to invite any sagely advice you all might have to offer me.

My first real taste of the muzzleloader world was when I was a kid. My family spent all of our summers in northern Michigan around Mackinaw City. Once when we were at Fort Michilimackinac I witnessed The Voyagers paddle in from their long journey up the Lake Huron shoreline. There were teepees everywhere with trade blankets laid out, cast iron ware over open fires, big mountain man looking guys throwing tomahawks and knives at thick wooden targets and an awesome sense of freedom and a life close to nature and God. I think that was the original bite, but here I am 35 years or so later and I have still never shot a muzzleloader.

I have hunted with rifle, shotgun, pistol and bow for most of my life but it wasn't until recently that a series of events brought me to start feeling this passion for muzzleloaders. I bought my cousin's 2 boys a couple of Foxfire books for Christmas and one of them was Foxfire 5, on "Iron-making, Blacksmithing, Gunmaking and Bear Hunting". I flipped through the section on gunmaking before I wrapped the book up and I was intrigued. I ordered myself a copy and read that section completely. Reading about Bean, Hacker Martin, Hershel House and the others in that book started getting me real amped up about getting a muzzleloader. I work at a machine shop and there are a couple of guys there who are into the muzzleloader world and they have contributed greatly towards encouraging my new-found interest in muzzleloaders.

I bought a Lyman GPR, 54 cal Flintlock kit and just got it a couple of days ago. I've been watching the "Duelist's" video series on building the same kit (although in caplock) and I was planning to just follow his instructions and take my time and try to build something as nice as what he made. But since I got this kit I am finding myself really wanting to take a BIG step back and learn as much as I can about Hawken/Plains rifles before I start taking wood off of this stock. I've been sitting here holding the stock the last couple of days and I feel like it is almost speaking to me. I know there is something really beautiful in this piece of wood but I feel like I don't quite have the knowledge yet to bring it out. So I am ordering a DVD by Hershel House on Building Hawken Rifles and I'm looking at a book or two as well. As much as I want to dive right into this project and get something I can shoot asap (keep in mind I still have never ever fired a muzzleloader!) I really want to get a good idea of how I want the completed rifle to look before I start rasping away.

I'm really excited to have found this new interest. I'm a lifelong lover of all things firearms and I feel like I just stumbled into the purest form of firearm that exists. I know I have so much to learn, I'm hoping to glean some good information from some of you seasoned veterans to help me along the way. I have lived out in Arizona for 12 years and spent a great deal of time in the mountains there and I know what it is like to see bear, have a cougar walk through my camp at night while I slept, hunt elk and hear elk bugling within 100 yards of my camp at night and just experiencing the overall wildness of the mountains. I absolutely love the mountains and the American West and this Great Plains Rifle sparks all those memories I have of that stuff and of that rendezvous I saw when I was a kid. Also, I've always love "Jeremiah Johnson" and "The Mountain Men" and movies like that. I moved back to Michigan for family reasons rather than moving to Montana as I had planned, but now I have an awesome 8 year old daughter here and I am probably stuck in Michigan for quite a while. But I feel like Michigan is a great state for muzzleloading and I'm going to look for a local group to join once I get something put together that I can shoot.

Sorry this is so long, I'm just really excited to be becoming a part of all of this and I'm very happy to be here on this forum. In the Foxfire 5 book one of the old time Appalacian gunmakers was quoted as saying "this is not a hobby, this is a disease!" and now I am beginning to start to understand what he meant by that. And it feels like I haven't even seen the tip of the iceburg yet!

Thanks for any thoughts you all might want to share, God bless you and have a great week. Steve

No matter what some folks say about the Duelist, his rifle building series is an excellent resource. While I was in High School in the late 60's, my Dad began building a .40 cal. caplock rifle. It took a couple of years of weekend & evening work, but is quite a showpiece. He left it to me before his passing and it is my most valued family possession.
Dad also brought home a Replica Arms 1861 revolver & it was my job to clean it after return from the range. It built my foundation of black powder shooting knowledge. Often at the range I had opportunity to shoot some of an old gent's collection of original flintlocks - it was later a disappointment that Dad built a caplock, but he didn't want a flinter.

Along the years, I had plenty of opportunity to shoot friends' flinters, just enough that I knew I needed my own. I already had several .50 & .54 cap rifles. I found a lefthanded flint Lyman GPR. It was .50 cal, but I bought it anyway. Today, the caplocks sit largely idle, and a couple of flintlocks get all the range time.

You have a daughter interested in shooting? On holiday weekends, my range is open to members & they bring their kids. The teenage girls always look bored as Daddy shoots his tacticool gat. They watch with interest as I load & fire a flintlock (sometimes a .60 cal flint musket) and when invited to try it, they never refuse. One in particular spent much of the afternoon shooting my .54 Lyman Deerstalker 'Grapefruit Slayer', learning how to safely load & fire in mere moments. She had a big smile & told me her birthday was coming soon & she knows what she wants . Daddy came over & I gave him several websites to look at to buy flintlocks. He was initially annoyed that she wasn't interested in his spendy semi auto, and said I could have her, but she eats like a horse. After firing the flinter he rescinded his offer for the giveaway & said he may need to buy 2 rifles.

Your GPR? You've chosen well. .54 cal is simple and forgiving to work up an accurate load and retains plenty of energy to 100 yards and beyond.

My family are all from Michigan & I've been over the bridge & spent a lot of time on the island, too.

Once she shoots a flintlock, you WILL have to get her her own. But why wait? Lyman Deerstalkers are available, as well as rifles here in the For Sale Forum.

 

[Eutycus]

Y''all keep singing the praises of a flintlock and I just may have to get me one too.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Best you jump on it now and start looking for something flint to shoot. The longer you wait, the harder you'll kick yourself for not having one.
Here's one in the For Sale Forum - .54 cal, too:
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/nos-investarms-hawken.113434/

 

[azsixshooter]

I was thinking about buying a completed Great Plains Pistol to go with my rifle just so I would have something muzzleloader to go out and shoot while I am patiently building this rifle. But the more I thought about it the more I think I'll like this so much I'll want to build the pistol from a kit and make it match the rifle! I'm already looking at something like a .36 caliber Kibler mountain rifle kit to build for my daughter to shoot.

Last night while I was working on sanding my trigger guard at work I went off to the maintenance cage to hunt for a coarser grit of sandpaper to get some deep file marks out. I was rifling through and ancient work bench and when I opened one of the drawers I saw a huge drawer filled with old lead hammers! It was like they were shining like a leprauchaun's pot of gold! Today I asked the manager if I could have them and said leave a couple and the rest are mine. My buddy at work recently inheireted his father's lead melting pot, Lyman ingot molds and .54 cal round ball mold so I gave him the hammers. The whole take probably weighed close to 45 lbs but the handles are steel so I'm thinking 30 - 35 lbs of lead. Pretty good score, I know he will have a blast making some ingots and balls with it. Some day I think I'll invest in the gear and start casting balls. I shoot .357 and .41 Mag too and I have always wanted to get into making some Keith style bullets for my revolvers.

Time to get back to sanding. Have a good one!

 

[Eutycus]

Good deal, I 've heard of lead from many sources, but hammers? Just out of curiosity what were the lead hammers used for ,in your shop I mean?

 

[Nessmuck56]

Welcome to the Club... been shooting black powder since 1980.... it comes and goes ....but Nevah leaves. I’ve found it goes like this...1st is cap lock...then Flintlock...and the best is Last...The Smoothbore Flintah !

 

[Eutycus]

I'm assuming you can learn the basics of muzzleloading and blackpowder from a percussion model. Then graduate to flintlocks? Is flintlock shooting that much differant from percussion?

 

[Kansas Jake]

Eutycus, years ago I worked in a factory and we used lead headed hammers to tap metal into place for welding and for other uses in the tool room. I had forgotten about them until azsixshooter mentioned them. I too way back then ended up with a couple that were melted down into round balls. They had a lead head with a metal handle.

 

[Nessmuck56]

I'm assuming you can learn the basics of muzzleloading and blackpowder from a percussion model. Then graduate to flintlocks? Is flintlock shooting that much differant from percussion?

It’s like everything else....it’s a progression. Just like fishing...start off with a Zebco202....then a spinning rod....and the end ..is the Fly Rod ! Shaving too....plastic throw always...then a vintage DE....then you end up with 35 Straight Razors from the 1840’s -1930’s....lol. The Flinter is just a joy to shoot..You get to aim twice.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Lead hammers were the original form of the dead head hammers. Very useful when you didn't want a steel hammer to put dents in your metal tool projects.

 

[Bad Karma]

My name is Steve and I wanted to drop an introduction post to say hello to everyone and to invite any sagely advice you all might have to offer me.

My first real taste of the muzzleloader world was when I was a kid. My family spent all of our summers in northern Michigan around Mackinaw City. Once when we were at Fort Michilimackinac I witnessed The Voyagers paddle in from their long journey up the Lake Huron shoreline. There were teepees everywhere with trade blankets laid out, cast iron ware over open fires, big mountain man looking guys throwing tomahawks and knives at thick wooden targets and an awesome sense of freedom and a life close to nature and God. I think that was the original bite, but here I am 35 years or so later and I have still never shot a muzzleloader.

I have hunted with rifle, shotgun, pistol and bow for most of my life but it wasn't until recently that a series of events brought me to start feeling this passion for muzzleloaders. I bought my cousin's 2 boys a couple of Foxfire books for Christmas and one of them was Foxfire 5, on "Iron-making, Blacksmithing, Gunmaking and Bear Hunting". I flipped through the section on gunmaking before I wrapped the book up and I was intrigued. I ordered myself a copy and read that section completely. Reading about Bean, Hacker Martin, Hershel House and the others in that book started getting me real amped up about getting a muzzleloader. I work at a machine shop and there are a couple of guys there who are into the muzzleloader world and they have contributed greatly towards encouraging my new-found interest in muzzleloaders.

I bought a Lyman GPR, 54 cal Flintlock kit and just got it a couple of days ago. I've been watching the "Duelist's" video series on building the same kit (although in caplock) and I was planning to just follow his instructions and take my time and try to build something as nice as what he made. But since I got this kit I am finding myself really wanting to take a BIG step back and learn as much as I can about Hawken/Plains rifles before I start taking wood off of this stock. I've been sitting here holding the stock the last couple of days and I feel like it is almost speaking to me. I know there is something really beautiful in this piece of wood but I feel like I don't quite have the knowledge yet to bring it out. So I am ordering a DVD by Hershel House on Building Hawken Rifles and I'm looking at a book or two as well. As much as I want to dive right into this project and get something I can shoot asap (keep in mind I still have never ever fired a muzzleloader!) I really want to get a good idea of how I want the completed rifle to look before I start rasping away.

I'm really excited to have found this new interest. I'm a lifelong lover of all things firearms and I feel like I just stumbled into the purest form of firearm that exists. I know I have so much to learn, I'm hoping to glean some good information from some of you seasoned veterans to help me along the way. I have lived out in Arizona for 12 years and spent a great deal of time in the mountains there and I know what it is like to see bear, have a cougar walk through my camp at night while I slept, hunt elk and hear elk bugling within 100 yards of my camp at night and just experiencing the overall wildness of the mountains. I absolutely love the mountains and the American West and this Great Plains Rifle sparks all those memories I have of that stuff and of that rendezvous I saw when I was a kid. Also, I've always love "Jeremiah Johnson" and "The Mountain Men" and movies like that. I moved back to Michigan for family reasons rather than moving to Montana as I had planned, but now I have an awesome 8 year old daughter here and I am probably stuck in Michigan for quite a while. But I feel like Michigan is a great state for muzzleloading and I'm going to look for a local group to join once I get something put together that I can shoot.

Sorry this is so long, I'm just really excited to be becoming a part of all of this and I'm very happy to be here on this forum. In the Foxfire 5 book one of the old time Appalacian gunmakers was quoted as saying "this is not a hobby, this is a disease!" and now I am beginning to start to understand what he meant by that. And it feels like I haven't even seen the tip of the iceburg yet!

Thanks for any thoughts you all might want to share, God bless you and have a great week. Steve

Welcome! And I’ve got to say, yours is one of the most articulate first posts on the subject of “why we do what we do”. There’s a wealth of knowledge and information here and for someone like yourself who’s really jumping in with both feet that’s going to be incredibly valuable.
Speaking of jumping in, I’ve never done so, I’ve been shooting black powder since I was 13 years old and I’ve never built so much as a kit gun. Oh, I’ve gunsmithed some of the guns I’ve owned. Improvement being the goal and sometimes even the result. I’m in awe of those with the talent and patience to create these works of art. It will be interesting to follow along on your journey.

 

[Nessmuck56]

This is the top level stuff...

 

[Rodd Boyer]

I've gotten the flinter bug bad.... started off with a .50 cal TC Renegade percussion 20 years ago, picked up a .45 percussion traditions kit..... THEN started noticing how stylish the flintlocks looked, picked up a .54 GPR flint, quickly picked up a 2nd .54 GPR Flint and got a.36 cal flint for Christmas! !!!! Wish I'd started with flinters 20 years ago!!!!!! To each their own!