Looking for a Flintlock Rifle

[SharpsburgEnfield]

As of right now I only have one muzzleloader that being my Parker Hale .577 Two band. I love it but I dont want to take it into the deer woods. I would like to get a nice flintlock long rifle like what used to be the norm in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. A local gun and pawn shop across the border in Virginia has a Dixie Tennesee Mtn Rifle it has a very lare toe repair and the repair is very visible and the buttplate does not sit flush. Looks almost like the rifle on GB but that rifle has a smaller repair area. The shop is asking $600 for it and they will through in a box of Speer .490 roundballs and a bag of .010" patches so 100 balls and patches. I have 2f and 3f powder as of now. My question is should I jump at this or wait for a contemporary build to show up. Also what calibers are good to use for deer ? I hunt in Maryland, the woods on our property are dense but our property is also a lot of rolling hills. The state minimum is .40 cal. I personally like a rifle with as little ornamentation as possible, less brass the better. That is why I am drawn to these DGW Tenn Mtn rifles. If anyone knows of a better rifle and caliber please feel free to share. I would like to get a flintlock rifle and maybe later a smoothbore.

 

[SmoothboreMurph]

$600 is high for a DGW rifle, the locks are unpredictable. Most times they need to either be tuned or replaced with an L&R. They are also very muzzle heavy. My father built his kit DGW Tenn Mtn. Back in 1986 when he was 14 and he loved it. He turned 50 and he cant keep the muzzle up anymore. The toe repair if its like the one on GB is a poor repair. The rifle would need to be sanded down and re finished then the toe plate and butt plate will have to be reworked to fit. Save up some more cash and wait for a Kibler. I reccommend keeping an eye out for the next rifle PathfinderNC finishes. He does great work. As for the balls and patches Speer balls are cheap very cheap. I have literal hundreds of them and they only cost around $10 a box so that really only give you $15 value for a $600 purchase. As for calibers I reccommend going with something .50 and above due to your rolling hills where one day you'll make some long shots. .40 and .45 are good for 75yard and under shots with good placement. Also if you hate brass look into getting a Southern style rifle or a trade rifle. Southern Mountain and Poor Boy rifles typically lack brass an are usually in .40 and .45 caliber some are in .50 which is what I think would best suit you. I advise against the DGW rifle all the same.

 

[th1840]

$600 is high for a DGW rifle, the locks are unpredictable. Most times they need to either be tuned or replaced with an L&R. They are also very muzzle heavy. My father built his kit DGW Tenn Mtn. Back in 1986 when he was 14 and he loved it. He turned 50 and he cant keep the muzzle up anymore. The toe repair if its like the one on GB is a poor repair. The rifle would need to be sanded down and re finished then the toe plate and butt plate will have to be reworked to fit. Save up some more cash and wait for a Kibler. I reccommend keeping an eye out for the next rifle PathfinderNC finishes. He does great work. As for the balls and patches Speer balls are cheap very cheap. I have literal hundreds of them and they only cost around $10 a box so that really only give you $15 value for a $600 purchase. As for calibers I reccommend going with something .50 and above due to your rolling hills where one day you'll make some long shots. .40 and .45 are good for 75yard and under shots with good placement. Also if you hate brass look into getting a Southern style rifle or a trade rifle. Southern Mountain and Poor Boy rifles typically lack brass an are usually in .40 and .45 caliber some are in .50 which is what I think would best suit you. I advise against the DGW rifle all the same.

I agree to high a price Kibler has some ready ship right that can't be beat for quality best components on the market

 

[Kansas Jake]

Another opinion the $600 for a poorly repaired is way high. $300-$400 range is closer to what I might pay if everything else is excellent and I liked the gun a lot.

 

[R Ellis]

I agree $600 in that condition is to much but they are good rifles I have one and don't have any problems with ignition if I do my part to keep a sharp flint

 

[Nuthatch]

Make sure to factor in the time you’ll need to figure out how to load & shoot it. The cheaper the rifle, the more time you’ll need. Flintlocks are just a different animal. After about 8-9 months, I think I’m just starting to get some traction. Busted some clays with my trade gun yesterday but still only had about 50% ignite the main charge. Lots of pan flashes.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Nuthatch, if you are getting pan flashes, then there is something (fouling) blocking the flash channel. Most likely there is fouling build up in the breech that is blocking the touch hole. Scrape that fouling off the breech face or out of the touch hole. You need a vent pick. You need to be sure that path from the pan to the main charge is clear. Lots of threads on the forum on this topic.

 

[nchawkeye]

Wait, we see some nice, hand made, custom guns come up on this site from time to time...Plan to pay a grand or 2, go for a .50, .54 or .58 caliber...Any of these with 75-85 grs of FFF will do well on deer...Cheap rifles, have cheap flintlocks on them, they are not worth owning...

 

[Nuthatch]

@Nuthatch, if you are getting pan flashes, then there is something (fouling) blocking the flash channel. Most likely there is fouling build up in the breech that is blocking the touch hole. Scrape that fouling off the breech face or out of the touch hole. You need a vent pick. You need to be sure that path from the pan to the main charge is clear. Lots of threads on the forum on this topic.

Yep. I was busting clays after doing some range work with roundball. So pretty fouled up. The diagnosis was easy — blocked vent. It’s the “what now” that takes some head scratching. I was mostly focused on my boys at that point so didn’t think too hard before picking, repriming & trying again.

 

[Trapper Scott]

You can find decent deals on a contemporary rifle if you are willing to wait and keep checking the for sale section. I saw a beautiful rifle a feller made that was priced at $800 and it was nabbed up pretty quickly. The gun will be resold for much more.

 

[Jason holgate]

I'd wait you have a specific calibre or model your after???

 

[Don Steele]

I wouldn't touch that DGW rifle at any price, and that's coming from someone with a bit of experience shooting flintlocks. For a total newbie....it's a pathway to frustration that leads to eventually dropping the whole idea then telling folks "flintlocks are unreliable", "flintlocks aren't accurate", etc. etc.
Production flintlock rifles from Lyman and Thompson Center are examples of reasonably priced rifles that have decent reputations. Both are no longer in production but do show up from time to time for sale. Shooting a flintlock requires mastering a few new skills and acquiring some new knowledge. Trying to do that with inferior/ unreliable equipment is a poor choice and rarely ends well.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

If the rifle you speak of has a cherry stock with the barrel made in Japan try to knock a few dollars off for the repair you'll need to do the stock and buy it. They are excellent rifles and if in excellent condition bring good money from those who know what they are.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I suspect that since the thread was started in Oct. of 22 that the thread is now irrelevant.

 

[Jason holgate]

Yeah I'd guess

 

[Sun City]

Got several! $1400.00 and you pay the freight!