Maxi has rock lock questions.

Inquiring minds and all that. ::
As I've said some of you reprobates have ruined me by talking so much about period correct rifles, and FLINT! no less, have gotten me hoplelessly hooked on the things. Not only flint, but you have to shoot those funny looking globes of leaded wrapped in an old t-shirt, not proper bullets!
Now I have 4 flinters, one a Lyman G.P. in .54 the other three period correct that I got from Master Keith Lisle who goes by the alias of birddog6 in an effort to hide his true identity as a master at the trade. :applause:
In any event there is a purpose to this diatribe.
I don't know all that much about guns that you load with stones to make them shoot.
Here's the questions for you more seasoned veterans, or anyone else that want's to venture an opinion.
I've read that if you turn a loaded and charged flinter upside down, pull the trigger and it fires the lock is pronounced "good".
Why is this?
Why would anyone shoot one upside down in the 1st place?
Will a well made, properly charged flinter fire nearly as fast as a capper?
My Bedford style .45 seems to fire as well as any of my cap locks. It's also more accurate than ANY of my cappers.
I have yet to shoot the Lilse built Jeager .58 and Bucks .40 but I plan on getting that done as soon as I get some decent weather and time off work.
("WORK" the most dreaded 4 letter word in the English language) :curse:
I've also read that a really good charged flinter can be submerged under water briefly and not wet the prime charge. True? And NO I won't put my flinters in the creek to try this!
Also, when hunting, should one occasionally dump the pan charge and reprime to ensure the thing will go BOOOOM when bambi appears?
I've read that one should carry the thing with a tooth pick in the vent hole to keep it open but it seems like that's inviting trouble if the toothpick breaks off in the vent you now have a club! :haha:
Well these questions orta keep ya busy!
Thank you,
flinter novice

 

[PowderFlask2]

Maxi

My two cents

I have seen some guys shoot their rifles upside down in novelty shoots but do not personally look on it as a big deal, any good lock can do it.

A good lock that is tuned by a good smith who knows what he is doing fires so fast that I can't tell the difference between it and a caplock (touch hole is another area of concern)also my personal belief is that some caplocks that have a right angle in the flame channel (such as converted flint guns) could be slower.

Try to find a feather that has a slightly larger diameter than your touchhole and use that to plug the vent hole instead of the toothpick. the hollow feather will compress when shoved in to the smaller hole and is tough enough that it will not break off. then cut the feather end off of it so it doesn't get caught on brush and you lose it

 

[musketman]

I think when its fired up-side down, its to show the lock speed... (to fire the gun before the prime powder has a chance to dispurse)

Powder explodes in all directions at once, so even up-side down, the priming charge will still blow upwards and into the vent hole as well...

If the priming charge is compressed a bit (over filled) by the frizzen, the compacted powder will stick (briefly) to the inverted pan once the frizzen is moved...

A good frizzen/pan combo will keep the priming powder dry, as well as a bead of wax along the seam...

During a hunt, I reprime often, just to be sure...

Sometimes, a frizzen will be moved forewards a tad, by a branch or your coat sleeve, or just by good ol' fashion huntin' grimlins... This is why I check it often...

 

Good advice - all.
: Re-priming often is a good idea when hunting, especially in the fall with the normal damp weather & especiall if the rifle has been fired. The pan should be wiped clean with a dry piece of cottom before re-priming as the fouling will attract moisture like a sponge. At least, checking should be done to see if you're losing your priming from bumping the pan or from brush when roaming. I don't know why they call that stillhunting. Perhaps because you're still every couple steps??
: Submerging in water then firing is indeed a good test of a waterproof lock - or any lock for that matter. I've seen that done once, with a pistol. He submerged it for aobut 30 seconds. Doesn't sound like much- try it! I won't. A bit of bullet lube around the pan will help when hunting in damp weather.
: I got submerged about 6' in the snow, thorugh a willow bush once with a Bess in my right hand. When I got out, there was a lump of smow about 8" in dia around the lock area. Brushing it off as well as I could, then trying to fire the piece resulted in "KLATCH". The flint merely wiped the snow off the frizzen and dumped it into the pan. I'd neglected to wipe the frizzen off. Oh well. Blowing it out, wiping and re-priming as it was good as new. Head shooting snowshoe rabbits with a smooth bore and .715 balls is great fun. Kills 'em ded. Much like hitting them with a terrific swing with a baseball bat.
Daryl

 

[TwoShadows]

Muskeetman sez..."Powder explodes in all directions at once, so even up-side down, the priming charge will still blow upwards and into the vent hole as well..."

Blak powdur iz maid thet way on purrpuse so's peoples in uther lands kin use hit tew. Em Chynee peoples iz upsidedownards frum us alla time. Er after all, they iz tha wuns who thunk hit up inna furst place,so's mebbe we iz da wuns what iz shutin hit upsidedownards

 

Another thing to watch out for are gun accidents. I was cleaning my fusil the other night and had the lock off to clean the crud off and slipped and cut the (insert dirty word here) out of my hand. Remember, flints are always loaded and will be glad to carve you up.

 

[musketman]

I was cleaning my fusil the other night and had the lock off to clean the crud off and slipped and cut the (insert dirty word here) out of my hand.

Since the dawn of time, when that first stone-age man knapped a rock, flints have been cutting flesh...

Your musket's flint was just carring out a long and glorious tradition, at your hand's expence...