MVTC Fowler first impressions

[weirdjack]

Thanks Weird Jack for all the input. For aging you mentioned the use of lemon oil for the steel parts. But what is the "fouling" that you use for the brass to age it?

You are most welcome. My intent was to provide some first-hand info on this gun, since there is not a lot out there.
Aging the steel: I used "LEMON JUICE"...basic old lemon juice in a bottle. I first wiped it down with a saturated rag and let the juice dry on the steel. Then went back over it with a damp juice rag to get all the dried juice off. Then wiped it dry and left it unoiled. The first two steps really grayed the steel nicely. It seems to be gaining in darkness and personality daily as I handle it. I still haven't oiled the exterior of the barrel. I was going to use browning solution, but the juice is doing a nice job so far.
Aging the brass: "Fouling"...what comes out of the barrel when you clean it! Burnt black powder. At the club while I am shooting, I wipe the pan and frizzen and apply that fouling to the brass bits. Plus my fingers get fouled and they touch the brass also. Then as I clean the bore after shooting, I take the dirty patch and wipe the brass with it. This turns brass darker, duller, and generally used looking. And it is a controlable process too.
For me...I don't want it to look gunsmith fresh, nor look 200 years old, I want it to look well-used but well-cared for.
Jack

 

[rickystl]

Jack: Once again THANKS. Rick.

 

[Vince N]

Jack,
Can you advise what the stock "drop at the heel and comb" is as I,also, require a stock with a drop that alows my head to be held "up." Thanks

 

[Rebel]

Nice to hear good report on it. I was thinking about one of them at one time, but didn't know if i would like that LONG barrel, and how it would handle. Thanks for the report.

 

[Rebel]

Jack, do you think that a bare .690 rd ball with wads over and under would work in it? Also, have you had a chance to try it with shot? Does a .16 ga wad work in it? Have you done any more shooting with it? What are your impressions now? Any info would be appreciated. Take care.

 

[Rebel]

You still out there Jack? Any more info on the Fowler?

 

[No Deer]

A friend of mine got one in October. We took it to the range to test it out. He had never fired a flintlock before and I was amazed at how well he did. We worked with the load some at 25 yards and got a decent load. Then moved to 50 yards(he was impatient ) . He was holding the shots within about 10 inches, a bit low. He loved it. He is totaly hooked. He still needs to experiment some more to get the best load, but for the first time out it was not bad. I took a couple of shots with it. My own gun has a very fast ignition time, and this doglock seemed very slow to me. I think the trigger pull is a bit stiff and the hammer throw time is slow. I had a hard time hitting paper with it :rotf: All in all, I would say it is a good gun, could probably use a little work to get it to personal preferences, but my friend is very please with it. We will get out soon and work on the load some more, and work up a shot load as we want to go bunny hunting with it.

 

[Okwaho]

The nice thing aboit lemon juice is that it will remove surface rust without affecting patina on either wood or metal. I carry it to reenactments for wiping down in the morning when I get up.I also used it with steel wool to remove rust from an old US model 1863 Springfield which included a frozen adjustable rear sight.It took a few days but the sight was like new when I finished.Black powder residue is great for aging brass and you can vary the number of applications depending on how much aging you want and where.As I said in a previous post it looks like a nice gun that will look better when you finish fiddling with it.
Tom Patton

 

[Rebel]

Thanks for the reply and info. How does that LONG barrel balance? I was wondering how much trouble it would be for turkey and deer hunting, to move that long barrel around.

 

[No Deer]

Thanks for the reply and info. How does that LONG barrel balance? I was wondering how much trouble it would be for turkey and deer hunting, to move that long barrel around.

It seemed veeerrrry long to me :rotf: Mine is 42 inches and that extra 9 inches felt like a couple feet! It balances ok, but would take some getting used to I think. It would probably swing well on a flushing bird, just get it started and the momentum would force you to swing thru the target. We have not tried it yet on birds or trap, but will before spring. I had more trouble with the trigger though, like I said, it was a heavier pull than mine, and the hammer throw seemed slower, but it is a much bigger lock than mine too, don't know how much that contributed.

 

[Rebel]

No Deer, do you think the hammer speed could be improved with some lock polishing? How about the trigger pull, think some polishing would help the pull, or is the trigger pinned to low? Do you think it would balance better and swing better, if it were 10"-15" shorter? I am contemplating one, but want it mainly for turkey and deer hunting, and don't know about that LONG barrel. I was thinking it might work with a bare .690 rd ball with a wad over and under it, and no patching. What you think? Was the vent on your friends drilled where it should be? Thanks for any info.

 

[No Deer]

I am afraid I don't know enough about locks to answer all your questions :redface: . I do however think that the trigger pull could probably be improved with some polishing. I don't know if my friend will have this done or not. It is his first muzzleloader and I think he will get used to it just fine. It just seemed heavy to me relative to the pull on my gun. Yes the vent was drilled, and appears to be in a good spot. He was shooting a patched round ball, I don't remember what size. I am sure that when better weather gets here we will get out and play with it some more and try a lot of different things. As far as balance, yes, probably a shorter barrel would balance better, but again, I think it is a matter of getting used to the gun. As far a carrying it in the woods, I think that if you are in a brushy area, the long barrel would pose a problem, but if semi spase wooded area, would not be a problem at all. So far it has only been shot at the range, when he has had opportunity to take it hunting I will have more info probably.

 

[Rebel]

Thank you for all the info. Hope to hear more after he has time to do some more shooting with it. Take care.

 

[musketman]

I do however think that the trigger pull could probably be improved with some polishing.

You can ckange the "feel" of the trigger pull by placing your finger lower on the trigger, this gives you added leverage and makes it pull easier...

It's a physics thing... :haha:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Slow hammer fall could be due to something rubbing on wood. Either the cock or the mainspring. Niehter of these would surprise me.
Your heavy trigger pull is probably due in part to the MASSIVE sear spring. It could probably be lightened up a bit. Take the lock out and snap it a few times and see how much force it takes to trip it. Then remove the sear spring and see how much force it takes to trip it. This will give you some idea of how much of a fight you're having with a heavy sear spring.
52' is just a pip squeek of a barrel, they don't start getting long until they're past 60". :winking:

 

[tg]

I am surprised at how light the gun is out of the box, I expected something 9-10 lbs.

 

[jstranah]

Here's a question I'd not thought of until now, when I went to the MTV site and looked at the thing again: How exactly does a doglock *work*? Is it simply an external halfcock? Or do you need to engage or disengage the dog with your thumb at any point, like the safety on a old Mauser?

 

[No Deer]

Here's a question I'd not thought of until now, when I went to the MTV site and looked at the thing again: How exactly does a doglock *work*? Is it simply an external halfcock? Or do you need to engage or disengage the dog with your thumb at any point, like the safety on a old Mauser?

Yes, it is an external halfcock. You have to engage it manually when you pull the hammer to halfcock, but when you pull to full cock, it drops out of the way. I found it a bit awkward, but then, I was not used to using it. Someone on one of these posts said that they had gotten used to it to the point that they could pull the hammer and set the dog all with one hand. The few times I have shot my friends, it took two hands.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Here's a question I'd not thought of until now, when I went to the MTV site and looked at the thing again: How exactly does a doglock *work*? Is it simply an external halfcock? Or do you need to engage or disengage the dog with your thumb at any point, like the safety on a old Mauser?

Yes, it is an external halfcock. You have to engage it manually when you pull the hammer to halfcock, but when you pull to full cock, it drops out of the way. I found it a bit awkward, but then, I was not used to using it. Someone on one of these posts said that they had gotten used to it to the point that they could pull the hammer and set the dog all with one hand. The few times I have shot my friends, it took two hands.

Actually the dog should be free wheeling enough to engage by it's self at half cock when you have the muzzle pointed down. At least the ones I played with worked that way.

 

[Rebel]

How do you leave the muzzle pointed down without jamming it into the dirt with a gun that is as tall as you are? :grin: