My First Flintlock

[Brian the Brit]

Not being able to afford a Baker rifle (real or repro), last night I took the plunge and bought a much cheaper, original English flintlock pistol with the intention of bringing it back into use after more than 150 years in storage.

The pistol was made made by George and Charles Barwick of Norwich who were in business from 1797 to 1804 so it can confidently be dated to 'circa 1800'. The condition is pretty good but not so fine that I would hesitate to shoot and clean it.

The picture above shows the lock plate just below the rear of which can be see a semi-circular area of missing wood just where the sear sits. The wood seems to have been carved out deliberately possibly to stop the sear binding on the wood? (The sear itself shows signs of having been worked on too at some time).

This final shot shows the top of the pistol with the rear sight and original proof marks.

I've had the frizzen re surfaced with a thin piece of hardened steel that is soldered on (I've seen examples of this on other original flintlocks and didn't want to risk breaking the frizzen in an attempt to case harden it again.) It now sparks very well but I haven't yet had an opportunity to load and fire it.

The barrel is 9" long, hook breech, smoothbored with some light internal pitting (not serious). The pistol is, I think, nominally a '20 bore' with a bore diameter of 0.593" for most of its length tapering very slightly to 0.596 at the muzzle (this does not seem to be due to wear - cone tapering to facilitate loading, I wonder?)

The barrel is slightly swamped and the pistol is beautifully balanced. It feels like an extension of the arm when pointed - much nicer than the Italian reproductions that I have handled. The ramrod appears to be original and has a worm at the tip for withdrawing an unfired charge.

I'm sure that some gun dealers would try to pass this pistol off as a 'dueller' because of the sights but I'm more inclined to think of it as an 'officer's pistol' of the Napoleonic War period but I'm open to persuasion. What do the experts think?

Also, I'd appreciate advice on:

1: What size ball to use?
2: Thickness of patch material?
3: Starting charge of black powder?

I can't wait for that first shot with this antique pistol and if it doesn't blow up on me (gulp!), I'll post a range report asap.

Brian

 

[torn moc]

A very nice original indeed....
~ ~ ~ Drool ~ ~ ~
actually from what I have read...the existance of sights would exclude this from the
dueller class... but then again the sights could have been added later.
That is about the extent of my knowledge..the
Experts will lead you from here...
..In my humble opinion it is a Fine example of a period Flintlock....I would probably have to sell all my muzzleloaders in order to purchase one like it......~ ~ ~ DROOL ~ ~ ~

 

[RickD]

Wish I had your luck

 

[Zonie]

Beautiful old gun! :thumbsup:

I believe a .570 diameter ball with a .015 thick cotton patching would work great in your pistol.

This combination would give a compression of .593-.570-.015-.015=-.007 or about .0035 per side.
That should be tight enough to seal the bore and to keep the ball from inadvertently moving off of the powder load but still be fairly easy to ram down the bore.
If it proves to be too loose you could always go to a slightly heavier .018 thick cotton patch (similar to the "pillow ticking" we use all of the time.)

As luck would have it, the .570 diameter lead ball is just exactly what many people (including me) use in their .58 cal rifled muskets and they are produced by Speer and Hornady for a very reasonable price.

As this is an original gun I would keep the powder loads on the light side, say 25-35 grains of FFFg powder. I would also use this 3Fg powder to prime the pan.

 

[HMSLion]

I think you've got an officer's pistol for two reasons - the caliber and the lack of a set trigger. British flint duellers tended to run .55 caliber, and normally had set triggers. Still, it looks like a good gun.

Shooters in the MLAIC Cominazzo match tend toward 30-35 grain loads. But if you're shooting a .570 round ball, you may need to cut that to ~25 grains to keep recoil manageable. Swiss #2 or #3. Patch to fit the bore. Prime with Swiss Null B.

Are you going to shoot it competitively? It'll do for Cominazzo...and there aren't too many originals left on the line.

 

[torn moc]

Not too many originals left online...I agree!
They are all in England and the Brits know a great deal when they see it !!!

 

[Brian the Brit]

Gentlemen,

Many thanks for the kind words and valuable advice. 'Officer's pistol' it is.

I have ordered a Lee .575" round ball mould and, when my eBay sourced isopropyl alcohol arrives (difficult to buy over the counter in the UK) I will make up a batch of Stumpy's Moose Juice as a patch lube.

Although it is legal for me to purchase a genuine antique firearm without a permit, UK law requires that if I want to shoot it then I must register it with the police on my Firearms Certificate and then keep it in a secure gun safe when not in use. Bizarre, I know, but those are the hoops we Brits have to jump through if we want to be able to shoot.

I shall start out with a gentle load of around 20 grains and gradually work up. Cominazzo shooting? Well, it's a nice idea but British barn doors are much too small for me to hit with confidence at 25 yards. I'm a lousy pistol shot. Still, I can dream. :wink:

Brian

 

[CG6018]

Brian, best of luck with your great looking pistol, and I certainly agree with light loads to start. Better to be safe than sorry. :thumbsup:

 

[50cal.cliff]

Best of luck with that ole gal, she is a beaut!

 

[Toomuch_36]

Great find, looks to be in quite good condition and should shoot well.

The small knotch carved out just below the cock in your third picture was done deliberately when made to allow for tumbler clearance when removing the lock to clean.

Toomuch
............
Shoot Flint

 

[Mecharius]

is that grip carved into the wood, or is it added on?

Thats an epic find

 

[Brian the Brit]

It's hand chequered.

This picture probably shows it better as the sun (are rare sight in the UK this summer) came out just at the right time. I had removed the barrel to see how easily it will strip for cleaning.:

Here's a close up of the hook breech and rear sight. As you can see, the sight has been moved to the right in the dovetail. It will be interesting to see if it needs any adjustment.

Here's a view of the 'business end'

And here's the underside.

 

[thewho66]

By the looks of it it is a recoversion, the flash hole looks as though its in a liner. Since it is not centered in the center Im under the impression that it use to be percusion lock at on time. It still looks really nice though you brits have the best looking and cared for guns I have seen for sale here.

 

[Brian the Brit]

I can assure you that it is all original and most definitely not a reconversion.

The flash hole is a simple drilling into the breech and the inside of the breech plug has a tapered channel from the touch hole to direct the flash into the main charge.

 

[arquebus]

Looks like a great pistol, Brian, I believe I may be a touch jealous! I can see were the poster a couple of entries above may have gotten the impression the touch hole was in a liner. In the photo with the barrel removed from the stock there appears to be a circle around the touch hole (not centered), but on the close-up you can definately see there is no liner. I'm very anxious to hear how you do shooting it! Please keep us informed.
I have one of the Pedersoli Mortimer flint smoothbore pistols (saw-handle grip) that I enjoy shooting, but would love to get hold of a shootable original.

 

[Brian the Brit]

Thewho66, Arquebus,

I can see where the confusion lies. I've tried to get a good close-up:

which I hope shows that the suspicious marks around the touchhole are in fact corrosion (or should one say 'patina' when discussing an antique :wink: )

They line up with the inner edges of the pan and frizzen.

I now have the piece listed on my Firearms Certificate so it is legal to shoot. All I need now is my bullet mould that is currently en-route from the States. I really should have paid extra for airmail. I'm itching to take her to the range.

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Great looking pistol. It is interesting that it has the holes under the lock plate. That is only the second firearm that I have seen that has some extra woodworking done. I have an old 1873 Trapdoor Springfield that was carried in the Spanish-American War, and had gone to Cuba according to the information I was given. That rifle has a drain hole carved alongside the trigger plate, below the lock. I was told the reason for the hole was to drain the water because the soldiers were going through swamps a lot. I thought your holes are interesting. :thumbsup: