Need help finding a hunting flintlock setup

[EthanRubin_123]

You must be a home school'er or Christian school'er from how well you articulate your thoughts in print! I think you will be much happier if you go the traditional flint gun route than the modern inlines . We will be able to help you here then.

Thank you but ironically I go to public school! Right now I’m trying to get a used tc firestorm for a good deal. I think I’m gonna use Geox 3f powder for the charge and Geox 4f for the pan. I’m thinking of using hornady 385 grain great plain conicals or just conicals of some sort. It has a 1:48 twist so if I want to experiment with prb I can.

 

[Yewbender]

Welcome young buck, hands down you have been given tons of great info to help you out...after all thats what the good folks on this site do! Now don’t rush into gota hunt with it this late season. After you get the gun and all the other things you need you have to, find what load combo shoots the best then sight gun in. Then you need to shoot,shoot,shoot to get use to the gun and make sure your shooting is accurate. There is a learning curve to flinters unlike a modern gun. Also you need to find your comfort distance...50yrds and under, 40 yrds and under...you need to be accurate so yardage will limit you starting off. Don’t think your going to be shooting up to 100 yards...you owe it to the deer and yourself so i say keep it under 50.

Now i see you have a chance at a T/C fire storm, they are good flinters as i have one in SS as my starter flinter over 18 yrs ago. I never killed a deer with it as i only used it couple times a year in the later season...more of go to cabin, eat great food and drink. I started tinkering with prb’s and then tried some Hornaday 240 Pa conicals. After finding my tightest groups...i settled on 70grn 2F goex bp and the Hornaday Pa conical. With this load and me doing my part... best target of 3shots and all touching. To me and hunting in Pa woods 50yards was about make least where i hunt. The other thing i did was get a different breach plug...the origional is cone shaped so the one i got cone was cut off flat then dished out...looks like a bowl. I also switched to black english flints cause the cut agate flints they come with suck. So if you get the firestorm i hope this helps. Also depends where in Pa you live give Dixons Muzzleloading Shop in Kempton a shot...great place and also Fort Chambers muzzleloader shop, Chambersburg Pa. Good luck.

 

[Yewbender]

Hit reply to fast...heres more. 2 and 3F will work as both main charge and in the pan for prime. When i’m hunting i use whats in my powder horn and thats 2/3F to prime my pan. Save the 4F for range work or plinking on them nice low humid days. I have used 4F in later season in humid days cause of wet snow, misting rain and fog and that 4F turned to BLACK POWDER SOUP! Another thing if you can find someone who has lots of experiance shooting flinters and see if they are will to help you out...it will make a big difference and make it way easier for you to learn. BTW...what part of Pa do you live as many of BP club in Pa.

 

[EthanRubin_123]

Hit reply to fast...heres more. 2 and 3F will work as both main charge and in the pan for prime. When i’m hunting i use whats in my powder horn and thats 2/3F to prime my pan. Save the 4F for range work or plinking on them nice low humid days. I have used 4F in later season in humid days cause of wet snow, misting rain and fog and that 4F turned to BLACK POWDER SOUP! Another thing if you can find someone who has lots of experiance shooting flinters and see if they are will to help you out...it will make a big difference and make it way easier for you to learn. BTW...what part of Pa do you live as many of BP club in Pa.

I live in mohton. Are there any clubs near me and how do I go about joining/going to a meeting? Thanks for the advice too!

 

[Yewbender]

Ok so your in Berks Co which is good. Dixon’s muzzleloader shot is an easy drive and a great place for supplies. Greg and his wife are very nice and know their stuff. Now as to clubs, you have 2 that are bp only i can think of. They are Blue Mountain Muzzloafing Rifle Assoc in Shartlesville, Berks co and Blue Ridge Rifles Inc in Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill co. Never been there but heard great things about them. Now any gun club will do but finding one that has a good number of traditional bp guys is best...not the weekend worrior so called bp shooter. And ofcourse the great folks here as you have seen will great help.

 

[Yewbender]

Ethan, i sent you a Pm. It will show by the icon that looks like a letter.

 

[hanshi]

Hi, Ethan. It doesn't take much black powder to take deer with a patched ball - which I use exclusively. That same charge will work with a conical bullet although the velocity will be necessarily slower. In my .45 I use 60 - 70 grains on up through to the .62 smoothbore. Caplock rifles are easier to learn but flintlocks are more fun; their learning curve is a bit steeper, however.

 

[user 48679]

Ethan, i sent you a Pm. It will show by the icon that looks like a letter.

BTW, the message icon looks like an envelope, located towards the RH end of the toolbar at the top of this thread.

 

[Yewbender]

Pietro, thanks! I must of had a brain fart

 

[SDSmlf]

Thank you but ironically I go to public school! Right now I’m trying to get a used tc firestorm for a good deal. I think I’m gonna use Geox 3f powder for the charge and Geox 4f for the pan. I’m thinking of using hornady 385 grain great plain conicals or just conicals of some sort. It has a 1:48 twist so if I want to experiment with prb I can.

The TC Firestorm is a good choice in my opinion if you can close the deal. Purchased one soon after they came out and it has proven very dependable. Found it would shoot both lighter conicals and roundballs well. I ultimately used it with patched roundballs as I found the conicals I was using at the time had a tendency to move off the powder charge. Took a few deer with the gun (using patched roundballs) before it took up the position as a primary backup. Most recently it has been used by a nephew of mine for a few years and he has taken more deer with it than I ever did.

Comments about the Firestorm. The hard recoil pad on the synthetic stock didn’t help much. You will be reminded of this every time you ignite a heavy charge. Found the trigger pull a little on the heavy side, ended up lowering mine to a little over 3 pounds. You have to be careful removing the barrel from the stock or you can bend the tang. As someone else mentioned, the cone on the breechplug needs to go, though breech plug is easy to remove and the bore is a breeze to clean once it is removed. The cone was a design feature intended to allow the gun to be used with pellets. At best, got a flash, a delay, then a boom when it worked. Usually no boom unless using a kicker charge of blackpowder. After launching a Triple 7 pellet without igniting it I ended all pellet and sub testing. Overall, a pretty good flintlock when used with blackpowder and roundballs in my opinion. With some experimentation could be a good gun with lighter conicals. Here is a photograph of the one I own.

 

[Sun City]

Untitled by Sharps Man, on Flickr

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If you don't get the firestorm then you might consider a Lyman Trade Rifle in .54 caliber. They are in stock at Dixie Gun Works in your posted price range.
Lyman Trade Rifle .54, Flint

LD