New Flintlocks

[BuffaloSoldier]

My Baker Rifle Reproduction didn't come with ANY instructions! Guess I'll just wing it, what could possibly go wrong???

 

[Major Tim]

"Read your manual" may not work if you buy used or go custom. Every flintlock that someone built for me did NOT come with a manual. Is there some generic manual that you buy online?!

 

[TrapperDude]

"Read your manual" may not work if you buy used or go custom. Every flintlock that someone built for me did NOT come with a manual. Is there some generic manual that you buy online?!

It's called internet search. That's the generic manual I used.

 

[ord sgt]

READ THE MANUAL, STUDY AND LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE BEFORE LOADING (or buying really). There, hope this helps.

That's how I got started with black powder firearms. I bought a T/C kit, finished it and knew no one that was familiar with muzzle loaders. Then found all of the necessary supplies, read the booklet, went out backloaded and fired my first shots. That was 40 years ago. Still hooked on them old timey guns!

 

[S.Kenton]

^^^^^^^
As a 30 year Hunter Safety Instructor, I couldn't have said it any better !!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
and as a 15 year Hunter safety course instructor, I totally agree with reading that pesky little manual.

 

[Grenadier1758]

"Read your manual" may not work if you buy used or go custom. Every flintlock that someone built for me did NOT come with a manual. Is there some generic manual that you buy online?!

That's one of the purposes of the muzzleloading forums to supply generic information and some also very specific information.

Here are two generic sources of information:

1. Flintlocks: How to Shoot Them | The Muzzleloading Forum
2. flintlock shooting tips? | The Muzzleloading Forum

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

I find the factory instruction book to be either very generalized or very lengthy and not to the point. I think it's better to get instruction from someone who knows about it first hand, but they can be tough to find. Reading is definitely a must but I think most factory manuals don't tell the whole story.

 

[TheBoat]

None of the Muzzloaders that I ever bought came with instruction manuals . They just figured that your Father or Grandfather would show you how to load and fire when you were a kid.

 

[deerstalkert]

i will always read supplied instructions. but i refuse to read the Chinese, Spanish, Italian, German,etc pages that come in most today

 

[Grenadier1758]

My grandfather never owned a firearm, but he allowed his sons to have firearms. By that time all my father and my uncles used were cartridge guns. One cousin had an old muzzleloader and I fired it once out of curiosity. I had to try to figure out what was required to attain accuracy from the books published by Lyman and Gun Digest and others in the 1970's. I needed to become a member of a traditional muzzle loading gun club to have the "on the range, hands on" experience to become sort of proficient.

 

[Spikebuck]

...and now with the Net that shouldn't be a problem.

The problem with "the net" is that there are many times people posting stuff they know nothing about or just reposting "something they heard" as fact. So one has to be very careful to really filter what they read or see on the net.

Saw a video of one moron loading up a big 12 GA double percussion, then having his tiny son shoot it and laugh his ar$ off as the kid was knocked backward and fell down. Then did it again! Of course, an extreme example, but idiots like that abound out there and that might be the guy giving advice on the web someplace.

I think Pedersoli (unless they've changed) produces a pretty good manual for their guns. That's the only production brand I've ever purchased, so can't speak to others. When I started I bought books (shows how old I am). Sam Fadala's Complete Blackpowder Handbook was a winner to me. Of course it's not nearly as much traditional content anymore, but it was "back then."

 

[Travis186]

All my flinters are custom and didn't come with a manual. I was surprised when I opened my Kibler Colonial Rifle kit yesterday to see that it came with instructions. In typical man fashion, the chance I read them is not high.

 

[sportster73hp]

I started bp about 20 years ago. The traditions rifle i bought new had a book, don’t remember reading it . Next was a TC modern ML, have the book and gun still. Many guns later ... another TC modern product almost new in box with a manual . Most do have a manual book , good or bad to protect the manufacturer from a lawsuit and user from injury. Finding out what the gun likes is up to you.

 

[sawyer04]

I have assembled several good kits, but was always a little dissatisfied with the locks that came with the less expensive kits. building the black powder weapon takes a bit of talent with understanding of function and PATIENCE with detail. It is not uncommon for a new build to be rushed to get the weapon go bang. Plenty of time for the bang exercise with study and attention to detail.

 

[Bad Karma]

My wife say's it's a man thing, not reading the instructions...

I do some troubleshooting for irrigation control systems. When the really dumb questions come, as they often do, I will say, “Look, just turn to page 43 in the manual you threw away and all will be made clear.”

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I might add..., we called it "the stupid little book" because that was what the local community where I taught generally thought of the manual. Things change, folks forget,..... folks pick up bad practices. By reading the book you can sometimes catch yourself, and make a correction.

LD

 

[Bad Karma]

I might add..., we called it "the stupid little book" because that was what the local community where I taught generally thought of the manual. Things change, folks forget,..... folks pick up bad practices. By reading the book you can sometimes catch yourself, and make a correction.

LD

I’m using that one in the future!