pedersoli flintlocks

[Mr Hawken]

hey guys any views on pedersoli flintlocks. thinking about chambersburg in a 32 or 36 i have a thompson center percussion 50 and love it but lookibg for something small for targets or rabbits.what about 32 or 36 is there really much diffrence?

 

[Norskie]

I have one in .50 and the lock is real small. It would be about right for a small caliber rifle. Sparks well and goes off real consistently. Some have talked about too soft frizzens, but that has not been my experience.
Between .32 & .36 I've chosen the .36 for one I'm building. Slightly easier to clean, a bit slower to foul, and power comparable to a .22 magnum.

 

The Pedersoli flintlocks function well enough and can be quite accurate. Many folks like the bigger locks they put on their versions that look like the old Hatfield rifles--Cabelas' Blue Ridge, etc...I think they call them Frontier models. Either .32 or .36 will do fine for small game. I don't find that my .32 is any harder to load, shoot or take care of than my former .36, takes less powder, and is plenty for small game. the .36 has more oompf for varmints.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I've had a Cabela's Blue Ridge flint by Pedersoli for about 15 years or so. That is a large lock, can use a 7/8" flint, and has been very fast and reliable, puts the T/C flint to shame in a side by side comparison. I did have to replace the frizzen a couple of years ago but that was after a very great deal of shooting and I have no complaint with that. As to their smaller locks I can't comment except that I feel bigger locks are just naturally more reliable.
Between .32 or .36, I feel the .32 is a fine small game rifle for shots under 50 yards, it being pretty hard to make head shots on small critters beyond 50 yards with any iron sighted rifle. I think the .36 is a bit more versatile, still good for tree rats with 20-30 grains of 3f but able to be loaded up to 60 grains for longer shots and to knock over steel targets at a rendezvous shoot. If your small game includes ground hogs or marmots the .36 will better anchor those tough little pigs with a chest shot at long range, say 75 yards or more. I also like the fact that .36 caliber permits a slightly larger and sturdier ramrod than the 5/16" rod of a .32. I guess I prefer the .36 but it's nice to have one of each! :grin:

 

[Greenmtnboy]

ditto to what yotie Joe says!!
I also own a blueridge but in 36.
I take mostly head shot and can pin a marmot at 75yrds no problem.
I put a big old rockpig in the pot this fall with one shot through the neck.
He weighed 22lbs. I got a quart size ziplock bag of fat off him!!
but also very effective on grouse as well. Just make sure you hit them in the head or you may have grouse breast burger :haha:

 

[Russianblood]

I have the Pedersoli Pennsylvania rifle in .45 that I have used for squirrels with great success. It has the small rifle lock and takes 5/8" flints. I did have to drill out the touch hole as the vent liner hole was less than 1/16". I just replaced the frizzen and I plan on "fortifying" the old frizzen with a new sole to keep around for a spare.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Mileage varies betwixt Pedersoli owners, few years back after hearing glowing reports, I tried one. My experience on a Mortimer flintlock standard target rifle with a fitted matching interchangeable flint 12 gauge shotgun barrel (the idea sounded great) for US $1360.00, was an absolute nightmare. I finally got my money back, but soured me forever on Pedersoli's.

 

[skunkskinner]

I have a pedersoli .32, I have absolutely nothing bad to say abought it.I would go with the .32 again it's good enough for the small game.The .36 still is't big enough for deer at 100 yards. .32 .50 .75 you will most of the game coverd.

 

[MikeFromON]

I have had a reasonable experience with my Pedersoli .54 Mortimer flinter. I had to take the breechplug out and remove some leftover burrs that were hindering ignition but after I did that it shot very reliably. The lock looks a little small but it takes a 3/4" flint and sparks very nicely.

 

[windsor]

I have a Pedersoli Frontier in .50. It has shot wonderfully so far, however I really had to move the sights around a bit to get it to shoot where I pointed it. Once that was done, it shot better than the shooter

 

[Leatherbark]

Winsor.......find yerself a 22 caliber or 25 caliber brush and run it into the Patent breech of your Pedersoli..........I have a Blue Ridge and I use a 10-32 brass screw that I have ground down the head to make a jag that will fit the Blue Ridge's ramrod and clean out the small communication hole in the breech.I usually remove the touch hole liner so I can see whats going on in there.......Commercial 25 caliber brushes usually have a 8/32 thread....It is around a 22 caliber hole or maybe slightly larger.........This is why 2fg black will bridge in the hole and misfire occasionally.......So clean out the small breech and use 3f and a good flint and misfires are no more...................Bob

 

[J.D.]

I have two Petersolis that I have a love/hate relationship with. They both work well, when they work properly, but the locks on both are slow and very sloppy.

I am currently re-building the lock on the bess. The hole in the bridle was .033 larger than the axle on the tumbler, AND was drilled about 8 degrees off perpendicular to the face of the bridle. The hole in the lockplate is .015 larger than the axle. Both faces of the tumbler are filed convex to compensate for the sloppy fit of tumbler to bridle, which causes the mainspring to bear on, and wear a grove in the bridle. The top of the tumbler has also worn a grove in the bridle.
The bridle, BTW, was not hardened, and the hardening on the tumbler appears to inconsistent as well. The axle on the bridle side of the tumbler appears to be hardened, but the axle on the plate side does not appear to be hardened.

Both axels were left as cast, as opposed to being machined smooth and concentric.

Petersoli's Bess frizzens are notorious for thin case hardening so I plan to half-sole the frizzen to make it right.

Petersoli's springs aren't all that great either. New, high quality springs should make a marked improvement in faster, more reliable ingition.

The toe of the frizzen on the .32 is too far back to trip over at the right time, and the back of the toe was milled down so only about half of the thicnkness of the toe exists, so there is little material work with to fix that problem.

The powder chamber in the breech of the .32 was only .240. Less than 1/4 of an inch in diameter. The powder chamber was enlarged to .300, and the length of the touch hole liner reduced to equal the thickness of the barrel/breech assembly. The liner was coned a bit on both the inside and out to improve ignition, and it still ain't right.

A better solution might have been to form a funnel at the mouth of the powder cavity to help funnel powder into the breech.

Though the lock on the rifle appears to be of better fit and finish than the bess, the bulk of the problem, IMHO, appears to be in the poor design of the lock, and with the way the rifle barrel is attached to the stock. The barrel is fastened to the stock with screws running through the thimbles and into tennons dovetailed into the bottom of the barrel. IMHO, This is a serious design flaw that is difficult to fix properly, in a home work shop.

With my experience, and the experience of others who have similar problems with Petersoli locks, IMHO, I would look at higher quality guns, as opposed to trying to deal with the sloppy locks and thin case hardening on Petersoli's flint guns.

J.D.

 

[adrian]

I have .36 cal Blue Ridge by Pedersoli, it shoots great! The one thing that I didn't like was there finsh on the stock,it looked like they painted it brown. With a lot sandpapper and time, I found a nice walnut under it. A little tounge oil and some elbow grease and some lite sanding between coats, about six that is, I finshed off with a coat of wax for wood (ming wax) Shoots mighty fine!!!!

 

[MikeFromON]

I have been shooting my .54 cal Pedersoli Mortimer flintlock rifle all summer and I love it. It was rather tempermental at first but after I pulled the breechplug and cleaned out some burrs, it fired very, very reliably. The fit and finish is very good and it shoots quite consistently, although I have not really sighted it in or anything (doesn't hit the bullseye but at least it hits the same spot 8" low and to the left with every offhand shot). I thought the lock looked a little small for a rifle but it fires almost every time so it must be alright. It seems to really like heavier charges. My best results so far have been with 80g of Goex FFFg with PRBs or 100g of FFg and home-cast Lee REAL bullets. Based on my own personal experience so far, I would say go ahead and buy a Pedersoli flintlock.

 

[Puffer]

Mileage varies betwixt Pedersoli owners, few years back after hearing glowing reports, I tried one. My experience on a Mortimer flintlock standard target rifle with a fitted matching interchangeable flint 12 gauge shotgun barrel (the idea sounded great) for US $1360.00, was an absolute nightmare. I finally got my money back, but soured me forever on Pedersoli's.

Sorry to hear that. I have the same set up & I have shot a LOT of rounds through both Bbl.s. The Rifle is still a "tack driver" & the smoothee has won more than it's share of matches. I also own 6 other Pedersoli's. ( a Tyrol. a Kentukey, a Jaeger, a Kentukey pistol, a Mortimer "cap" lock pistol & a Mortimer flintlock pistol

The only prob. I have had , so far ( Murrphy stay out of this :cursing: ) was a lock prob. on the flint Mortimer pistol & they soolved it, by sending me a new lock ASAP

Also, the comment mon the SPINGS in the rifles is CORRECT. they are WEAK, but that's an easy fix

Puffer

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Sorry to hear that. I have the same set up & I have shot a LOT of rounds through both Bbl.s. The Rifle is still a "tack driver" & the smoothee has won more than it's share of matches. I also own 6 other Pedersoli's. ( a Tyrol. a Kentukey, a Jaeger, a Kentukey pistol, a Mortimer "cap" lock pistol & a Mortimer flintlock pistol

The only prob. I have had , so far ( Murrphy stay out of this :cursing: ) was a lock prob. on the flint Mortimer pistol & they soolved it, by sending me a new lock ASAP

Also, the comment mon the SPINGS in the rifles is CORRECT. they are WEAK, but that's an easy fix

Puffer

Glad to hear it worked out for you. Meself, once bitten, twice shy.