Percussion or Flint

[Walks with fire]

All of my muzzleloaders have been flint ignition in the past. What advantages/disadvantage is there to a percussion ignition?

The reason I ask is that I have a percussion rifle barrel that I want to start using. I can either buy a percussion lock or convert to flint both being approx. the same price.

Let's hear opinions on the virtue of flint vs. percussion.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Percussion is a few thousands of a second faster, less sensitive to high humidity, and easier to learn the "ins and outs". But if you are used to flints why change? :idunno: :idunno:

 

[wayne terry]

Ramrod said it all
X2

 

[palonghunter]

IMO, percussion is more "plug and play" than flint. A flintlock can be just as reliable, and ignition can be virtually the same speed. The main difference is that a flintlock takes more care to keep it running perfectly.

 

[galamb]

Flint is great at the range when you are shooting targets and the weather is nice and you don't have to hump through the woods to get there.

For hunting, in crappy wet/snowy weather, I prefer my caplocks - I just find them more "user friendly".

 

[necchi]

It's simple really.
The Percussion will fire, or would have fired every time your flint lock didn't.
:idunno:

 

[nchawkeye]

Percussion guns are for those that haven't learned how to shoot flinters yet, no self respecting man would be caught in the woods with a percussion gun... :grin:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I'm fascinated with flint and like to do what is required to keep it reliable. Clamping a rock in a tiny vice that springs forward to open a little trap door with a bit of powder that "poof"s and the ball jumps out. I just love it.

Percussion just isn't as interesting.

But then I still wear a 23 jewel wind-up wristwatch. I like old technology.

I have been let down by a cap gun more than once. They may be more forgiving but still need to be looked after.

 

[BrownBear]

The Percussion will fire, or would have fired every time your flint lock didn't.

It may seem odd, but here in our wet climate I've seen more FTF's in cap guns than flinters.

I've never had an FTF with a capper due to the wet, but it could be that since I'm using both types, I'm just a little more cautious about either source of fire. The buds who've suffered from wet cap syndrome still shake their heads when I haul a flinter out into the rain, but they're the ones with the troubles.

It's all about going about your business, whichever you choose.

The only real reason I can see for having at least one capper on hand is anticipation of any day you run out of or can't buy black and have to use subs. If your dream hunt includes an airplane ride or two, that's not a theoretical political issue.

 

[roundball]

Speaking for myself / my own experiences, once over the learning curve I found Flintlocks more reliable and when that confidence was achieved, I ended up selling off every caplock I owned.
Have never had a failure while out hunting with Flintlocks, including 3 hunts in light rain...but in years prior to Flintlocks I'd had a couple hang fires with caplocks.
One memorable hunt I intentionally left the house with it raining lightly, sat in it for 2 hours with my lock up under my raingear, refreshing the prime occasionally and it went off like a .30-30 when I tagged this one just before dark.

 

[Heelerau]

Mate, I grew up using cap locks, and have found them to be near as reliable as a modern brass mangler. The last few years I have swapped over to flint and am most satisfied with them. Caplocks I have found to be easier to manage, you still have to know how to operate them, the little quirks. With the plethora of good custom flint locks and the current state of knowledge of the tuning of them, probably makes it 6 of one or half dozen of the other as to which way you go. You do need a really good quality lock if you go flint.

cheers

Heelerau

 

[No Deer]

At our club we have two open to the public shoots each year. At our shoots we have a woods walk. It seems that in either wet or dry conditions there are more problems with cap locks ftf than there are with flintlocks.

I think that a lot of cap lock shooters believe that cap locks are much more reliable and will always fire, therefore they don't pay as much attention to the condition of their gun as the flint shooters do. I think that with proper attention both are equally reliable.

Back to the op's question of one vs. the other, I really can't offer a comparison as I have never owned a cap lock. I think it is truly a matter of personal preference. It depends on your intended use, and why you want to shoot muzzle loaders in the first place. For me it is the desire to "do it the old way", and flintlocks just fascinate me. For me cap locks are just a short jump from modern cartridge guns, whereas flint locks are a much larger leap.

 

[jackpine54]

I use only flintlocks at this point, but that's just because I like the old technology.

I started with caplocks and the only time I had trouble was when I tried to use fake powder. With real black powder I have never had an issue with ftf unless it was my own stupidity.

I think either way you can't lose, you gain another gun to shoot!

 

[BrownBear]

I think that a lot of cap lock shooters believe that cap locks are much more reliable and will always fire, therefore they don't pay as much attention to the condition of their gun as the flint shooters do. I think that with proper attention both are equally reliable.

That's the nutshell surrounding what I've seen and experienced. :thumbsup:

 

[TNGhost]

Back in the day, when caps came along, a lot of guns were converted from flint to percussion. Militaries did it on a wholesale level. Don't know as many were converted back to flint. :idunno:


On the other hand in modern times, the reason I, and I am sure many others, hunt with and shoot ML guns, is for the learning experience and the challenge. Turner Kirkland knew/lived this, and to my knowledge was the first to widely market an easy percussion to flint conversion. :wink: :hatsoff:

 

[mooman76]

Coming from a caplock shooter, once you get the flint part down, you really have no advantage with cap over flint except it is slightly simpler to use. I haven't taken the time to learn flint yet but some day I plan on it, probably after I retire and have the time.

 

[JeffG]

"l use only flintlocks at this point, but that's just because I like the old technology."
That sums it up for me, do what you like, it's not a matter of reliability. :hatsoff:

 

[Snakebite]

For me it's more the style of rifle you like. If you already have flintlocks and want something different go with a percussion. Both are reliable when done right.

I have a couple of both and like them all.

 

[Col. Batguano]

With percussion you usually get fewer variations in ignition time than flint. The cock and moving parts are lighter and smaller, so less likely to throw off your point of aim during ignition and hammer fall. Other points as mentioned above, as to being a slightly faster ignition. For those reasons, most people tend to shoot a percussion gun a little better than flint.

The other thing is that the guns of the percussion era, say 1820 and later tended not to be as interesting of a personality or art form as the earlier pieces. Raised and incised carving tended to give way for metal insets, and otherwise more utilitarian sorts of designs. Engraving still was around of course, but that too seemed not as interesting. There are of course, exceptions to this "rule" like any other involving art.

 

[Captjoel]

Just judging by appearance alone, there is great harmony and balance from the hammer to the frizzon on a flintlock where this balance is lost on a percussion lock. It really is all about architecture. Kind of like the style in cars from the late 50's classic era compared to the early 60 models of the same brand cars. A lot is lost to the eye of the beholder.