robinsroost
50 Cal.
I don't think of one having an advantage over the other. I have and enjoy both.......Robin :wink:
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Percussion or Flint
- Thread starter Walks with fire
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If I were headed to Kodiak or the Aleutian chain to deer hunt in the sideways rain that often comes up on the south end of the Island, I would take a cap-lock every time.
Loaded inside before taking out the powder is sealed up tight as a drum if managed with any care and reloading in such conditions is easier to keep dry as well not having to deal with an open and often wet pan that does not seal up as well.
Loaded inside before taking out the powder is sealed up tight as a drum if managed with any care and reloading in such conditions is easier to keep dry as well not having to deal with an open and often wet pan that does not seal up as well.
Mickc01
45 Cal.
nchawkeye said:
I'm pretty much a flinter inside and out (though I do have one percussion rifle) so I would definitely go to the flintlock side. But, I got such a great laugh out of NCHawkeye's quote, I just had to post it again....Thanks for the smile, NC :rotf: :rotf:
AZbpBurner
54 Cal.
You don't have to pay a hazmat fee when you set up delivery of the handful of flints you just bought on-line.
Drop your flints into a mud puddle and you can just wipe them off. Drop your tin of caps into the puddle & you may be lucky enough to get a few that either didn't get wet, or work OK after you dry them out ... or not.
Drop your flints into a mud puddle and you can just wipe them off. Drop your tin of caps into the puddle & you may be lucky enough to get a few that either didn't get wet, or work OK after you dry them out ... or not.
I have both flintlocks and caplocks... but mostly shoot my caplocks because their barrels can be removed from the stock by removing the wedge that holds the barrels in the stocks.
Making the barrel easily removable makes for a much easier cleaning job after shooting the rifles.
That said, there's just a "mystic" about shooting the flinter... and, of course, if one wants a flintlock to be really reliable, one learns all the "in's & out's" of how to keep one's flinter working almost as reliably as one's caplocks.
I say "almost" because trying as hard as one can and knowing all the "tricks" of "flint-hood", the flinter will still (very) occasionally "fool" the shooter and, for one reason or another (and there are several "other" reasons), the flinter will simply refuse-to-fire... and then the "hunting" really begins... "hunting" for the reason the rifle wouldn't fire, that is.
If one doesn't "prime" a flinter very well and doesn't get a little of the FFFFg into the flash-hole, that can cause a "problem" in refusing to fire. Or... there are a fair number of "other reasons"... if the "nose" of the flint gets "slimy" or dirty... or if the "face" of the frizzen is too "soft" to give good sparks... or if the flint is a little loose and/or the material (either leather or lead sheet) holding the flint gets worn or "grooved"... or if the flash-hole gets grimy... or if the weather gets "wettish"... or any other things I may have forgotten to mention happens, the fintlock will refuse to fire. However, a died-in-the-wool flintlock shooter knows most or all of these things and sees to it that none of 'em are present... or, at least, one TRIES to see to it.
With a caplock, you put the #11 cap on the rifle's nipple... aim the rifle and pull the trigger... and the rifle goes "BANG". And while that is most "satisfying", one sometimes feels that "something-is-missing".
However, all of the above said... my greatest problem with my flinter vs. my caplock and the reason I prefer to shoot the 2 caplock rifles I've got rather than the flintlock is in the cleaning of the rifle. The flinter just takes longer and is more of a hassle... especially if one tries to use just hot water and a little soap in the cleaning. Of course, the water runs down and gets on the wooden stock or one can use a bore cleaner but that's more $$$... or one can buy an apparatus that hooks to the barrel and allows the water to flow away from the stock, but that's more $$$ again!!!
Whereas once one removes the caplock's barrel from the stock when cleaning a caplock, it's a "breeze" to clean and lube the barrel and other metal parts, re-installed the barrel and wipe down the barrel's exterior with a lightly oiled rag... wipe off the stock... and yer "done". :grin:
Some here may not like the "truth" of what I've just written, but truth IS truth... and that's how I feel about the "difference" between a flintlock and a caplock because that's been my "experience" with both types of firing mechanisms.
However, then there's that "mystic" thingie of the flintlock... and that's another whole "story", eh? and, let's face it, if you "do" everything right, shooting a flinter is a whole lotta fun, too!!! :wink:
Thanks for being patient and reading the dribble I've just written. :v
Strength and Honor...
Ron T.
Making the barrel easily removable makes for a much easier cleaning job after shooting the rifles.
That said, there's just a "mystic" about shooting the flinter... and, of course, if one wants a flintlock to be really reliable, one learns all the "in's & out's" of how to keep one's flinter working almost as reliably as one's caplocks.
I say "almost" because trying as hard as one can and knowing all the "tricks" of "flint-hood", the flinter will still (very) occasionally "fool" the shooter and, for one reason or another (and there are several "other" reasons), the flinter will simply refuse-to-fire... and then the "hunting" really begins... "hunting" for the reason the rifle wouldn't fire, that is.
If one doesn't "prime" a flinter very well and doesn't get a little of the FFFFg into the flash-hole, that can cause a "problem" in refusing to fire. Or... there are a fair number of "other reasons"... if the "nose" of the flint gets "slimy" or dirty... or if the "face" of the frizzen is too "soft" to give good sparks... or if the flint is a little loose and/or the material (either leather or lead sheet) holding the flint gets worn or "grooved"... or if the flash-hole gets grimy... or if the weather gets "wettish"... or any other things I may have forgotten to mention happens, the fintlock will refuse to fire. However, a died-in-the-wool flintlock shooter knows most or all of these things and sees to it that none of 'em are present... or, at least, one TRIES to see to it.
With a caplock, you put the #11 cap on the rifle's nipple... aim the rifle and pull the trigger... and the rifle goes "BANG". And while that is most "satisfying", one sometimes feels that "something-is-missing".
However, all of the above said... my greatest problem with my flinter vs. my caplock and the reason I prefer to shoot the 2 caplock rifles I've got rather than the flintlock is in the cleaning of the rifle. The flinter just takes longer and is more of a hassle... especially if one tries to use just hot water and a little soap in the cleaning. Of course, the water runs down and gets on the wooden stock or one can use a bore cleaner but that's more $$$... or one can buy an apparatus that hooks to the barrel and allows the water to flow away from the stock, but that's more $$$ again!!!
Whereas once one removes the caplock's barrel from the stock when cleaning a caplock, it's a "breeze" to clean and lube the barrel and other metal parts, re-installed the barrel and wipe down the barrel's exterior with a lightly oiled rag... wipe off the stock... and yer "done". :grin:
Some here may not like the "truth" of what I've just written, but truth IS truth... and that's how I feel about the "difference" between a flintlock and a caplock because that's been my "experience" with both types of firing mechanisms.
However, then there's that "mystic" thingie of the flintlock... and that's another whole "story", eh? and, let's face it, if you "do" everything right, shooting a flinter is a whole lotta fun, too!!! :wink:
Thanks for being patient and reading the dribble I've just written. :v
Strength and Honor...
Ron T.
Billnpatti
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I think it is largely reliability. The same reason most everyone changed from flint when percussion became available.
Col. Batguano
75 Cal.
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I always found cleaning a cap lock to be more hassle than flint. The barrel comes out the same (drive the pins, unscrew the tang bolt) but you have to pull the nipple, and then the cleanout screw too. Another chamber full of fouling to be thoroughly cleaned and dried before assembly can take place. Those are small parts that can easily get lost. But on the other hand, the flinter's lock needs to be disassembled (flint and jaws) too, but at least the parts are bigger and harder to lose.
On the other hand, with each sparking of a flint that's one less sparking it will have before it fails to spark, which may be the very next time you pull the trigger. With a capper, pretty much every cap is the same as the last one. I also think that cap guns are just a little bit faster to re-load.
On the other hand, with each sparking of a flint that's one less sparking it will have before it fails to spark, which may be the very next time you pull the trigger. With a capper, pretty much every cap is the same as the last one. I also think that cap guns are just a little bit faster to re-load.
Rick Boylan
45 Cal.
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It seems to me that loading my flinter takes about the same time as loading my capper. The only difference is putting priming powder in the pan instead of digging out a cap to put on the nipple. I see no difference in loading time to me.
Cleaning is about the same too. With my capper I can pull the barrel and wash it as needed, same with the lock.
On my flinter I keep the barrel on the stock, plug the flash hole, wash out the barrel. Pour out the water and remove any water left behind. Run a couple of oiled patches down the barrel and put it back in the gun safe. Same process for my capper.
I find myself shooting my flinter more because, well, it's a heck of a lot more fun. :haha:
Cleaning is about the same too. With my capper I can pull the barrel and wash it as needed, same with the lock.
On my flinter I keep the barrel on the stock, plug the flash hole, wash out the barrel. Pour out the water and remove any water left behind. Run a couple of oiled patches down the barrel and put it back in the gun safe. Same process for my capper.
I find myself shooting my flinter more because, well, it's a heck of a lot more fun. :haha:
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