Questions

[lefty45flinter]

Afternoon fellas;

About two weeks ago I traded a Ruger Blackhawk in 45 colt for a 45cal. lefty flinter. It's not from a kit, but rather handmade by a feller in PA..
It shoots a .440 round ball, and employs a .0180 patch to make it .458.
It came with a relatively new flint, a brass ramrod, a few round balls [hornaday] and a cleaning jag.

The Stock is a nicely figured fiddleback maple, the barrel a Getz rifled/ swamped, and the lock a Siler. The previous owner says it'll shoot inside 3 inches @ 100. The pet load for the gun is stated as 50 grains of 3F. He stated it could be loaded to about 80 grains, but I'll not do that until I learn way more about it and the world of BP.

As of this post, I'm accumulating the things I'll need;
Powder measure and horn, pan horn, round balls, patches for shooting and cleaning, and the rest.
It was my thought that I would shoot it, see how it reacts, and how I do too!!!

I was then going to take it apart and refinish the wood to my liking, and through a contact I have, possibly send the lock out for some light engraving.

Not askin' about this particular flinter, but more in generalities, what are some thing I need to do, and more important, NOT do.
The board's knowledge is vast, so I'm relying on y'all for some first timer's advice.

The only other experience I have with BP is back in the 70's, when I was just a kid and helped my father build a CVA Kentucky rifle and pistol in 36 cal. They were percussion guns.

Thanks in advance,

Chris~

 

[lefty45flinter]

Thought I'd ad some pictures also.

 

[yakimaman]

Here's my opinion on what you should do. Just leave it alone - get flint, powder, ball, patches and shoot it, shoot it and then go shoot it some more. Learn all about shooting it, making it accurate before you start tearing it apart to try to make it prettier. It's a good looking gun as is.

 

[Black Hand]

Here's my opinion on what you should do. Just leave it alone - get flint, powder, ball, patches and shoot it, shoot it and then go shoot it some more. Learn all about shooting it, making it accurate before you start tearing it apart to try to make it prettier.

Ditto...

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Here's my opinion on what you should do. Just leave it alone - get flint, powder, ball, patches and shoot it, shoot it and then go shoot it some more. Learn all about shooting it, making it accurate before you start tearing it apart to try to make it prettier.

Ditto...

:hmm:

Most Excellent Advise

 

[lefty45flinter]

Thanks fellas;

Should correct myself, didn't mean that the tear-down was going to be immenent, but rather not until I have gotten a grasp on how-things-work..... :surrender:

I have another question, which I have tried to research, but have come up with :idunno:

What "classification"... would you say my rifle falls under?
Pennsylvania?
Kentucky?
Landcaster?
??????
Seems there are many variations on Flints, just trying to figure all this out.....

Thanks in advance again.
Chris~

 

[ohio ramrod]

My advice to any one just getting into shooting black powder is to do two things 1. Find a club near you where you can talk to experienced shooters in person. 2.Get Dutch Schultz's system to improve your shooting. I have found his system to be worth about twenty years of experience! :idunno:

 

[bennypapa]

I would not have the rifle engraved. It is a fairly unadorned rifle and I don't think engraving would fit the overall look of the rifle well.
It does look to be well put together.
Refinishing otoh is up to you. If you can get in touch with the maker you might find out what the original finish is but I think you should just shoot it for now.

Style wise the stock profile looks like a Lancaster form the 1800's. "The nose" is a bit taller than some.
Only thing I see wrong with it is that the lock is on the wrong side. :rotf:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Keep it; shoot it, and don't worry about embellishing it in any way. If she shoots fine, and you don't have to worry about harmin' her looks by busting around in the brush, so you should take her out and have adventures with her. After a while, she won't look so plain to you.

:wink:

LD

 

[Leatherbark]

You have another .018 on the other side of the .440 ball making it .476 not .458

This combination will load and shoot fine I'll bet. Does your flint have a leather wrap?
Fine looking longrifle

Bob

 

[Many Klatch]

Right now you have a well built plain gun. There is nothing better than showing up a match with a plain gun and smoking the guys with the $5,000 safe queens. Use it, carry it in the rain, shoot it, have fun.

You could have your name engraved on the barrel, that always adds a nice touch.

Many Klatch

 

[Pete G]

Sounds like you have a good start, but you are probably going to need about six more rifles, a smoothbore, and pistol; some guys reverse the order of the last two and get the pistol first. Then there are about three to six knives, a hawk or two, half a dozen horns, a couple of belts,a few bags, casting equipment for each caliber and maybe some clothes and a tent. Did anyone mention that this sport can be addictive?

 

[MacRob46]

I would not have the rifle engraved. It is a fairly unadorned rifle and I don't think engraving would fit the overall look of the rifle well.
It does look to be well put together.
Refinishing otoh is up to you. If you can get in touch with the maker you might find out what the original finish is but I think you should just shoot it for now.

Style wise the stock profile looks like a Lancaster form the 1800's. "The nose" is a bit taller than some.
Only thing I see wrong with it is that the lock is on the wrong side. :rotf:

I agree with Bennypapa. What you have has a plain stock - nice piece of wood however - and engraving will look a bit out of place unless you are going to do relief carving and inlays on the stock. The builder was apparently attempting a late period "golden age" Pennsylvania rifle. It looks pretty good overall and you certainly got a good deal on it. It think I would just shoot it and enjoy it. At some point you may decide to get something a little fancier but this will always be your first rifle and therefore something special. By the way,the lock is on the wrong side, as Bennypapa says. Nothing you can do about that though.

 

[bpd303]

To me I think it resembles the Lancaster style too. The only thing I would do other than shoot it a lot would be to rub the stock with Renaissance wax to protect it and make sure to be thorough in cleaning after shooting.

 

[lefty45flinter]

You have another .018 on the other side of the .440 ball making it .476 not .458

This combination will load and shoot fine I'll bet. Does your flint have a leather wrap?
Fine looking longrifle

Bob

Thanks to all. Sound advice fellas! :bow:


Bob;
I'm going to touch it off this weekend for the very first time.
The .018 patch and .440 ball recipe came from the owner, says that combo over 50 grains of 3F shoots best in this rifle.....that's a what a I'm gonna load and shoot.
Going to start @ 50 yards, see what happens, and move to 100 :redface:
I'll let everyone know the aftermath, and my impressions.
To be honest, fancy, plain or not, it's the whole Flint thing, how American Patriots used 'em, and the history that's got me so jazzed about this gun.
My buddies think I'm nuts, being I've been on an AR kick since last summer, but the ENTIRE process and rifle just intrigue me so!!!! Who knows, it may change my whole thinking about shooting!
In the future I WILL refinish the stock, as it is a wee bit muddier in color in person compared to the pictures. I'm thinkin' many coats of Semi finish Tung oil on an unstained maple stock would bee the cat's whiskers. I'll leave the hardware alone, but I've a feeling that once cleaned and oiled, that piece of wood will come to life.

 

[54mountain]

just a heads up, if the previous owner has it sighted in at 50yds with that load it will probably hit 4 to 6" low at 100. If it's sighted in at 100 yds you should be fine if not a little high at 50

Oh another thing that is a blast is when you get really good with a flint lock You'll be able to shoot circles around your AR shootin' buddies.
:rotf:

 

[dbutch]

Here is a list to get you going..do not know your experience level with flintlocks...

Powder
priming powder
powder measure
ball, patch,patch lube,flint,leather for flint wrap
range rod, t-handle,short starter
ball puller
touch hole pick
cleaning patches
loading jag
cleaning jag
bore light
shooting or safety glasses
Mark your ram rod
Keep your powder supply covered at all times while shooting.
wipe the pan,frizzen and flint after each shot with a damp to dry patch.
keep your flint sharp..learn how to Knapp the edge.
Find a quiet corner at the range..no interruptions(talking) while loading!
Start at 25 yards to get on paper.
Keep the sights on target....Follow through with each shot!

Cannot stress enough the importance of paying attention while loading!

Good Luck! have fun! shoot safe!

 

[lefty45flinter]

Like kids with baseball cards;

Powdergot it
priming powdergot it
powder measure need it
ball, got it
patch,got it
patch lube,got it
flint,leather for flint wrap need it
range rod, got it
t-handle,short starter got it...sorta...got a ball shaped short starter
ball puller need it
touch hole pick need it cleaning patches got it
loading jag got it
cleaning jag need it
bore light got it
shooting or safety glassesgot it

Got a powder horn too!

So slowly I'm acquiring. Got a buddy who'll help, and he's got alot of the other stuff I need on loan until I acquire it.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I been shooting flintlocks 35 years and there are four things on that list I haven't got yet (and one is not the shooting glasses).

Might want to get more than one ball, though. Takes a while to retrieve and recast them. ;-)

 

[dbutch]

That's good news !...Having a flint buddy helps! :thumbsup: