Shooting a flintlock handgun

[Phil Coffins]

Ah, a picture! You have a CVA / Traditions pistol. Spanish made and will have a rifled barrel. Loading info has been covered well.

 

[patbking]

Ah, a picture! You have a CVA / Traditions pistol. Spanish made and will have a rifled barrel. Loading info has been covered well.

Ah, now that I look closer I do see the rifling in the barrel

 

[jrmflintlock]

Does it have any markings on the barrel?

Did your Grandpa ever shoot it?

It looks suspiciously like a wall Hanger. Not made to be fired, but I may be wrong!

I know this is not the exact same thing but I have seen a lot that look like they should fire but are not safe to do so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7BZ0TG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20{creative}&hvpos={adposition}&hvnetw=o&hvrand={random}&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl={devicemodel}&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583657821417931&psc=1

Can you get us pictures of the lock mortise with the lock off/ and touch hole?

BE SAFE!! Good Luck!

 

[patbking]

Does it have any markings on the barrel?

Did your Grandpa ever shoot it?

It looks suspiciously like a wall Hanger. Not made to be fired, but I may be wrong!

I know this is not the exact same thing but I have seen a lot that look like they should fire but are not safe to do so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7BZ0TG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20{creative}&hvpos={adposition}&hvnetw=o&hvrand={random}&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl={devicemodel}&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583657821417931&psc=1

Can you get us pictures of the lock mortise with the lock off/ and touch hole?

BE SAFE!! Good Luck!

What is A lock mortise?

 

[Grenadier1758]

The lock mortise is the opening in the stock that the lock fits into.

What we want to see is where the touch hole is in relation to the pan.

If the pistol is a Spanish or Italian pistol, then there will be proof markings on the barrel.

Any manufacturer's name or black powder warnings?

 

[patbking]

I'll try to get pictures of that some time today, and I contacted my grandfather about it. Hopefully he'll have some information about it.

 

[patbking]

And no, I don't see any proof marks on the barrel

 

[Kansas Jake]

I too think you have a CVA/Traditions pistol and it may have been built from a kit. Also, I noticed the rock in the jaws of the lock. It doesn't really look like flint, but if it is you need to use a thin piece of leather to hold the flint in the jaws of the cock. Without it the flint will easily break or come out of the jaws. I would also not use a real thick patch on the ball as it will be hard to load and put stress on the handle of the gun. At least not until you get some experience.

 

[patbking]

I too think you have a CVA/Traditions pistol and it may have been built from a kit. Also, I noticed the rock in the jaws of the lock. It doesn't really look like flint, but if it is you need to use a thin piece of leather to hold the flint in the jaws of the cock. Without it the flint will easily break or come out of the jaws. I would also not use a real thick patch on the ball as it will be hard to load and put stress on the handle of the gun. At least not until you get some experience.

Ah yes, the 'rock' there is a piece of wood I carved to somewhat match a flint. For aesthetics mainly.

 

[patbking]

And I can confirm it was built from a kit

 

[jrmflintlock]

What Grenadeir1758 Said!

The lock mortise is the opening in the stock that the lock fits into.

What we want to see is where the touch hole is in relation to the pan.

If the pistol is a Spanish or Italian pistol, then there will be proof markings on the barrel.

Any manufacturer's name or black powder warnings?

No marks on the barrel make me a little nervous. It does look like an old kit but those usually have some kind of marking on them.

The "flint" in the jaw looks like a piece of wood, which is a good thing as snapping the lock without something in the jaw is a recipe for disaster. Don't ask me how I know.

If the Vent hole is direct drill, I would be careful, A kit would have had a liner usually with a screw slot.

Its definitely not old enough or custom enough to be an original with a direct vent.

I don't want to sound negative but it does not look like a kit someone took the time to drawfile all the markings off. Those types of builders usually rarely change the look of the "Kit" by doing a bunch of additional work.
I was given an old flintlock pistol that was said to have been passed down through a family, and it turned out to be a non-firing Replica. What clued me in was there was no breach plug, the tag was welded over the breach of the muzzle. From just looking at it on the surface it truly looked like an old flintlock. It was not until it was disassembled that we realized the breach plug was non existent. The frizzen was also soft but I could not tell that with just my eye.

I am just concerned for your safety. More pictures would be helpful!

 

[jrmflintlock]

So my computer is kinda slow, I see you answered a few questions. before I posted my coment. SO at least you are on the right track.

Good luck Friend!

 

[patbking]

What Grenadeir1758 Said!



No marks on the barrel make me a little nervous. It does look like an old kit but those usually have some kind of marking on them.

The "flint" in the jaw looks like a piece of wood, which is a good thing as snapping the lock without something in the jaw is a recipe for disaster. Don't ask me how I know.

If the Vent hole is direct drill, I would be careful, A kit would have had a liner usually with a screw slot.

Its definitely not old enough or custom enough to be an original with a direct vent.

I don't want to sound negative but it does not look like a kit someone took the time to drawfile all the markings off. Those types of builders usually really change the look of the "Kit" by doing a bunch of additional work.
I was given an old flintlock pistol that was said to have been passed down through a family, and it turned out to be a non-firing Replica. What clued me in was there was no breach plug, the tag was welded over the breach of the muzzle. From just looking at it on the surface it truly looked like an old flintlock. It was not until it was disassembled that we realized the breach plug was non existent. The frizzen was also soft but I could not tell that with just my eye.

I am just concerned for your safety. More pictures would be helpful!

The vent hole is screw lined, pictures coming soon

 

[patbking]

Another question now, what is a breech plug?

 

[patbking]

Okay flints came today and I put one in with some lead sheets I made and it gave what I think would be decent sparks if that means anything

 

[patbking]

Another question now, what is a breech plug?

And I found out what that is

 

[jrmflintlock]

Sounds Good!!

Good Luck!!

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Most definitely a CVA Kit from about the early to mid 1980's. Later ones had a rounded rear lock plate. Earlier ones had a steel trigger not brass. That was also about the same time they transitioned from 45 cal to 50. Are you sure it is a 50 cal? Most early CVA kits had no barrel markings. Proofs etc came only on the finished ones until the later 1980's. Proof marks would look like a weird symbol made mostly of zeros on the flat opposite the lock. Very early CVA Kentucky pistols were made at the factory at Jukar. after about 1982 manufacturing was done at Ardesa. Slight changes were made along the way. Early ones had a one piece brass plate for the lock bolts. Later ones used two brass bushings/washers. The ram rod is an easily broken POS. Make a good ram rod of 3/8 inch hickory straight grained doweling. Leave the factory ram rod for looks. The ones made at Ardesa had very good round ball rifling. The locks were often very stiff and needed some tuning.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

BTW by 1993, CVA no longer offered the Kentucky pistol in flint., 50 cal percussion only.

 

[patbking]

Most definitely a CVA Kit from about the early to mid 1980's. Later ones had a rounded rear lock plate. Earlier ones had a steel trigger not brass. That was also about the same time they transitioned from 45 cal to 50. Are you sure it is a 50 cal? Most early CVA kits had no barrel markings. Proofs etc came only on the finished ones until the later 1980's. Proof marks would look like a weird symbol made mostly of zeros on the flat opposite the lock. Very early CVA Kentucky pistols were made at the factory at Jukar. after about 1982 manufacturing was done at Ardesa. Slight changes were made along the way. Early ones had a one piece brass plate for the lock bolts. Later ones used two brass bushings/washers. The ram rod is an easily broken POS. Make a good ram rod of 3/8 inch hickory straight grained doweling. Leave the factory ram rod for looks. The ones made at Ardesa had very good round ball rifling. The locks were often very stiff and needed some tuning.

Ok thank you. And yes, I'm sure it's a .50, my measurement comes to roughly .5 inches