Shooting my first flintlock/ lessons learned

[Fly103]

I think the real issues that lead to this were my failure to remove all of the factory anti corrosive from the bore along with my use of 1.5f powder. I was swabbing with a damp patch between shots and i had noticed on the previous swab that the patch became very hard to pull at the same point the ball got hung up on the subsequent load atempt.

I would caution all newbies that acting out frustration leads to more problems and more frustration. A chain of preventable events preceeds all major screwups and it only takes a minute to stop, think, and break a link in the chain before impulsive actions taken out of frustration really ruin your day.

Chris

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Very thought provoking...

 

[M. De Land]

I think the real issues that lead to this were my failure to remove all of the factory anti corrosive from the bore along with my use of 1.5f powder. I was swabbing with a damp patch between shots and i had noticed on the previous swab that the patch became very hard to pull at the same point the ball got hung up on the subsequent load atempt.

I would caution all newbies that acting out frustration leads to more problems and more frustration. A chain of preventable events preceeds all major screwups and it only takes a minute to stop, think, and break a link in the chain before impulsive actions taken out of frustration really ruin your day.

Chris

Chris, I'd run a plug gauge down your bore and see if you have a tight spot where the ball got hung up since you said a patch got stuck in the same place. I'd also get a bore scope in to take a look.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Fly103,
Now that the ball and the grease has been removed from the bore of your rifle, are you experiencing any tightness where the ball stuck to cause your problem? You said you noticed a tight spot just before the ball got stuck. Its easy now to say that you should have run another damp patch down the barrel to see if the tightness could be eliminated by another moist cleaning patch. It will be prudent to make sure that there are no lingering issues with your bore.

 

[Fly103]

After thorougly cleaning everything out thoroughly, I no longer noticed a tight spot in the bore. There is no damage/deformation of any sort where the stuck ball occurred. I had noticed the same "sticky" spot when loading the second shot but was able to push the ball through it and had been swabbing after every shot on subsequent reloads. In hindsight prudence should have dictated swabbing a second time but i had succumbed to flintlock fever and wanted to reload without delay......

I also put a ball gauge in the barrel after cleaning and came up with a bore diameter of .4905" which would jive with my observation that the pulled .490 ball exhibited slight crimping in its midsection and its diameter now measured .4852". It had been loaded with a .010 patch. I have ordered a box of .480 balls along with .018 and .005 patching material to see what she really likes..

 

[smo]

Fly, how’s the bore condition? Any pitting?

I have seen rifles that are slightly pitted have loading issues much like you describe..

 

[Fly103]

smo, bore condition is brand new and shiny, rifle has only fired 7 shots.

Chris

 

[Woody Morgan]

smo, bore condition is brand new and shiny, rifle has only fired 7 shots.

Chris

Well, 6 1/2.

wm

 

[Fly103]

Woody..... maybe 7 1/3? Stuck on reloading for number 8.

 

[Flinty Scot]

With a new barrel/bore, could a burr on the rifling cause enough localized fouling to cause this problem?
Maybe polishing the bore would help.

 

[Ballshooter]

I am definitely in the market for a nice brass rod so i dont have to go through this again! My previous range rod was a 7/16 oak dowell with a nice turned handle. It quite obviously didnt have the heft to drive this ball home.

Chris

My GPR is sporting a solid brass ram rod..Range rod cut down yeah it's heavy but it won't ever break lol.

 

[SwanShot]

Yep. been there, done that. It's such fun cleaning out all the grease. Now I stop and swab out the bore as soon as it starts to get scratchy.

 

[SwanShot]

The rifle is effectively degreased and clean. I will invest in a good brass range rod so i'll have something a bit more meaty to shove the ball down with. What diameter brass rod should i look for? Do i need to put any special end on it or just bevel the edges so it doesnt bind against the barrel? My current range rod is a 7/16 oak dowel with handle i turned on my lathe, when the ball stuck it just didnt have the mass to break it loose.

My local powder supplier got in a new shipment of goex friday and i snapped up a lb of ff and 2lbs of fff. No more having to use 1.5f and fight the fouling after every shot.

Thanks for all the input and suggestions along the way and if even one person reads my saga and benefits from it, it will have been more than worth it.

Chris

I use a steel rod myself and just yesterday at the range we had a dry ball that wouldn't budge. Some plain old water down the bore and an adjustable wrench used like a slapping hammer on the underside of the rod handle moved it the first inch, then it came out easy.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

We shoot up to 75 rounds at a time and never have to swab, never have at get a ball stuck.
There must be a secret that is being over looked....

 

[waksupi]

I would guess some Bore Butter or similar was used for lube. It will work in some climates, not others. Here in the high dry west, I can't think of any locals using it.