Shooting my first flintlock/ lessons learned

[smo]

Everyone learns from their mistakes....
Some more so than others.

If your unsure, ask first.
You’ll come out ahead more times than not.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Yesterday was the day, i headed to the range with my new .50cal pedersoli pennsylvania rifle after completing a long arduous trek to find black powder! Firs shot was loaded with a .490 swaged ball and .010 patch on top of 40gr of 1.5f goex and 2.5gr of 4f in the pan. I drew a bead on the target at 20yds and fired. Click!.....Flash!......silence. After waiting an appropriate ammount of time i picked the flash hole and reprimed with atound 4gr of 4f in the pan, leaving the pan about 3/4 full and again took careful aim while silently repeating "aim small, miss small" and slowly squeezing the trigger. KABOOM! She fired with no appreciable delay between the flash and main charge ignition, the ball impacting about an inch right of the bullseye and I was happier than a kid at christmas!

Increasing the main charge to 60grn of 1.5f and swabbing the barrel between shots, the next 6 shots went off much the same as the first with 5 of them striking the bullseye and overall maintaining a 4 inch group. I was quite happy with my first time flintlock performance, shooting from a bench with no support other than my elbow on the table.

Trouble struck on the 8th shot, the patch/ball stuck about 8 inches below the muzzle and no amount of banging on it with my 7/16 wooden range rod was going to move it any farther. In a fit of brilliance I grabbed my factory rod i had been swabbing with, unscewed the jag and installed the ball puller on the bottom and my T handled ball starter on the top. I got the puller screwed into tha ball and gave the t handle a few good smacks, predictably the cheap factory rod snapped about 4 inches above the lower thimble leaving the ball, puller, and a chunk of broken rod in the barrel. Defeated I packed up and headed for home.

Arriving home I removed the lock/ flash hole liner and powder charge and attempted to blow it out with compressed air, no luck. Being an aircraft mechanic and moving on to the next idea, i dug around and found a grease fitting that just happened to have the required M8x1.25 thread to fit the vent hole so i scewed it in and started greasing away....and quickly discovered my junk drawer grease fitting had a bad check valve so I couldnt build any pressure. As luck would have it, not one auto supy place around has a grease fitting with the the required thread pitch so i placed an order for a few this morning and they will be here in a few days.

As i sit here writing this, with a ball and broken rod still lodged in the barrel and now a barrel half full of grease i have plenty of time to look back and reflect on every opportunity I had to break the chain of events that got me here. If im unable to pump the ball out with grease later this week I will have to find a gunsmith who can pull the breech plug and drive everything out from the back. At least I can rest easy knowing that there is so much grease in the barrel now that the black powder fouling cant possibly absorb moisture and rust the barrel so there is a bright side to it all?

All in all, despite the above misadventure, I am now addicted to flintlocks. I cant remember the last time i had so much fun shooting anything. It is definitely an art to be able to consistently hit the target and I have even more respect for those who can fire offhand and hit 24" gongs at 200 yards or more. I cant wait to get mine going again and put more lead balls down range.

Chris

That story really covers it all, happiness, elation, frustration, consternation, contemplation...sound like you've covered all the bases in one fell swoop. You are now a master...

 

[Fly103]

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

 

[smo]

I would get a muzzle protector for the rod as well.

The size of the rod is kinda caliber related..

I have several rods to cover various calibers.
Determine what size jag and worm screw you’re going to use 8/32 or 10/33, get your equipment together before shooting again and be careful when wiping with dry patches... the rod can become stuck.. Good Luck

 

[flntlokr]

Yesterday was the day, i headed to the range with my new .50cal pedersoli pennsylvania rifle after completing a long arduous trek to find black powder! Firs shot was loaded with a .490 swaged ball and .010 patch on top of 40gr of 1.5f goex and 2.5gr of 4f in the pan. I drew a bead on the target at 20yds and fired. Click!.....Flash!......silence. After waiting an appropriate ammount of time i picked the flash hole and reprimed with atound 4gr of 4f in the pan, leaving the pan about 3/4 full and again took careful aim while silently repeating "aim small, miss small" and slowly squeezing the trigger. KABOOM! She fired with no appreciable delay between the flash and main charge ignition, the ball impacting about an inch right of the bullseye and I was happier than a kid at christmas!

Increasing the main charge to 60grn of 1.5f and swabbing the barrel between shots, the next 6 shots went off much the same as the first with 5 of them striking the bullseye and overall maintaining a 4 inch group. I was quite happy with my first time flintlock performance, shooting from a bench with no support other than my elbow on the table.

Trouble struck on the 8th shot, the patch/ball stuck about 8 inches below the muzzle and no amount of banging on it with my 7/16 wooden range rod was going to move it any farther. In a fit of brilliance I grabbed my factory rod i had been swabbing with, unscewed the jag and installed the ball puller on the bottom and my T handled ball starter on the top. I got the puller screwed into tha ball and gave the t handle a few good smacks, predictably the cheap factory rod snapped about 4 inches above the lower thimble leaving the ball, puller, and a chunk of broken rod in the barrel. Defeated I packed up and headed for home.

Arriving home I removed the lock/ flash hole liner and powder charge and attempted to blow it out with compressed air, no luck. Being an aircraft mechanic and moving on to the next idea, i dug around and found a grease fitting that just happened to have the required M8x1.25 thread to fit the vent hole so i scewed it in and started greasing away....and quickly discovered my junk drawer grease fitting had a bad check valve so I couldnt build any pressure. As luck would have it, not one auto supy place around has a grease fitting with the the required thread pitch so i placed an order for a few this morning and they will be here in a few days.

As i sit here writing this, with a ball and broken rod still lodged in the barrel and now a barrel half full of grease i have plenty of time to look back and reflect on every opportunity I had to break the chain of events that got me here. If im unable to pump the ball out with grease later this week I will have to find a gunsmith who can pull the breech plug and drive everything out from the back. At least I can rest easy knowing that there is so much grease in the barrel now that the black powder fouling cant possibly absorb moisture and rust the barrel so there is a bright side to it all?

All in all, despite the above misadventure, I am now addicted to flintlocks. I cant remember the last time i had so much fun shooting anything. It is definitely an art to be able to consistently hit the target and I have even more respect for those who can fire offhand and hit 24" gongs at 200 yards or more. I cant wait to get mine going again and put more lead balls down range.

Chris

If you can get your liner out (I reccommend you do it regularly) Make one of these adaptors and use it rather than f)(*(*&%ing grease or a ball screw (which expands the ball tighter into the barrel). Iuse a 12v compressor if away from home, but a bicycle pump works just as well.
Have fun; this probably isn't the last time you will need it. As a bonus, if you take the valve out, you can stick a piece of tubing on it for cleaning.

 

[flntlokr]

The

I was shooting 1.5f since that is all i could find locally. My local gun shop is saying mid march before their next BP order comes in ad they are currently sold out of everything except null B.

Grabbing hold of the broken rod is a no go since it broke about 5 inches below the muzzle. Ive got to push it out from behind.

Chris

The problem is not wit your powder, it's with your lube. Water with some dish detergent (10:1) is all you need. Let your patches soak for some time before you want to use them. I do that in pill botttles. Take out a bunch to shoot, and squeeze all the liquid you can out, then put those in your 'ready' container. They will swab the barrel with each load. If for some reason you feel things getting 'sticky', load the next round slowly! with a super wet patch; that should get it going again. Oily or greasy patches should be saved for hunting, or for when you will have the gun loaded for a long time.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

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

Several of my muzzleloader have barrels in excess of 40”. I looked high and low for a good durable metal rod with a barrel guide, finally settled in on the one offered at Track of the Wolf.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Dang near dry-balled my Traditions carbine today. Had a wad in my fingers and thought "Did I put in the powder?" Put the patch down and upended the gun and...nothing. Whew.

wm

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Dang near dry-balled my Traditions carbine today. Had a wad in my fingers and thought "Did I put in the powder?" Put the patch down and upended the gun and...nothing. Whew.

wm

I haven't dry-balled in 15 years...maybe longer. Then last Saturday happened...humbling.

Glad you caught it, good catch.

 

[RWDelung]

Yesterday was the day, i headed to the range with my new .50cal pedersoli pennsylvania rifle after completing a long arduous trek to find black powder! Firs shot was loaded with a .490 swaged ball and .010 patch on top of 40gr of 1.5f goex and 2.5gr of 4f in the pan. I drew a bead on the target at 20yds and fired. Click!.....Flash!......silence. After waiting an appropriate ammount of time i picked the flash hole and reprimed with atound 4gr of 4f in the pan, leaving the pan about 3/4 full and again took careful aim while silently repeating "aim small, miss small" and slowly squeezing the trigger. KABOOM! She fired with no appreciable delay between the flash and main charge ignition, the ball impacting about an inch right of the bullseye and I was happier than a kid at christmas!

Increasing the main charge to 60grn of 1.5f and swabbing the barrel between shots, the next 6 shots went off much the same as the first with 5 of them striking the bullseye and overall maintaining a 4 inch group. I was quite happy with my first time flintlock performance, shooting from a bench with no support other than my elbow on the table.

Trouble struck on the 8th shot, the patch/ball stuck about 8 inches below the muzzle and no amount of banging on it with my 7/16 wooden range rod was going to move it any farther. In a fit of brilliance I grabbed my factory rod i had been swabbing with, unscewed the jag and installed the ball puller on the bottom and my T handled ball starter on the top. I got the puller screwed into tha ball and gave the t handle a few good smacks, predictably the cheap factory rod snapped about 4 inches above the lower thimble leaving the ball, puller, and a chunk of broken rod in the barrel. Defeated I packed up and headed for home.

Arriving home I removed the lock/ flash hole liner and powder charge and attempted to blow it out with compressed air, no luck. Being an aircraft mechanic and moving on to the next idea, i dug around and found a grease fitting that just happened to have the required M8x1.25 thread to fit the vent hole so i scewed it in and started greasing away....and quickly discovered my junk drawer grease fitting had a bad check valve so I couldnt build any pressure. As luck would have it, not one auto supy place around has a grease fitting with the the required thread pitch so i placed an order for a few this morning and they will be here in a few days.

As i sit here writing this, with a ball and broken rod still lodged in the barrel and now a barrel half full of grease i have plenty of time to look back and reflect on every opportunity I had to break the chain of events that got me here. If im unable to pump the ball out with grease later this week I will have to find a gunsmith who can pull the breech plug and drive everything out from the back. At least I can rest easy knowing that there is so much grease in the barrel now that the black powder fouling cant possibly absorb moisture and rust the barrel so there is a bright side to it all?

All in all, despite the above misadventure, I am now addicted to flintlocks. I cant remember the last time i had so much fun shooting anything. It is definitely an art to be able to consistently hit the target and I have even more respect for those who can fire offhand and hit 24" gongs at 200 yards or more. I cant wait to get mine going again and put more lead balls down range.

Chris

So from all this have you determined how to avoid this from happening again next time?

 

[Ponderosaman]

I’m glad it worked out for you. I have some experience with BP shooting, but with fixing mechanical things I have tons. Had it been me, I’d have used a small hammer to tap the ball past the tight spot, then shot it out. Woulda coulda shoulda, sorry for the Sunday morning quarter-backing, but maybe will help someone in the future.

 

[Flinty Scot]

I've gotten distracted when loading & have that same moment, w/ ball & path in hand, wondering if I'd really charged.
I hate to waste powder, so I wet the tip of my ramrod; run it down &, if powder comes out on it; breathe easy & finish loading.

 

[Mulebrain]

What type of patch lube were you using? In all my years of BP, never had a problem like this one

 

[Grenadier1758]

My loading procedure at the range with the rifle at the loading bench in position and known / verified to be unloaded, is to measure the powder and pour the powder into the muzzle through a funnel. I leave the funnel in the barrel to indicate that powder has been poured. The funnel is not removed until the ball and patch are ready. The funnel is then removed and the patch placed over the barre mouth and the the ball to be started. The ball is rammed and the rifle taken to the shooting bench for priming and shooting. I bring the rifle back to the bench and wipe the bore with a damp patch and a dry patch. Time too start the loading procedure over again. Since I have used the funnel in the barrel as an idicator of powder at the breech, I have not had a dry ball.

 

[Cpt Flint]

Rice Barrels makes a dandy breechplug removal tool. Every shop needs one because the day is coming when the breechplug needs to come out if you shoot enough.

 

[Bill Bryan]

I shoot a .50 cal flintlock with a .490 RB and a pretty tight cut patch. 3f in charge and pan. I run a patch down over the bullet every shoot and I've never had a problem of sticking balls. My 2 cents. Bill

 

[LongJnSilver]

Yesterday was the day, i headed to the range with my new .50cal pedersoli pennsylvania rifle after completing a long arduous trek to find black powder! Firs shot was loaded with a .490 swaged ball and .010 patch on top of 40gr of 1.5f goex and 2.5gr of 4f in the pan. I drew a bead on the target at 20yds and fired. Click!.....Flash!......silence. After waiting an appropriate ammount of time i picked the flash hole and reprimed with atound 4gr of 4f in the pan, leaving the pan about 3/4 full and again took careful aim while silently repeating "aim small, miss small" and slowly squeezing the trigger. KABOOM! She fired with no appreciable delay between the flash and main charge ignition, the ball impacting about an inch right of the bullseye and I was happier than a kid at christmas!

Increasing the main charge to 60grn of 1.5f and swabbing the barrel between shots, the next 6 shots went off much the same as the first with 5 of them striking the bullseye and overall maintaining a 4 inch group. I was quite happy with my first time flintlock performance, shooting from a bench with no support other than my elbow on the table.

Trouble struck on the 8th shot, the patch/ball stuck about 8 inches below the muzzle and no amount of banging on it with my 7/16 wooden range rod was going to move it any farther. In a fit of brilliance I grabbed my factory rod i had been swabbing with, unscewed the jag and installed the ball puller on the bottom and my T handled ball starter on the top. I got the puller screwed into tha ball and gave the t handle a few good smacks, predictably the cheap factory rod snapped about 4 inches above the lower thimble leaving the ball, puller, and a chunk of broken rod in the barrel. Defeated I packed up and headed for home.

Arriving home I removed the lock/ flash hole liner and powder charge and attempted to blow it out with compressed air, no luck. Being an aircraft mechanic and moving on to the next idea, i dug around and found a grease fitting that just happened to have the required M8x1.25 thread to fit the vent hole so i scewed it in and started greasing away....and quickly discovered my junk drawer grease fitting had a bad check valve so I couldnt build any pressure. As luck would have it, not one auto supy place around has a grease fitting with the the required thread pitch so i placed an order for a few this morning and they will be here in a few days.

As i sit here writing this, with a ball and broken rod still lodged in the barrel and now a barrel half full of grease i have plenty of time to look back and reflect on every opportunity I had to break the chain of events that got me here. If im unable to pump the ball out with grease later this week I will have to find a gunsmith who can pull the breech plug and drive everything out from the back. At least I can rest easy knowing that there is so much grease in the barrel now that the black powder fouling cant possibly absorb moisture and rust the barrel so there is a bright side to it all?

All in all, despite the above misadventure, I am now addicted to flintlocks. I cant remember the last time i had so much fun shooting anything. It is definitely an art to be able to consistently hit the target and I have even more respect for those who can fire offhand and hit 24" gongs at 200 yards or more. I cant wait to get mine going again and put more lead balls down range.

Chris

Loved reading this - despite your troubles - because of your troubles since they teach us Newbies to this awesome sport! So, thanks for sharing your BIG FLUB!

 

[LongJnSilver]

I shoot a .50 cal flintlock with a .490 RB and a pretty tight cut patch. 3f in charge and pan. I run a patch down over the bullet every shoot and I've never had a problem of sticking balls. My 2 cents. Bill

So, the bullet IN a patch, and a patch on top of the bullet? A LUBED patch, and if so, what lube? Thanks.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@LongJnSilver,

No, what @Bill Bryan is telling us is that he puts a damp cleaning patch on his jag after he has loaded a ball to wipe the fouling out of the barrel after the ball is loaded. no patch is left over the ball and patch.

 

[flntlokr]

If you suddenly find lots of fouling about 5-6 inches down from the muzzle, you may have short-started (but not rammed) the ball, thus leaving a whole lot of unburned crud in the barrel (like what you get when shooting blanks). Not often a problem unless you are. shooting heavy loads, but be sure to carefully check for potential bulge at that point. Sometimes it's pretty hard to hear/feel when this occurs, but always worth a quick check. Nobody is perfect, and a bit of distraction while in the loading sequence can lead to problems like that. Over the years. I have seen a few bulged tubes, though mostly smoothies. (thinner barrels)