Thompson Center Firestorm flintlock tips

[goosespirit]

Hi guys, this is my first post. Killed my first deer with an inline muzzleloader last week, and now have the itch for a flintlock. I ordred a thompson center firestorm and it should be here today. My questions are as follows:

1) I have read about some problems with the frizzen...is there a replacement frizzen that will take care of the problems of eating up flints too fast? Where would I get one?

2) Flints...I have read a few things that the TC flints are not too good. Can you suggest a better one and how to get it?

3) I am thinking of shooting maxi hunters. Can anyone give me some tips on loads for this gun and bullet.

4) I have looked around at the usual sources, cabelas etc, and cannot find ffffg powder for priming. Where can I get this stuff.

5) Any other tips to make this gun as good as it can be.

Thanks in advance.
Mike

 

[roundball]

Hi guys, this is my first post. Killed my first deer with an inline muzzleloader last week, and now have the itch for a flintlock. I ordred a thompson center firestorm and it should be here today. My questions are as follows:

1) I have read about some problems with the frizzen...is there a replacement frizzen that will take care of the problems of eating up flints too fast? Where would I get one?

Old wives tales left over from the 80's and early 90's...TC redesigned their Flint lock assemblies several years ago and they're outstanding...the Firestorm has the new lock assembly.

2) Flints...I have read a few things that the TC flints are not too good. Can you suggest a better one and how to get it?

My personal experience is that Tom Fuller 3/4"wide (by 7/8" long) black english flints are the best in TC's Flintlocks.

3) I am thinking of shooting maxi hunters. Can anyone give me some tips on loads for this gun and bullet.

Use an Oxyoke prelubed wonderwad over the powder charge

4) I have looked around at the usual sources, cabelas etc, and cannot find ffffg powder for priming. Where can I get this stuff.

Any of the Goex distributors, or Graf & Sons in Miss, or Powder,Inc, etc

5) Any other tips to make this gun as good as it can be.

Use loose real blackpowder, not substitute powder pellets.

Enjoy !

 

[Stumpkiller]

Congrats and welcome!

1 - Don't know of a replacement. Hardening the frizzen may help but usually if the flints are shattering it's because they're hitting at a bad arc and that's the cock geometry to the face of the frizzen being out of kilter. Possibly an overly soft frizzen catching the flint is causing it - in which case rehardening will help. A product called Kasenit and a good, hot torch will solve that. [url] http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/productdetail.aspx?p=7626[/url]

Or, have a flintock gunsmith do it for you. Or, good flints may solve it. :wink:

2 - Tom Fuller Black English Flints. Track of the Wolf carries them. [url] http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(1ajl5i55yk2smu45xfdk2f55))/index.aspx[/url]

3 - Caliber? Start at around 80 grains of FFg blackpowder and work up

4 -[url] www.powderinc.com[/url]

5 - Don't know. Never handled one or knew anyone who owned one. The first 200 rounds or so will break the barrel in and accuracy won't be consistant before that. Some flinters do as well with FFFg powder for priming (I prefer that). Keep your hats to brims of 2-1/2" or less (flintlocks can be a surprise initially).

Practice, practice, practice.

Enjoy!

 

[Trench]

Wow, I just looked at the Firestorm system. It's interesting. It looks perfect for the person who has only shot inlines and wants to "ween" themselves away from the modern. Then again, you can load it up like a traditional MZ if you want. Neat.
Hey, I get all my black powder from Gander Mountain, if you have one out your way. It's not on the shelves and you have to ask for it. The store by me carries 1f thru 4f.
Did you plan on using pyrodex pellets for the main charge? Have you thought about round balls? They are CHEAP to shoot and the deer doesn't seem to mind the difference. :wink:
Let us know how you like the rifle and how it shoots!

 

[steelerzzz]

First off..don't buy into the pellets that T/C says this gun is designed for. Real black powder works best(ff or fff and fff or ffff in the pan). Many say that lyman frizzens will work better(they require a little fitting)but my T/C frizzen has worked fine for me. Black English flints throw a much better spark than the T/C flints.Finally, the trigger on mine was really bad from the factory..so I sent it back to them..and it came back a tad better , but still really bad. I then took it to a good gunsmith friend and he reworked it....now it's just right!

 

[pmwest]

Welcome to the forum.

You should not have problems with the frizzen, if anything they are too hard. When the gun comes out of the box you will see that the frizzen face is black, just like all the other surfaces of the frizzen. Take some emory cloth and remove the black from the frizzen face. This will improve the volume of sparks from the start.

I personally like Rich Pierce’s white Missouri flints. Send him a PT and ask him to send you some. Price is reasonable and he is a great guy to work with. My best luck has been to mount them bevel up. I get good flint life and good sparks with these.

I like Goex 2fg for the main charge. It does not seem to matter what bullet goes in front of the charge as long as I pour 90 grains of 2f down the bore first. PRB, Hornady Great Plains, T/C Maxi-Hunter all work well.

As far as other tips, Don’t give up if things don’t go well at first. Hang in there, asked questions and keep on shooting. The more you shoot, the more you learn. I am usually not one to contradict the owner’s manual but one thing you should not do is prime the way the T/C manual describes. The book talks about dribbling powder into the touch hole. Doing this only makes ignition longer. Try to keep the prime to the outside of the pan. Use a vent pick into the vent and main powder charge just before you prime to make sure the vent is open and clear of powder. Don’t compress the powder when you ram the bullet like you would with a modern gun using substitutes. Mark your ramrod for proper depth and don’t push past it.

Good Luck! You will find that you first flintlock deer comes with “smile factor”.

 

[steelerzzz]

Wildshot..thats a good point about the misinformation in the TC manual. I've noticed that after priming a flintlock..some people tap the stock so that the priming powder is closer to the touch hole ..and some tap it the other way so that is away from the touch hole. Confusing to me?? Also I found out the hard way that when removing an unused load through the breech,make sure you remove the touch hole liner or the projectile will get stuck on it.Also .. How can Rich Pierce be reached for purchasing flints? Thanks

 

[irataylor]

You can reach Rich Pierce via the following email address. great flints.

[email protected]

 

[FPDoc]

When the priming charge is covering the touchhole it acts as a fuse and has to burn to the main charge...taking time. If the touchhole is exposed, the ignition of the priming charge lights the main charge directly by the heat/flash as soon as it occurs... giving faster ignition. I sometimes tap to level the priming charge or to make sure the touchhole is exposed to the flash/heat of the priming charge. I always clean the touchhole/prick the main charge to allow the heat/flash further into the main charge and allow more than a couple of grains of the main charge to be touched off at the start. I also try not to pack the main charge too tightly when loading for the same reason.

 

[Loggy]

I owned a TC Firestorm for 5 years.

The 1-48 bbl handled the 370 grain TC Maxiballs well but wouldnt group maxihunters. Also, the 295 grain Powerbelt Aerotip shot well.

Best of luck!