What is best flintlock flush kit?

[seattlesteve]

I want to buy a flintlock flush kit, but I was put off by a friend who tried one and said he could not get it to work. However, lots of other guys recommend them highly. So some must be better than others.

Can you guys please tell me your experiences and what flush kit you would recommend.

Just to make sure you know what I'm talking about, here is one model I am considering:

http://www.thegunworks.com/custprodgun.cfm?ProductID=501&do=detail&Cat2Option=yes

Pedersoli also makes one.

Any others? Which one works best.

Thanks

 

[vinnynj]

the one shown is the one i have it workes for me on all my flint guns if you have a screw slot vent liner (like petrosolie guns do) it may leek a little no bigie just wipe up when done fast and efficent i use a spray bottle to spray down barrel or you can use a little funnel found at craft stores

 

:applause:The kit works great, one will though have to change the O ring in due time.O rings can be gotten at any good auto parts store. That is the only problem that I have had.

 

[Big John]

Have the same one from totw, work great.

 

[CrackStock]

Steve,

Why would you want one?

Seems to me to be an unnecessary bit of equipment. Can't you pull the lock, find some round toothpicks, plug the vent, fill with water, slosh and then squirt the water through the vent, dry and preserve like most?

Dan'l and Davey did not have plastic tubing or clamps to clean their guns.

Just a thought.

CS

 

[Darryl]

Got mine from Gun Works in Springfield, Oregon. Works just great with my .45 TVM Tennessee flintlock

 

Steve,

Why would you want one?

Seems to me to be an unnecessary bit of equipment. Can't you pull the lock, find some round toothpicks, plug the vent, fill with water, slosh and then squirt the water through the vent, dry and preserve like most?

Dan'l and Davey did not have plastic tubing or clamps to clean their guns.

Just a thought.

CS

IMHO, if there's one place to NOT be PC, it's when cleaning your gun. Dan'l and Davey didn't have Remoil and WD-40 and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and Dawn and all of that stuff either, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to use it to clean my guns so that they'll last forever. If plastic tubing and clamps with rubber o-rings will help me keep my gun spotless and rust-free, then by golly I'm gonna use it, whether they had it 200 years ago or not.

:m2c:

 

[tg]

Many use the flush kits, but they will not clean the gun "better" or faster...probably slower than the usuall method.

 

Got to agree with TG here. Flush kits are the solution to a problem that does not exist.

If you really have to slosh water completely through your flintlock the damage one does to the pins and lugs when removing the barrel is minimal. Much less than the potential damage of cross threading a vent liner, wear on the threads, improper reinstallation.

Why would one repeatedly remove and reinstall a vent liner because he is afraid of wear and tear on the pins and pin holes? Is that what they call an oxymoron?

Are we that much more afraid of punch pins than we are of screwdrivers and hex keys?

Most of my guncleaning is in the field, at a reenactment event after a day of competition and in preperation for the next days shooting. Most is done out of a cup of water with a jag, worm and plenty of patches. The lock is scrwbbed down and oiled, then the stock is lihtly oiled. The bore gets a shot of thin, light lube.

Most of this shooting involves some serious ego busting and occasional exchange of favorite patch knives and powder horns. I want the gun shooting right and no rust damage to the bore! Still, I do not break down the gun at every cleaning.

It is not as much the system you use, or how much hi-tech equipment you use, but doing a thorough job with what you have, that counts.

In the field I treat my fixed and hook breech guns the same. When I get home the hooked breech guns go into the bathtub. (that used to really pi$$ off my X-wife) The fixed breech guns get one more thorough cleaning and an extra shot of WD-40 before storage. Storage never lasts more than 2 weeks. Usually 4 days is the norm.

Most rust actually happens when you put them up and forget about them.
:m2c:

 

[ol vern]

:agree:
Gost nailed it! don't need any of the gee whiz stuff to do a good cleaning job. Soap, water & a little elbow grease is all you need.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

:agree: With what TG and Ghost said. Except, with patten breech guns I do like to run a lot of hot soapy water through that patten breech, especially percussions, as that is the easiest way to get the powder chamber and flash channel really clean.
But this was about flintlocks wasn't it. Well for some mysterious reason, most of the mass produced flintlocks seem to have patten breeches as well.
Now, as for Dan and Davy, why do you suppose rifle barrels were frequently "freshed out"? I doubt it was wear, most folks back then just couldn't afford to do a lot of shooting, couldn't spare the powder and lead nor the time.
I'd expect that most barrels needed work because of rust pitting. It is very rare to find an old gun with a good bore unless it was rebored during the 20th century.
It is NOT rare to find rifles less than 20 years old with badly damaged bores, In fact I'd never buy a used ML gun if I could not inspect the bore, I've seen too many damaged by ignorance and neglect.

 

[schrivener]

Same here.

Your mileage may vary, but I just don't see the logic in spending a bunch of money on something you don't really need, and folks made do with much less, for a LONG time. And many of those guns are still around, and still in good shape.

Field cleaning is with tow, wrapped around a worm, and water. ALL of the residue of black powder is water soluble. Soap, cleaners, etc, are handy, but not necessary. When I get home, I use patches and a jag, but seldom more than 3 or 4 are necessary, unless I skipped the field cleaning entirely. I oil with mutton tallow and beeswax, or jojoba and beeswax, or bear grease. My guns are clean, and shoot consistently.

 

The flush kits I've seen do not require removal of the vent liner, they have an o-ring that seals around the vent hole on the side of the barrel.

You call it an oxymoron, I call it simplicity. Few will argue that removing a slotted vent liner with a screwdriver is a thousand times easier than removing a pinned barrel. Obviously if the vent liner is not slotted for removal this is a moot point.

Yes, if you have a gun with a patent breech, a flush kit is totally unnecessary, but if I can flush my pinned barrel using a flush kit instead of removing and replacing four barrel pins and risk damaging my stock, and it works, I fail to see what the problem is.

I'm also not saying that's the only way it can be done, but it is an option.

 

[tg]

I don't see a problem in how anyone chooses to clean their gun but it just is not a requirement to remove the barrel on a pinned gun to get a good flushing, by simply shoving a damp cloth down the tube after letting some water or whatever soak a while after pluging the vent with a toothpick , a wrap of rag around the stock/lock behind the toothpick prevents any spillage, let this sguirt into a bucket and you will have a well flushed gun, but evry one has thier own preferences.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Well, no Todd, I don't see a lot of old guns still in good shape. Even those that look very good on the outside, if you drop a light down the bore it will look like a brick chimney.
The old timers had to make do with what they had to make do with. There ways WERE the only way because they had not the options we now have. Animal fat makes a fine patch lube but is not much for rust prevention and does not displace moisture at all. Some of the new fangled patch lubes are not any better regardless of their claims.
I agree that the flush tube is unnecessary but I think that if you rely on tallow as your only rust protection you may regret it.
My cleaning methods for pinned barrels are pretty much as you describe except that I finish up with Break-Free inside and out.
:m2c:

 

[mikee51848]

Todd, excuse my ignorance but what is a "tow"? I presently have a TC Hawken, which hooks at the breech. I am getting a traditional flint which does not. So you're saying you don't remove the barrel at all in the cleaning process? :hmm:

 

[Twisted_1in66]

**SNIP** So you're saying you don't remove the barrel at all in the cleaning process? :hmm:

Hi WildatHeart,

No need to remove the barrel on a pinned barrel longrifle. I have had mine off a few times, but it was never for cleaning.

I pull off the lock and, like TG, I'll put a broken off toothpick in the vent. Then I pour some of my cleaning solution into the barrel and let it soak while I take a toothbrush with some solution on it to the lock. I'll also use a Q-tip to get into parts of the lock. After I clean and oil the lock, I'll go back to the barrel.

I'll take an oversized flannel patch, put some cleaning solution on it and and start to run it down the barrel. When I get about 3/4 of the way down or more I'll feel the pressure build up. Making sure that the vent hole is pointing where the spray won't mess anything up, I'll pull the toothpick. You'll be amazed at the junk that will spray out the vent. The spray will go 4 feet or more. Then I'll run a couple more cleaning patches down it until they come back clean. This rarely takes more than both sides of two patches. When they come back clean, I'll run down a dry patch, and follow with an oil patch.

Next I'll take a toothbrush to the fouling around the vent and wipe it with a flannel patch. Then I'll oil it and reassemble the lock to the barrel. I'll oil over the outside of the barrel and I'm done. Never did remove the barrel and it's just as clean as if I had. And I didn't accidently scar up the beautiful piece of wood that my stock is made from by pulling it out and pinning it back in over and over again.
:m2c:

Hope this helps.

 

[Stumpkiller]

. . . but what is a "tow"?

Tow is the coarse flax fibers used eventually to make linen. In the rough state they are similar to hemp or sisal: long fibers that are durable

It works like a gentle Brillo pad when wound around a spial, or double spiral, cleaning jag (called a tow worm). It was a common cleaning material when cloth was scarce. Still works very well. I get mine from Silver Shuttle in Memphis (their ad. is in the back of Muzzle Blasts).

If I'm cleaning a gun without a hooked breech & barrel key I leave the barrel in place.

 

[CrackStock]

Gee, I guess that my gun bore must be a rusty mess. I have never used a plastic gadget on my fullstock flinter as I once did with my cap lock. As stated earlier, I have used whatever water was available, dried with my wiping stick (alcohol is nice if you have it, but not necessary)and preserved with a bit of oil.

It is a shame to think of my poor corroded bore. But as I look at it yet again with my non period correct but handy brass bore light, I see that nobody informed my bore of its sorry condition. It is beaming out at me rather brightly.

Curious.

Ghost reminds me that I did have a use for plastic gewgaws in my early ML experience. I kept my wife happy by not soiling the bath tub with black rings anymore. I started dunking the breach of my early and not very PC hooked breech T/C rifle into a bucket of water. That was before I purchased a fullstock. An old US Fish and Wildlife Agent taught me that plugging and sloshing worked every bit as well as all the gadgets. I could clean my gun in the woods on an overnight trip without all of that junk. Yup, it was good enough for Dan'l and Davey because it really is good enough.

I suggest that you give it a shot some day. The concept is due dilligence -- not sterility in my humble opinion.

YMHS,
CrackStock