Hi,
Percussion replaced flint because it was more reliable in poor weather with less care than a flintlock. It improved accuracy a little because gas escape was less compared with gas escaping from a flintlock touch hole. All of those attributes were established through extensive testing at the time. Something not appreciated by many folks, once the industrial process was developed, the percussion cap likely was much easier and cheaper to produce with higher quality control than knapping flints. In addition, good quality percussion locks likely were cheaper to produce than similar quality flintlocks. While sportsmen were attracted to the reliability factor, the real driver of change was the military. They eventually appreciated all of those factors particularly when considered under battlefield conditions and war production. However, within the context and conditions most of us modern muzzleloader shooters operate, there really is not a clear winner between the systems, although, theoretically, the percussion gun should be a little more accurate owing to less gas escape. With careful use, a flintlock is just as reliable as percussion and has some advantages such as it is easier to resolve misfires and hang fires because every component is accessible, whereas, with percussion the flash channel has to be accessed through the nipple, sometimes the nipple has to be removed, and sometimes a clean out screw has to be removed. Those are all things that may be difficult with cold gloved hands or in wet weather. With respect to reliability, I have a flintlock rifle that I have now successfully fired >540 times without a misfire or hangfire, even when the flints were worn down to nubs. The lock on this rifle is exceptionally good and none of my other flint guns perform quite as well. The performance of the rifle also is superior to any percussion gun that I own and shoot frequently. Anyway, the bottom line is that if you learn to shoot and care for a flintlock you can be equally confident with either system. From an historical perspective, flintlocks were used much longer than percussion muzzleloaders and most of the guns I build are from the flint era and use flintlocks. One final point, if you learn to shoot a flintlock well, particularly in focusing on the sights, following through the shot, and avoiding the distraction of the flash and movement of the frizzen and flintcock, you will become a better shooter with percussion and modern arms.
dave
