What size flintlock for a pistol?

[dhaverstick]

I turned 50 today and, for a birthday present, my brother is going to fund the building of a flintlock pistol for me. I have a good friend who has built a couple of flintlock long guns for me so all I need to do is send him the pistol pieces and he sends me back a firearm.

I have looked at a couple of those pistol kits but here's my problem; I'm left-handed and I would really like a left-handed pistol to match my left-handed long guns. Those kits do not come for either hand so I am looking for a left hand lock small enough to fit on a pistol.

I see that the L&R Manton lock is used on pistols and comes in LH and RH. Does anybody have an opinion on this lock? Do you know of any other locks that would work?

I plan to hunt deer with this pistol so I am open to suggestions of caliber. Also, should I consider a smoothbore barrel for versatility in case I want to hunt small game with it?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Darren

 

[wayne terry]

Hope you had a Good one can't help you with the lock but for cal. in a pistol nothing smaller than 50 for deer for me if it's a single shot but to me there is nothing like shooting a 20 ga. hand cannon with a 9 inch bbl. good luck to ya and be safe.

 

[larryp]

As a fellow lefty I find there's no problem shooting a right handed pistol. The lock is so far from your face as to make no difference. In fact it's easier cocking as I can use my normal shooting hold on the pistol and cock with my right hand with out having to reach over the top of the pistol.
As to caliber if you're wanting to hunt with it I'd get the largest you feel comfortable with ( at least .50) and have front and rear sights on it for an accurate, humane shot.

 

[Coot]

As Larry mentioned, the right hand - left hand thing is not a big deal in a pistol. You should have no issues shooting a right hand lock & that will give you a lot more choice in the matter. As to caliber, I would say a rifled .50 would be my minimum, BUT, check the regs in the state/states where you intend to hunt. Some have minimum calibers and minimum barrel lengths. Regardless of anyone's personal opinion on what is enough or what is preferred, you got to keep peace with the game warden. Jim Chambers offers a nice parts kit with a (as I recall) 12"+ barrel to be able to meet deer regs for some states.

 

[M. De Land]

I have a .54 cal with ten inch barrel and comfortably shoot 50 grains of 2F in it.
The rear sight is a large peep and works very well for accurate shot placement in all light conditions. Mike D.

 

[Patocazador]

A small Siler may work.

 

[M. De Land]

Here is the peep soldered into a regular rear,flat bladed sight.
It was an experimental idea I cobbled together that works exceedingly well on a hand gun. Mike D.

 

[dhaverstick]

Thanks, all! I had a couple of long conversations with Ryan at Muzzleloader Builder's Supply and came up with the following configuration:

.62 caliber smoothbore oct-to-round barrel 12" long
LH Large Siler lock (he said a smaller lock would look wrong against the big barrel)
English light dragoon trigger
Kentucky pistol trigger guard
Ketucky pistol butt cap
Large sterling silver front sight
Tiny rear sight
Furniture and hardware

It all sounded good to me. Hope it gets finished by our season opener on 12/20.

Darren

 

[Dphar]

Thanks, all! I had a couple of long conversations with Ryan at Muzzleloader Builder's Supply and came up with the following configuration:

.62 caliber smoothbore oct-to-round barrel 12" long
LH Large Siler lock (he said a smaller lock would look wrong against the big barrel)
English light dragoon trigger
Kentucky pistol trigger guard
Ketucky pistol butt cap
Large sterling silver front sight
Tiny rear sight
Furniture and hardware

It all sounded good to me. Hope it gets finished by our season opener on 12/20.

Darren

The large Siler will shock the pistol too much to shoot well.
I would use a small Siler. They work fine and there are others like the L&R 1700 are even better.
This is an 1 1/8" barrel with a small Siler done by Don King back in the 1970s or early 80s.

Never looked funny to me.
Dan