While shooting my right hand flinter left handed..

[Blackfoot]

I had a starteling experience the other day while shooting my right handed flinter left handed. I had a shot not go off then I thought that I dry balled it as it has never done this before so I took the barrel off and opened the vent liner and saw that there was powder in it so I put it back together and cocked it, pointed it at the ground and it fired BUT the flint sent several shards of flint into my right bicep through my shirt sleeve too. I had about 15 bleeding holes in my arm from it.

I thought to myself - Hey I could lose an eye from this while shooting this flinter left handed.

I replaced the flint and it shot great.

So right now I have a few sets of safety glasses in my pack and shooting pouch to wear while I shoot this gun. Also I think that I will be looking for a left handed flinter jusat to be safer, but I will hate to not shoot / hunt with this Blue ridge as it is a tack driver.

It might take me most of the year to be able to purchase a left handed rifle but it will come. I wish it was sooner than later but what can you do.

 

[LFC]

For what it's worth, Deer Creek Products and Warner Guns (the latter is online--Google them for their address) both carry inexpensive left-handed flintlocks.

 

[Birddog6]

ANYTIME I shoot a flintlock, RH or LH, I wear a pair of glasses. You would't believe how many burnt spots I have in them from pieces of flint, shaved metal, carbon, & whatever hitting them. The eye Dr thought it was from welding without a shield but it was not, it was from shooting flintlocks.

One time I got a brand new pair of glasses & forgot to put my old ones on, first dang time out just specked the H out of them !

Now a pair with glass lenses may withstand that heat, but plastic lenses will not take it. Either glass or plastic will withstand the flint shards.

Also the glasses should be real safety glasses, not perscription glasses without side shields.

But ANY glasses are better than none at all....

 

[mazo kid]

You can do a search on[url] www.auctionarms.com[/url] or[url] www.gunbroker.com[/url] for flintlocks and you will find a lefty ever so often. I have picked up 2 myself that way. I've shot right handed guns most of my life, but I feel that shooting left handed, a lefty rifle is a lot safer. I even have 2 left hand flint pistols and am trying to phase out my right hand muzzleloaders. Emery

 

[paulvallandigham]

When I was shooting a RH percussion lock gun, I got pieces of percussion cap into the right side of my face. With a RH flintlock, shooting off my left shoulder, I got chips of flint in my face.

I switched to shooting LH flint, and have not had that problem again. I still have a DB percussion shotgun which I shoot, but I made sure the skirt on the hammer is deep, and that it is notched on the front end like a " hair lip ", so that any pieces of the cap that break off tend to go forward, and not to the rear. I like the idea of having both the cock, and the stock between my Left Eye and cheek, and the flashpan.

There must be some reason RH shooters don't buy and shooter LH flintlocks. :hmm: :shocked2: :grin:

 

[hthomso]

Shooting Glasses! Shooting Glasses! Shooting Glasses! Not just for flintlocks. Buy 'em, Use 'em, Love 'em.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Safety glasses, and be aware where appendages are in relation to a left or right hand vent.

Meself, I am a lefty, own one lefty, the rest are righties, also had a couple of doubles, never had a problem with any.

If anyone has a double flinter, don't like it, and wants to get rid of it cheap, PM me. :wink:

 

[bpbrs]

Yea that is why you should wear glaees of some sort.
I have a friend that has a lefty 40 cal flint custom gun made by Jack Patterson of Crogan, NY he may want to part with it.
It is not a cheapie ..

 

[LRB]

Just a thought. Since you really want to keep the gun, could you install a LH firelock on the left side, and make a brass side plate to fit the RH mortice? Plug the RH vent, and install another on the left? If you can do the work yourself, it should run about $135.oo total. Just thinking out loud. This would weaken that area of the stock a bit, but you could get some strength back by filling the RH mortice with acraglass or something similar. Might be cheaper, and more soul sootheing than buying a left hand gun.

 

[juancho]

Tow weeks ago I shoot a squirrel, just as I was ready to call it a day. Was luky to shoot rigth had a rigth handed rifle, as the flint let go and bounce prety hard againt a tree.That got me thinking to add one of those brass protector thingys the reenactors use. :hmm: And not,I don't use glasses when hunting ,but that will soon probably change .I think I need prescriptions 'cause I can't see the sigths as crisp as I used to.Some call it old age, some wisdom.I just say: old man shoots old gun :rotf:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Every time i shoot my flinter i get plastered across the forehead by the gassed and whatever is coming out of that hole.

 

[tsmgguy]

I really agonized about whether to buy a left handed flinter or not! Because of the potential for problems just as you described, I finally settled on a lefty TRS Baker rifle. It's beautiful and a joy to shoot, but I know that it will have really limited resale value in the years to come.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Ifyour main concern is resale value, then don't buy the gun. Most of us LH shooters decided long ago that if we ever found a LH gun that we liked, we would buy it for our personal use, and not worry about resale value. This sport has the usual weekend warriors, and folks to visit as they do dozens of other sports, spending lots of money that they no longer use when they get bored with it. Because of the limited availability of any LH rifles, or shotguns, LH people have learned to be far wiser in whether they are going to spend the money( Usually a LH gun costs much more) to acquire that LH longgun, or simply find some other sport to use for recreation.

You are living in a golden age, when, because of computers, machines can now produce LH versions of guns that for years were only available in Right handed versions. Enjoy the largess. But enjoy your gun, and plan to be shooting it from a wheel chair on forays out of the nursing home when you are 95. Forget about resale values.

 

[CARBABY]

I don't worry about the resale value on my Left Hand rifles. I'm tell'n the relatives to bury
them with me. :haha:

 

[brubincam]

where are they burying ya...could you send me the GPS cordinance? THANKS.. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: