Finding a modern flintlock musket

[Ryanxia]

I would like to get a flintlock rifle/musket just for fun. I've done a little searching trying to find a modern made firing one but keep seeing either non firing replicas or original flintlocks in the thousands. I'm just looking for something fairly inexpensive to be able to shoot.

I don't know if modern flintlocks are more likely to still be smooth bore muskets or have rifling in the bore but either way it would be nice to find one for a few hundred dollars to enjoy at the range. Any suggestions?

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I plan to purchase a new one this year but it seems the options are a lot more than your budget. Perhaps hitting some trapper or frontier fairs might help to find a good used flint musket. I will probably buy another kit from Dixie just so I can have some sweat equity in mine. The small discount they give the kits certainly doesn't equal the work required to finish a kit gun nicely but I sure have enjoyed my projects.

 

[Ryanxia]

I see CVA percussion cap black powder rifles for $80-$200 regularly, I assumed there has to be an equivalent maker of flintlocks for under $400. Maybe not so much in high demand.

 

[MEHavey]

About the least expensive flintlock that can be reasonably depended upon is Lyman's Great Plains: ~$600.
Any really cheap flintlocks are like cheap tools. They will quickly cost you more than if you'd bought reasonable
quality in the first place

 

[Crawdad1]

Well, do you want a rifle or a smoothbore?

Here as some nice smoothbores,

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/488/1/AAL-961
http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/blackpowder-rifles/brown-bess.html
http://www.davide-pedersoli.com/tipologia-prodotti.asp/l_en/idt_54/rifles-brown-bess.html
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Pedersoli-Brown-Bess-Musket/740533.uts
http://www.lodgewood.com/Pedersoli-Shortland-Pattern-Brown-Bess_p_519.html


All firing modern smoothbores, most If not all are past your budget though. But if you look on the auction sites they'll have something used that's within your price range. And I agree 100% with MEHavey, you don't want a cheaply made flintlock.

 

[StrawHat]

The Brown Bess and the Charleville are two muskets that are still available. Both are flintlock and smoothbore. I believe some of the Springfield and Harpers Ferry muskets are also being reproduced.

A flintlock smooth rifle would also be an option if you would like a smaller caliber.

 

[fineredmist]

Cabela's offers a few rifled flinters in the $700 range that are worth looking at. Used flinters can be a huge headache if you need to have repairs made as there are few smiths that know how and parts are expensive. You can't go wrong with a new Pedersoli.

 

[Ryanxia]

Thanks everyone. And thanks Crawdad1 for the links.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Go to a blackpowder rendezvous. You might be able to find a used reproduction musket. Buying used is generally cheaper than new. I'd go for Italian over Indian.

 

[MAKster]

Brown Bess
Charleville
Pennsylvania Long Rifle
Lyman Great Plains Rifle

 

[BCRider]

The cheapest I'd go for is one of the Traditions setups.

I've heard too many bad things about anything out of India or that area of the world that sells for cheaper. Granted they CAN be made to work as many re-enactors have shown. But you're letting yourself in for a heap of possible problems.

Likely your best bet is to up the budget by some more and find a used Lyman GPR in either flint or percussion. Yeah, it'll cost more than you were considering. But by the same token if you shop carefully and score a bit of a deal you should be able to sell it for the same price if you find that it's not your thing. And for the extra money you'll be buying a heap more reliability and accuracy.

So the question then becomes "flint" or "percussion"? I went for flint simply because I wanted to step back in time as far as I could. And there's no doubt at all that the big FOOMP! right by your nose really makes a fella want to jump....

 

[EljaySL]

Cheap flintlocks can definitely be no fun at all. It's actually a bit tricky to have a lock that works every time, has the frizzen hardened properly. And then if you're new, you don't know if it's you or the gun or... bah. So scratch the Indian guns, at least for now.

The Lyman mentioned above is the cheapest real option and they're mostly good but you get the occasional complaint. The Pedersoli guns are really nice and you still get the occasional one where the frizzen wasn't hardened properly. Cabelas does often have sales on them - Brown Bess is often $1000 and there are other odds and ends. The Brown Bess is a LOT of fun.

You might also consider a flintlock pistol. They're a lot more affordable and also a lot of fun although obviously you don't get the full effect as with a full musket.

 

[Dlowe167]

I just seen a new Sharp brand on Guns&AmmoTv i think it was.Im not really flint,but it was gorgeous and really accurate!

 

[Skinny 1950]

I got a really nice .54 Cal Hawken style rifle with a bullet mould, 2 pounds of powder,powder measure,priming flask and a bunch of other stuff for $450.00 CDN so it can be done.
The main thing with a flinter is that it needs a strong mainspring, the flint has to be moving pretty quick to make sparks. The strong mainspring translates into a trigger that is like pulling your truck out of a ditch so I strongly advise a set trigger.
I have a picture up on another thread so I will go see if I can find it.

 

[Ryanxia]

Skinny - your post made me laugh.

BCRider - I already have a percussion cap rifle and percussion cap revolver so I'm only looking at flintlocks. I like shooting black powder but have never shot a flintlock.

Also just looking at rifles, I used to have a couple flintlock pistols, wish I had tried them out before I got rid of them.
I think I will bump the budget, I don't plan on shooting it a whole lot but I certainly want something that works well and won't have issues.

 

[4v50 Gary]

"A strong mainspring is good, but the frizzen spring must have enough resistance otherwise it is easily thrown open with little resultant sparks. As in anything in life, there must be balance." - Zen of Flintlocking

OK, I made up the Zen bit, but the two springs must be balanced.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Look at the classifieds on various muzzleloader forums,the more Traditional the better, and you will probably find some good deals.

 

[Byron]

I had a T/C Hawken 50 cal Flintlock on the For sale section a while ago with accessories.

 

[BCRider]

A strong mainspring is good, but the frizzen spring must have enough resistance otherwise it is easily thrown open with little resultant sparks. As in anything in life, there must be balance." - Zen of Flintlocking.....

That's still some golden information for us that are fairly new to it all. I'd not considered the idea of the frizzen spring being balanced with the hammer spring to ensure a strong enough and consistent enough contact with the flint.

Which brings me to the realization that the shape of the contact foot on the frizzen will also play a part in how the frizzen moves. That would explain why one of my flinters has a more consistent marking on the face than the other, which is clearly letting the flint jump and skip.

Which also makes me realize that the angles and contact arc of the hammer counts for much. And since that whole thing will be dependant on the flint's protrusion I gather I've still got much to learn....

BCRider - I already have a percussion cap rifle and percussion cap revolver so I'm only looking at flintlocks. I like shooting black powder but have never shot a flintlock.

Then you are in for a HEAP of fun. You'll likely not even bother with the cap locks anymore other than when it's raining. And as I'm finding it even takes a fair amount of rain to affect the flint locks. Oh sure, the light rain will reduce the % of successful firings. But that is simply part of the fun. And it sure does point out who has a flinch....