Flintlock in rain?
- Thread starter Vermonter
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Cap n Ball
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Rim the flash pan with beeswax and cover the entire lock with a waterproofed leather cup. Tie the cup to your triggerguard so you don't lose it. Plug the touch hole with a match stick shaved down to fit tight. I use a short feather sometimes. Properly loaded and protected the charge should be good for a long time. Plug the muzzle with a tompion. In the old days muzzle plugs or tompions were often quite fanciful.
rocklock
Member
What cap n ball said. Another tip is to make sure the flash pan is completely clean from burned powder residue. The residue attracts moisture like a magnet - I have actually seen it forming in seconds in the pan once when shooting at a covered range in the rain. I use electrical or duct tape to cover the muzzle - one can shoot right through it - I'm the kind of guy that would forget to pull a plug out. It's not unreasonable to change out the charge every day, too.
Being in "Wise N. Hiemer" mode, I was gonna say "Bring a propane torch to light it off..." 
The other posters have it right, though. I have seen some guys use the beeswax-n-leather-cup to keep the flashpan and priming dry. Cleaning the pan between shots on humid days certainly helps. In a real heavy-duty rain ("Help! I'm caught in the leading edge of a hurricane!), use all the tips above.
The other posters have it right, though. I have seen some guys use the beeswax-n-leather-cup to keep the flashpan and priming dry. Cleaning the pan between shots on humid days certainly helps. In a real heavy-duty rain ("Help! I'm caught in the leading edge of a hurricane!), use all the tips above.
"In the day" all the better guns had rain-proof pans. The hammer (frizzen) was tightly fitted and went down over the pan so as to shield it completely from the rain. Those guns would fire in a downpour.
Of course, the same could not be said of the typical crude military musket and today I doubt anyone knows how to make a rainproof lock.
Jim
Of course, the same could not be said of the typical crude military musket and today I doubt anyone knows how to make a rainproof lock.
Jim
Old Dragoon
Member
I used Clear nail polish to seal the pan, all around the pan and up and over where it joins the bbl, and a small balloon to cover the muzzle. Worked like a charm. You can shoot thru the balloon too. I had a leather frizzen face cover tied to the TG too.
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