Flints and roundballs for a kentucky pistol

[Liam38]

Recently I've been looking into a flinlock kentucky pistol at a great price and I have never owned a flintlock and never even used one. I know the loading process and all that but I was unsure about a few things. I know that there are different flint sizes but I have know idea which would fit best in a kentucky pistol. Also I've never used a black powder pistol that didn't have a loading lever. So I was wondering what 45 roundball would work well enough (but not so tight I have to hit it with a hammer to start the ball). I apreciate responses and thank you.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Who is it made by? Measure the width of the vise jaws of the cock and buy a flint that is slightly wider. As to the size of the ball that will depend on the bore diameter and the patch thickness. With my Pedersoli .45 cal Kentucky pistol I use a .441 dia ball and a .22 caliber cotton cleaning patch with a bit of Bore Butter lube. It is not hard to load and is very accurate.

 

[BlackNet]

bore diameter - (patch thickness X 2) = ball size

I.e. if you measure the bore (not the grooves) and it is .450 and your patch is 0.015 then => .450 - 0.015 x 2 = 0.420 ball size.

As for load goes 30 grains is generally sufficient for pistols.

 

[mykeal]

.450 - 0.015 x 2 = 0.420 ball size.

Your 'formula' does not allow for a 'crush factor' for the patch material. It will result in a very loose fitting ball/patch combination. That's not necessarily bad - a few guns like that - but in general I'd suggest a tighter fit. In the case of your example (.450 bore) I'd go with a .440 ball and a .010 patch (.460 nominal - not crushed - combination). And I'd at least try a .440/.015 combination to see how the gun liked it.

 

[BlackNet]

This is true very much, about the crush factor. Since the factor is dependent upon the patch material I still stand by the above formula as being a general rule of thumb. You can always round up to the next ball size and that will more than compensate for that crunch. Looking at tracks site for round balls I see 0.410, 0.424, 0.429, 0.433, 0.437, and 0.440. So in the above case 0.424 or 0.429 would work with that thick patch. From my understanding most patches are smaller around the 0.010".

 

[mykeal]

Pillow ticking, the most popular patch material, is almost universally 0.015 to 0.018. I've seen 0.020 and more in denim. 0.010 is the thinnest material generally available.

Using a ball/patch combination that exactly matches the bore dimension results in a fit that's too loose for the majority of guns, in my opinion and experience.

However, that being said, I encourage testing even uncommon combinations, both loose and tight. It's fun shooting these guns, so take advantage of the excuse and give several combinations a try.