How to load a flintlock?

[Burt Blade]

I just purchased my first flintlock rifle, secondhand. It is a rather nice Robert Watts replica of a Southern Mountain Rifle, in .45 caliber.

How does one properly load such a rifle? I have fired some cap-n-ball revolvers, but have exactly zero flintlock experience (other than having made campfires with a flint and steel).

If the land-to-land diameter measures .452, and the groove-to-grove .465, what is the correct diameter projectile? I am assuming a patched roundball is the right kind, but how does one determine the correct cloth to use (especially thickness), and ball diameter to use?

Real black powder is a little hard to get around here. Can one prime a flintlock with a black powder substitute? If so, what kind of BP substitute powder and what grain size? I tried some tests using American Pioneer Powder FFFg and Triple Seven FFFg for primer, and the results were terrible. it often took 5 or more strikes to get the powder to ignite.

 

[bfoster]

If the twist rate of your barrel is on the order of 1 turn in 60 inchs or greater you've got a round ball barrel, though some rifles having a twist as fast as 1 turn in 48 inches will shoot round balls surprisingly well.

There are a couple combinations of ball/patch worth trying.

1. 0.433/0.435" ball with 0.015" patch material.

2. 0.440" ball with 0.012" patch material. This patch material is sometimes readily available, sometimes harder to find than 0.015".

If both of these combinations prove too hard to load try a 0.440" ball with 0.010" patch material.

In working up your load the rifle will reveal what it will shoot well.

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You'll almost certainly find that you get the easiest, fastest, and most consistent ignition using 4fg powder in the pan, though 3fg will work in a pinch. Don't fill the pan, fill the flash pan only about 1/3 to at most 2/3 "full". Too much powder will actually slow ignition, and reduce reliable ignition of the main charge.

Likewise, black powder used in the main charge is far easier to ignite than are any of the substitutes, and I believe that I've tried all of the currently available "black powder replacement" products. Personally I prefer to use 2f for the main charge in 45 calibre rifles if I can secure a "moist" burning powder, but I have used slightly smaller charges of 3f with success.

IMO, good English flints are very hard to beat. Also, a well polished (use crocus cloth or very fine abrasive in rubberized sticks (Cartex and Norton make these)) hammer (frizzen) will provide a more reliable spark and the flint will last much longer. Don't abrade/sand the hammer (frizzen), polish it, you want to put a shine on the steel, not remove material; this part is case hardened, often the case isn't very thick.

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Before you commence loading be sure that the ignition components, touchhole and barrel are absolutely free of oil, then insert a pick into the touchhole. Commercial prodicts are available, but the quill of a feather of appropriate size works well. To load, start with a modest charge, say 50 grains by volume. Transfer the powder from your flask to a charging measure after making certain that there are no bits of smoldering material within the rifle. Pour the powder down the barrel using a small funnel if you wish. If you're going to use a cast ball remember that you want to load "sprue up". Swaged balls don't show a sprue, orientation doesn't matter with them. If you're using precut patches be sure to center both the patch and the ball carefully, if your using a "hank" of material use a corner leaving sufficient to cut. Start the ball with your thumb, then use the short "tit" on a 45 calibre ball starter to start the ball into the barrel by bumping the knob of the starter with the ball of your hand once. This is the time to trim your patch if you're not using precuts. Don't use a 50 calibre starter, or some other size, you'll deform the ball. With the loading rod grapsed in both hands close to the muzzle, ease the ball down maintaining steady pressure until it seats firmly on the powder. Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, always. Be sure that it is fully seated (marking the rod after load development helps assure this), but do not bounce the rod on the ball, you'll just deform the lead by doing this. At this point remove the faether or pick from the touchhole gently. Move the cock to the half cock position, move the hammer (frizzen) to the forward/open position and prime the pan. Personally I prefer to use a "pan charger" for this operation but you'll find opinion split among rifleman on the value/drawbacks of this accessory. Close the hammer (frizzen) and move the cock to the full cock position.

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Unless your rifle has pan and touchhole features used at the close of the flint era by the very best makers in England and France (precious metal inlays are a giveaway, but the shape of the components changed somewhat too) its best to keep the powder in the pan toward the outside edge, again, this will aide in reliable ignition.

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Many good .45 calibre (roundball) rifles shoot roundballs quite well with a charge of about 70 grains of black powder (by volume). By quite well, I mean five shot groups (shot from a bench) of one ragged hole at 50 yards, if cleaned as necessary. Work up in 5 or 10 grain increments, but never exceed the maximum charge recommended by the maker.

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To clean the rifle I simply use hot water, being sure to thoroughly dry then oil the bore before the barrel cools. Do use a rag to protect your hand from both the scalding water and the heat the barrel will absorb throught cleaning. Regardless of what the advertising folks say, a thorough cleanup of a rifle that has been used with black powder takes no longer than the same rifle used with any of the substitutes I've used, about 10 minutes once the water is hot enough (a bit longer on a double, and about 25 minutes for a cap and ball revolver- the powder fouling there is like sand on the beach- it gets everywhere).

best,

Bob

 

[Burt Blade]

Bob,

Thanks for a very informative reply. It is much appreciated.

I have no manufacturer's information at all, as the rifle is secondhand and the maker passed away a while back. Thus, I am flying blind on proper loads. I infer from your post that 70 grains is likely a safe load for a typical replica rifle. What would a ballpark maximum be? 80? 100?

I had no idea you were supposed to use the pick to keep the touchhole clear of main charge powder. I thought picks were just to clear fouling between shots. Should I try to get priming powder in the touchhole, or keep it clear?

Thanks for the advice on flints, frizzen care, and use of real BP. I have purchased some "factory" flints, and they are real sparkers compared to the chipped and cracked one that came with the gun.

Thanks again, Bob. It is much appreciated.

 

[Iggy]

Bob gave you some great information

As to maximum loads,, Muzzle loaders have a sweet spot where they are most efficient and most accurate.. It takes a bunch of shooting and changing components ie ball size, patch thickness etc to find that spot..

As Bob reccomended start with a load with the same amount of grains as the caliber of the rifle.. and work up in 5 grain increments..Shoot 5 shot groups with each load..

You will see the groups tighten up to a point and then begin to spread out..

ML's reach a point of diminishing returns as the loads increase.. Too much powder and you begin to "blow" shred patches and the accuracy goes down.

As you are shooting, after each incremental change, go out 10 to 20 feet in front of where you are shooting and gather up the fired patches.. Good loads will sear the patch, and leave imprints of the rifling on the patch

As the loads increase you will find the patches shredded, frayed and virtually destroyed.. and you accuracy will be going down accordingly.

The old timers talked about "learning your gun" well this is where you get your lessons..

If your patching material is too thin the patches will shred even with light loads.. thus you either need a thicker patch or a larger ball..

It takes time and patience to "learn your gun"

Have fun..

 

[bfoster]

I won't recommend a maximum charge over the net, there are too many variables. If in doubt see a gunsmith who is competent in black powder arms. Here are some considerations.

1. In .45 calibre some barrels are offered as small as octagons of 13/16" across the flats in the breech area. In this case the wall thickness of the barrel is a limiting factor. Personally, I'd never load such a rifle using a patched ball with a charge of over 80 grains of FFg, though doubtless, some have pushed the envelope. On the other hand, some old time target rifles (mostly percussion, but some used flint ignition) in this bore size had barrels as big as 2" across the flats. These were never used with heavy charges.

2. .45 calibre hunting rifles having barrels in the 0.94/1.12" (across the flats) range in the breech area are sometimes loaded with charges of FFg of 85 to 95 grains. An increase in fouling and a (sometimes slight) decrease in accuracy can be inconsequential in a rifle used for hunting.

3. As a broad generalization, increasing the charge beyond some point in the 80 to 90 grain range in a .45 calibre round ball rifle results in much less efficient use of the powder, that is the velocity gained per grain of additional powder becomes insignificant. Beyond this point fouling, under some conditions, will become a problem. Where this happens depends on a number of factors, among them bore finish, type of rifling, the fit of the ball and patch being used in the barrel, the patch material used, the breeching setup of the particular rifle (there's a lot of variety there as might be expected of a system used for hundreds of years), the type and "nature" of the powder used (there is quite a bit of variation here), and to an extent, the efficiency of the lock and the touchhole.

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Remove the pick or quill from the touchhole gently. The presence of powder in the touchhole will lead to slower, and often less reliable ignition. The rifle will fire perceptibly faster when the "flash" is able to "jump" from the pan to the main charge than is the case when the "flash" has to ignite and burn a train of loose powder leading to the main charge.

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Though mastering the art of flint knapping can well be a lifes' work, acquiring enough of a knack to keep a flint servicable afield isn't hard. Your best bet is to attend a course in basic flint knapping.

Bob

 

[Poodleshooter]

Burt:
As Bob mentioned, there is no substitute in a flintlock.
Check this link for Goex distributors: http://www.goexpowder.com/distributors.html
The best way to buy is to get together with friends and buy a large amount from one of these distributors to save on Hazmat fees. You'll probably find that shooting regular BP is cheaper than any substitute with the possible exception of pyrodex. Shooting a .45 roundball gun you can probably get a can of 4F and several cans of 3F to handle all of your shooting needs.
Finding local distributors can be tough, but it can be done. My closest vendor for it is 2 hours away,but at $10 per lb. for Goex and $7 per lb. for Elephant, I make the trip!

 

[Matthew_Q]

I'll agree with the comments about charges. My .50 flinter shoots well with 50-60 grains, but starts to spread badly around 70. You'll get more velocity, more kick, but accuracy blows.

As for the sprue up, it really DOES affect accuracy! I loaded a few with the sprue DOWN, just for giggles, and used the same charge. Accuracy suffered.

I also like to use a synthetic ramrod, because I've broken a couple wood ones. I also keep a little tupperware container with some precut cleaning patches soaked in rubbing alchohol for wiping down the barrel every few shots. It seems to work wonders! Just follow up with a dry patch to make sure the barrel is dry.

When you're done shooting, and you've cleaned your barrel, you should coat the bore with something to protect it. Most black powder shootin irons don't much like petroleum products, tho. Usually whatever you use to lube your patches works good. I use Bore Butter. Works great as rust prevention for a clean bore!

Hope this was helpful!

 

[bfoster]

One caution about the use of "Bore Butter®". Most lots made over the years cause no problems when used either as a patch lube or rust preventative. A very few lots produced at widely seperated times have left a brown/tan residue in barrels that builds up rather quickly and destroys accuracy. If this should happen to you the residue is very, very difficult to completely remove, lots of elbow grease and an unreasonable amount of time is required.

I'd recommend the use of the following for rust prevention.

1. Bear oil. (Well tryed, it should be very pale white. If it's pure enough it doesn't need vitamin E or any other preservative to keep it from going rancid. FWIW, I don't know of any reason that very small quantities of Vitamin E in bear oil would be a problem to the black powder shooter)

2. Sperm whale oil. (Virtually unobtainable in the U.S- unless you locate old stock, and of value only if quite pure. Many, if not most commercial products were cut with all sorts of things of questionable value to the black powder shooter.)

3. Skunk oil. (Not commercially available. DIY)

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If you want to use a vegatable oil for rust prevention pure camellia oil is far and away the best I've tried. Note: a label saying 100% natural doesn't mean anything, obtain pure, unadulterated camellia oil for this use.

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Patch lube? I've obtained superior results using either bear oil or triple rendered beef tallow tempered with enough unbleached beeswax to obtain a workable consistenncy. The amount of beeswax used needs to be varied with the season.

Watch out for synthetic waxes too, Matthew_Q correctly points out that mineral oils and waxes aren't generally suitable for use in muzzleloaders. The commodity wax market is dominated by petrochemicals- fortunately beeswax has a unique and readily identifiable odor that I've yet to see (smell?) duplicated in a beeswax replacement product.


Bob

 

[Burt Blade]

Much thanks.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Bear oil and sperm whale oil I've heard of, but Skunk oil?

 

[bfoster]

Gary,

Have you been running around in refined circles?

Ned Roberts mentions skunk oil as a patch lube (in The Muzzleloading Cap Lock Rifle, p. 405, Granite State Press, 1940).

I have throughout my (perhaps) misspent life almost always made time to talk to anyone about guns, particularly old timers. Until I purchased a ranch I lived for many years in Morrow County, Ohio. This was, until quite recently (there has been an influx of city folks fleeing Columbus/Franklin County) a rather poor area, hardscrabble farms were, and perhaps still are the biggest source of income. Times were tough there during the depression. The better off could afford shotgun shells purchased singly, or at best, a few at a time. For many families commercial ammunition was out of the question, as was any sort of commercial gun lubricant or rust peventative. Shot shells were reloaded with black powder, anything imaginable was used in place of shot. Bear had been "shot out" long before the '30's and whale hunting in Ohio isn't likely to be rewarding. There are plenty of skunks, and the oil obtained from them kept the bores of many a M1897 and M1912 rust free (if not unmarked with terrible tramlines from shooting cut up nails etc.). BTW, during this time the use of homemade muzzleloaders of very large bore (like crude punt guns) mounted on sleds or skiffs wasn't so uncommon as to raise eyebrows.

I've found that trying skunk fat very thoroughly (like obtaining beef tallow it takes multiple "runs") yields an oil fine enough that it won't gum up gun locks, it isn't by any measure a bad ingredient for use in patch lube or as a rust preventative.

FWIW, I've been told that raccoon oil (the occasional fat boar can approach 30 lbs) isn't worthwhile for use in any arms applications. I've never tried it myself, I don't know this to be true.

Bob

 

[4v50 Gary]

I read Ned Robert's book but I don't recall the skunk oil. Must be age. It was one book that I reluctant picked up but once I started reading it, it was entirely absorbing and really help draw me into the hobby. We present day muzzle loaders owe a lot to Ned Roberts & Walter Cline for keeping the embers burning.