I want some flavor of Flintlock pistol.

[Inebriated]

Well the title says it... I want a decently cheap Flintlock of some sort. Mostly to toy with at the range. They just look so fun. I've seen the Traditions .50 Cal kit for around $180... I'm pretty confident I could finish one nicely, so how do they work when put together well? Anything I should know about black powder shooting in general?

Input is appreciated!

 

[mykeal]

Starting black powder shooting with a flintlock is like learning to play basketball with a 12 foot basket. Not a good idea. Maybe fun at the start but it won't last long.

Flintlocks are tricky; it's best if you start with percussion and learn about the powder, patches, lubes, caps, etc. That will get you a good knowledge base. Then get the flinter and prepare to take another step in knowledge. You don't need to be trying to tune your lock while you're still working on a powder load.

The Traditions guns are starter guns. I hesitate to say good starter guns because frankly they can (I said can, not will) leave you with a bad taste for black powder shooting. Some folks get a taste and then go after the high quality stuff and others just say it isn't worth it. And some folks stay with the Traditions guns as adequate for their needs.

Read the stickys at the top of this forum; much excellent info about black powder shooting there. If cost is a real issue, get the Traditions gun but keep an open mind about the fact that you're starting with the low end of the available market. Don't let the fact that it's an inexpensive gun deter you from continuing.

Rereading the above - it seems awfully negative about Traditions and I don't mean it that way. They make very good stuff. It's not the top of the line, but you're not paying for top of the line either. All I'm trying to say is, keep your expectations in line with your wallet and you'll have a good time.

 

[Skinny 1950]

I have a Pedersoli Queen Anne .50 cal rock lock and it has been good to me..smoothbore, no sights but it is as reliable as any cap and ball that I own (quite a few) just need to tweek the flint every now and then to keep it going.
Here is a picture:

 

[mykeal]

Yes, very nice gun, but the Pedersoli is significantly more expensive than the Traditions. My personal opinion is that it doesn't meet the OP's 'decently cheap' criterion.
Mine is a Harper's Ferry:

 

[1KPerDay]

I want some flavor of Flintlock pistol.

Sulphur, perchance?

 

[Oldnamvet]

And then there is the homebuilt flavor like this one.
62 cal smoothbore, 12" bbl

 

[BCRider]

Mykeal has a point. But if you're willing to step up to the challenge and it's all for fun then I say go for it.

My first BP rifle is a rock lock. So is my second. For me a percussion rifle is simply too close to the cap and ball revolvers I started shooting in BP. I want the "full meal deal" that I can only get with a "POOFBANG!" right in front of my face...

Yes, you'll need to learn more and play more with the setup to get it working reliably. But when you do it's SOOO much more fun than a cap gun.

 

[Iggy]

40 Flinter with stock made from the same piece of wood as this .40 flinter rifle.

 

[1KPerDay]

NIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!

 

[[email protected]]

This will give you lots of flavor for a Flintlock. This design goes wway back.

 

[Cosmoline]

Starting black powder shooting with a flintlock is like learning to play basketball with a 12 foot basket. Not a good idea. Maybe fun at the start but it won't last long.

I know most people hold to that view but I found it to be completely wrong. I started with caplocks and had lots of ignition and reliability problems. Those *VANISHED* the instant I ditched the caplocks and got back to basic flintlocks.

Provided you have a good quality lock and barrel with a nice-sparking frizzen, you'll have excellent ignition. The pan ignites, the powder burns, the flames ignite the main charge and BOOM. If the flash hole gets gummy, it takes but a moment to clear it out. Much easier than cleaning out the tiny corridors that lead from the cap to the powder chamber on many caplocks.

The flintlock is a simple, elegant and foolproof mechanism. The problems can crop up if you buy a cheapo one that won't spark, but the good locks from Track and elsewhere aren't that expensive.

Basically, don't be afraid to rock! The experience is worth it. Caplocks were a transitional action dominating only a few decades in the middle of the 19th century. Flintlocks rolled for two centuries, spanning all the important formative wars and conquests from the mid 17th century through the great Napoleonic wars.

The weakness of the design is it vulnerability to raindrops and high humidity. But barring those problems it's incredibly reliable and ur-simple. It doesn't have to work perfect to work.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Join a BP club or attend a rendezvous. You will meet someone who is selling theirs.

 

[mykeal]

Cosmoline +1.

I tried to say the same thing; he did it better. Starting with a flintlock can be a great way to get into black powder. IF you get a good one.

 

[Inebriated]

Thanks for the input fellas... I'm thinking I might go for the kit, since I'm not that interested in spending much, and I am not going to be turned off to a whole culture of firearms, just because of one low-end gun, so if I end up hating it, I'll get something a little better.

 

[Jim Watson]

A friend's Thompson Center Patriot flint version was amazingly accurate once you got past the pan flash flinches.
Too bad they are out of production.

 

[Cosmoline]

You may have trouble keeping it under $150, but one place to keep an eye on is Track's page:

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/490/1

They have some pretty reasonable priced ones there.

DGW kits also go on sale quite a bit. And there's Middlesex and Loyalist who sell reasonable priced Indian made flinters. Not top of the line, but functional.

 

[1858remington]

I licked my flintlock pistols today, didn't much care for the flavor.

If you go pedersoli you may have to look into getting the frizzen hardened. I had a 58 cal harpers ferry that just wouldn't spark worth anything, even with good quality flints.

Oh, and dont ask Pedersoli about loading information for their flintlocks. My harpers ferry came with no load data. I called them and asked what load to use. Their answer "Use only factory loaded ammunition"[B][/B] I explained that my gun was in fact a muzzle loader and used loose powder and ball, but again I got the same answer. A quick call to Dixie Gun Works got me the data I needed.