New to Flintlocks

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Appalachiannative

Appalachiannative

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Won an auction on gb for a TC flintlock. Until now only had percussion guns. It has a brass ramrod which I've never seen before and think is pretty cool. Comes with three powder horns, clam shell powder flask, a box of bullets and no flint. What should I do about flints? Any recommendations as to the type or size?
 
Haven’t shot flintlocks in a long time, but years ago (1970s)I built one out of parts purchased from Dixie Gun Wirks… they will have all the flints you need … Mr Kirkland has passed, but the service there is still very good
 
Most any flint sold as rifle size should work, (generally "musket", "rifle" and "pistol" sizes) but you want it to be about the same width of your frizzen. Smaller will work, larger will tend to smack the barrel or will look funny poking out the starboard side of the cock-jaws. But, it is not critical, and during the learning curve will be less critical.

Black English, and French amber are my favorites. I'd avoid the "machined" or cut flints, that are not actually flint. Track of the Wolf has a large variety and they ship pronto. ! Any bunch you buy in any one size will vary in size. I like to get as wide a flint as possible (within reason) in the jaws of my flinters.

Anyhow, order a bunch of them so you can really pick and choose among them for the ones that fit and spark best in your lock. Again, that will be a long learning process.

Dang...you got a long road ahead of you.
 
No offense to 243, but you do NOT want those machined fake flints. Trust me. The learning curve will be steep enough without trying to get one of those to work. (reliably) The TC lock may or may not work well, don't compound the problem. Yes, now someone will chime in with how well they work. Don't listen. !!!! :) Use actual flint. By the way, it looks like TOW flints are about half the price as Dixie. I could be wrong.
 
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For round ball flint guns, Track of the Wolf or the Log Cabin Shop are pretty high on the list of quality suppliers. Deer Creek carries a lot of part for CVA and T/C.

Now as for shooting a flint gun. Best flints are English black. Flints come in a range of sizes so you'll either have to rely on the folks at Track to help or measure your jaws and order one sized appropriately. Powder- forget using ANY substitute for the real deal holy black. The subs just do not have reliable ignition in a flintlock. Flintlocks have some issues that you need to be aware of, flints wear out. Every couple shots, especially in humid conditions, you'll need to wipe off your flint and frizzen to ensure reliable ignition. You'll need to keep the flash hole open for reliable ignition.

When you get the shooting stuff together, come back and let's get you up and making sparks.
 
To determine the flint size, check out the manual. If you don't have one, measure the base (width) of the frizzen (near the touch hole). You want it to be about that size or slighty smaller. Too big is a waste of money.

I use leather to help clamp the flint on the cock. You may want to wet it and stretch it and then rubber band it around the flint. Allow to dry before installing. Have a couple of these in your bag (use a small tin pill box to hold them).

When you install the flint, make sure it doesn't hit the barrel and scratch it. Bevel up or down doesn't matter but it must spark.

You can also prime with 2F instead of 4F. Remember that in the 18th Century (F&I, Am Rev) separate flasks were not available for finer powder and that didn't come around until 1797. Soldiers primed from their paper cartridges (so 2F). If you have some 4F, use it but if not, it's not big thing. Colonial Williamsburg borrowed a high speed camera to film the flintlock's ignition. With finer powder, they saw sparks jump out of the pan. There were fewer jumping sparks with larger powder and they believe it's because the larger grains captured the sparks. This was related to me by the second Master Gunsmith of Colonial Williamsburg.

I have English flints and haven't tried French.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of flintlocks. I bought my first flintlock just over a year ago. Now I own 5 of them and have fired almost 3k balls over the past year. My modern guns are probably feeling neglected because I spend so much range time with the flinters.

I don't think the learning curve was all that steep and tinkering with them to figure out what works best is part of the fun.

Opinions vary on the best flints but I've had good results with the French amber flints from Stonewall Creek Outfitters.
 
Appalachiannative said:
Won an auction on gb for a TC flintlock. Until now only had percussion guns. It has a brass ramrod which I've never seen before and think is pretty cool. Comes with three powder horns, clam shell powder flask, a box of bullets and no flint. What should I do about flints? Any recommendations as to the type or size?
Click to expand...
I believe T/C flinters use a 5/8" flint. I would highly recommend Black English or French Amber flints. The German sawn agates don't spark as well.
 
Here we go, gonna aggravate Ugly Sauce...sorry in advance! I have used both cut and knapped flints in my rocklocks. Got good results with both. I believe it has to do with the quality of the lock, a poor quality lock will irritate you into giving up on flinters. Main thing is that it fits the frizzen and the frizzen is properly hardened. We could get into a huge discussion about lock geometry but that would most likely confuse you, it does me at times. Some locks like the bevel up, some like it down. You get to experiment and see what works the best. Have fun with it, don't get aggravated when it doesn't go boom, these things can be finicky.
 
Sounds like you got a great deal on the gun and accessories. I am new here but not to flintlocks and blackpowder in general. My suggestion is to research and read all you can about the T/C (Thompson center) flintlocks.

Some older T/C flintlocks had slight issues with the hammer and frizzen but the issues were correctable. T/C corrected the issue with later models.
Other folks have made great suggestions here and you should not have any trouble finding the correct flints. Learn to keep the flints sharp is just another part of the fun of flintlocks.

The more you familiarize yourself with flintlocks and their function, the more you will enjoy shooting them.

Good luck in your flintlock adventure,
Danaidh
 
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4v50 Gary said:
You may want to wet it and stretch it and then rubber band it around the flint.
Click to expand...

Wet forming the flint-leather! I never thunk of that! One can also pound a small ball or chunk of lead out into a..."flint wrapper"...!!!??!...but I have never tried that. Keep meaning to, but using leather has never failed me, or let the flint move/shift in the jaws.
 
mmb617 said:
I don't think the learning curve was all that steep and tinkering with them to figure out what works best is part of the fun.
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on the person. I do think that people who generally have the attention to detail mentality have a easier time. (or some "OCD"?) But I've seen people really struggle too. Besides learning the flintlock, one also has to learn their individual rifle/musket/pistol. My Jeager and Bess are certainly "different animals" from each other.
 
I believe Anson Morgan who runs the Kenockee Trading Post in Kenockee Michigan can be of a great help. He has been in business for 46 years and would have a pretty good idea what size you'd want. He has quite a nice supply of flints. His phone number is 810-324-2577.
 
I have 1 good flint left. Tip- careful what cleaning, jag & patch goes down the barrel. May not come back out if T/C. Between shots, use a copper brush to remove BP buildup.

Both ends of these flints could be used.
20220516_143712.jpg

For my 45 caliber, T/C Hawken flint.
 
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Triple Seven powder works for me in my T/C flint rifle IF I use a duplex load - 15 grains of FFFFg in first, followed by the main charge of T7. This works with Pyrodex also.
 
Ugly Sauce said:
Wet forming the flint-leather! I never thunk of that! One can also pound a small ball or chunk of lead out into a..."flint wrapper"...!!!??!...but I have never tried that. Keep meaning to, but using leather has never failed me, or let the flint move/shift in the jaws.
Click to expand...
Lead wrapped flints are generally not recommended for contemporary hunting guns only for military flint locks with more robust locks. The lead adds weight to the cock which can cause it to break.
 
Dixie Gun Works used to sell all manner of flints .
www.dixiegunworks.com
A quick show American Gun Flints ...in Stock ... in different sizes .
Get plenty and you wont have to worry about the percussion cap / primer shortage / brass case / smokeless powder shortages .
I hope black powder or a black powder substitute is still available ... If so , I might have to look into a flinter !
Great Score on the TC ... they made nice rifles !
Gary
 
I have had very good results with machined flints, and absolutely awful results with them. I have no doubt that they come in different qualities, and have no idea how to tell which from which. I have switched to hand knapped English flints, usually from Track, and have been completely satisfied with them.

I have used lead sheet to hold the flint, but don't like it quite a s well as leather. I also have found a bit of a timesaver, at least at the range or in the field, by gluing a leather patch to each flint ahead of time. Then when it comes time to change out the flint, it's easy and quick.
 
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