Palouse Hills Rondy....

[sabotloader]

It is Saturday and another local Rondy to attend. The Colfax, WA club PHML has their get together in a large meadow located in Basalt lined canyon along Palouse River. Some really neat landscapes on the drive in, really large oceanic volcanic walls of Basalt, even an old covered railroad bridge...

I did the walking trail once again but it was a long morning as well as thought I did last week in Troy with the PRB Renegade - i shot that bad this week again it was the long targets that did me in. There were 19 targets total this week along the trail. We started off shooting our tie breaker card. Then you move to various targets - they really had some strange and difficult ones this week. #3 was a very large old coil spring hung horizontally and painted orange. You were of course suppose to hit a coil on the spring. When I looked at I thought it should not be to difficult - but I managed to shoot through it without hitting a coil... I am sure if I had been shooting a 62 cal the ball would not have fit between the coils - but the 50 did.

4 of the six remaining targets I missed were long shots and the other two that I missed were very small gongs... It was still a very fun day, and there was some great stories being told around the 'gossip ring' bunch of us old guys sitting on blocks of wood in the shade hoping it would cool off some.

I did get one thing done that I really wanted to do. I had taken a TC Hawken flinter over with me hoping to get some help to try to flatten the learning curve a little bit. I talked to a couple of guys and they gave me some thoughts and idea's about how to use the lock, flint, and pan. So I gathered up some GOEX and headed to the paper target area. I really thought I had bore sighted this gun when I got - but either I didn't or I did a terible job. Remember this gun has been stored in a closest for 15/16 years. It had been sent back to TC during that period sometime because Ed could not get the flint to work. All he ever did with it was shoot a few pan loads of powder.

When I got to the target area. Experimented loading the pan and shooting the powder. Did this exactly 5 time and each time the pan fired right up - worked great. I thought I was good to go... Loaded up the gun 60 grain GOEX-3f, Speer .490, and a .015 cotton patch. Filled the pan, I dropped 3 grains right next to the vent hole and another three in the pan closed the pan... shoulder it - pulled the trigger - nothing - not even the pan fired up. Pulled the hammer back and tried again... pssst - the pan ignited but the gun did not go boom. So I ran a nipple pick through the vent liner - loaded the pan again touched it off the pan went phsst and then what seemed like seconds later BOOM - my first flinter shot.... did not hit the target but I am pretty sure I hit the basalt wall on the otherside of the river.

Reloaded and tried to repeat the process only hopefully better... well now I could not get any spark from the flint - none. Tried 5 or 6 more times an finally it went Kaaaaaboom. Thought I would change the flint and see if that would do any good. Grouse had sent me some flints that he swore by so I thought I would try them. He gave me pretty decent over the phone instructions on how to get in right. Anyway after the new flint never had a problem with spark - but could never achieve a quick discharge it was always a delayed boom.

But i do feel good about shooting my first flinter - I am going to try to get it to the farm and play some more - see if I can figure out how to get it to go off like a percussion cap. I know it can be down cause I see guys and gals shooting thiers without a problem...

Another thing I gotta learn... it never ends..

 

[cayuga]

Get a hairy pipe cleaner from Wal Mart or some craft store. Before you load, push that through the vent liner. Also if you have not replaced that vent liner with an RMC Allen head vent liner, I would do that. With that pipe cleaner through the vent, lower the frizzen on it.

Now dump your powder and load your patch and ball. Open the frizzen and SLOWLY pull that hairy pipe cleaner out. This will drag powder right up behind the vent. Also take a patch with some alcohol on it. Be sure to wipe the frizzen and the nose of the flint. Sometimes if there is oil or burnt powder on them it will slow them down as well.

I am guessing that you might have done a lot of dry fire with that first flint. If the nose was chipped, you needed to knapp it. Also use a 4f powder if you have some for the prime. If not 3f black powder will work fine. And you are burning Goex as your main charge I am guessing.

Also I find that if you over load the pan with powder it will slow it down. I like just a small amount on the outside of the pan. Too much powder and you get a fuse effect where it will Hiss.. BOOM on you.

It sounds like a great gathering you went to. Most of the ones around here got so big that they stopped the shooting part of the gatherings because of insurance reasons.

 

[sabotloader]

cayuga

Get a hairy pipe cleaner from Wal Mart or some craft store. Before you load, push that through the vent liner. Also if you have not replaced that vent liner with an RMC Allen head vent liner, I would do that. With that pipe cleaner through the vent, lower the frizzen on it.

Stock TC vent liner - I will get a couple from RMC... Will work with the pipe cleaner tought... do you do that every time you load?

Also take a patch with some alcohol on it. Be sure to wipe the frizzen and the nose of the flint. Sometimes if there is oil or burnt powder on them it will slow them down as well.

I had alcohol patches with me but never thought about wiping the frizzen and nose - I think that is exactly what need to be done when the first flint quit....

you might have done a lot of dry fire with that first flint. If the nose was chipped, you needed to knapp it.

Yes a lot of dry - and I do not know how to KNAPP the flint - I have watched guys do it but I really did not pay attention - didn't think I would ever shoot a flinter as I didn't have one... if it wasn't for you and Chuck talking about way back there I still would have one.

I was using GOEX-3f for both the pan and the charge...

Also I find that if you over load the pan with powder it will slow it down. I like just a small amount on the outside of the pan. Too much powder and you get a fuse effect where it will Hiss.. BOOM on you.

Gees! were you one of the guys standing around and watching? That is exactly what was happening. I have a 3 grain dropper - I dropped 3 at the vent liner and a couple along the bottom of the pan - to much huh? So the theory of if a little is a lot is better - does not apply?

I am really a people watcher so for me just watching the different outfits is really cool... Here is a pic from last year @ Troy...

 

[cayuga]

Stock TC vent liner - I will get a couple from RMC... Will work with the pipe cleaner tought... do you do that every time you load?

yes, I do try to unless I am shooting fast. The hairy pipe cleaner will not only bank the powder but then you are certain the vent hole is clear for the flash to take charge.

I had alcohol patches with me but never thought about wiping the frizzen and nose - I think that is exactly what need to be done when the first flint quit....

oil is the worst. I have had a flint fail on the first strike because I did not clean the oil and finger marks off the frizzen.

Yes a lot of dry - and I do not know how to KNAPP the flint - I have watched guys do it but I really did not pay attention

Knapping is hard to explain. I do it right on the gun. I use a large nail to knapp with. I grind the head flat on the nail, then with my Dremel cut an L into the tip. Then set that on the very edge of the flint and tap the nail with my wooden ball starter to sharpen the flint all over again.

I was using GOEX-3f for both the pan and the charge...

that should work fine.

Gees! were you one of the guys standing around and watching? That is exactly what was happening. I have a 3 grain dropper - I dropped 3 at the vent liner and a couple along the bottom of the pan - to much huh? So the theory of if a little is a lot is better - does not apply?

One press of your pan flask is all it takes, and even that is more then is needed. With less in the pan, it can explode faster and bounce. That also why they warn you that even with an empty pan, a strike to the frizzen can set off the main charge. All I use is a frizzen cover when hunting.

[/quote]

cool picture

 

[sabotloader]

Ok... I think I found part of the problem

I just took the gun apart to start to clean - this is what I found....

Bore oil - i used alcohol to wipe and then dry the bore prior to shooting and I was sure I had most of it out and I remember after the first shot that I thought there was a lot of oil blown back - probably what fouled the frizen and flint. + I did not know about needing to clean the frizzen and the rock with alcohol.... but any way I did shoot ten shots with the flinter and it is now several hours later and still looks like real fresh oil all over.

OK back to cleaning...

 

[cayuga]

I am shooting a German cut agate right now also.. and it sure is working good. You can not knapp them but I wondered about hitting them with a Dremel tool when they start to fail.

That probably was your problem, the oil in the bore. And maybe too much powder in the pan. But these rifles are a real learning curve. But once you get the hang of them they are addicting.

I even have a 21 inch GMB flintlock. It has a 1-28 twist and is a great sabot shooter.

 

[sabotloader]

cayuga

I even have a 21 inch GMB flintlock. It has a 1-28 twist and is a great sabot shooter.

Ah Shoot! why would you tell me that?????....

 

[cayuga]

Terry!!!

 

[Semisane]

Hey Sabotloader, I have a RMC touch hole liner in my Great Plains. I don't pick the vent at all unless visual inspection shows a piece of crud in the hole - probably has happened a dozen times or so. I do wipe the flint and frizzen with an alcohol patch after about every five or six shots. I have just under five hundred shots out of it and I've had a flash in the pan exactly three times. I use GOEX FFFg for my load and for the prime. Mine is lightning fast with this amount of powder in the pan.

 

[frontier gander]

for crying out loud Semi! I thought you took better care of your rifles. You take that darn rifle apart and oil that stock and take care of that rust i see on the lock! Im giving you a big fat F in the care of your weapons! Now you get to your home work so you dont have to take summer skool!

 

[Semisane]

Well Gander, pictures will fool you. If you could look at that pan and barrel you would not see any of that rust looking stuff you see in the picture. In fact, the pan looks shiney bright. Something about a close up flash shows that stuff that's not visable to the eye. As far as the stock goes, yeah - it's on the project list for a stripping and refinishing.

 

[sabotloader]

Semi

Jumping jo-hoss-so-fat! That touch hole is huge as compared to mine!

Look at the picture of mine as compared to yours....

And one guy @ the rondy gave me the same clue - keep the powder below the level of the touch hole...

I'm afraid I was using a tad bit more in the pan than that - jist a TAD!!!

Dang it - my theory has always been 'if a little is good more has got to be better.'

I'm not sure when I get back to shooting the flinter but I will let you know - i was going to move to shooting the 185/200 lehigh to see which I could get to shoot better but now I am leaning to making another spreadsheet comparison using a 300 grain bullet in a 50 cal.

 

[Semisane]

Jumping jo-hoss-so-fat! That touch hole is huge as compared to mine!

Sabotloader, I don't think the size of the actual flash hole is all that different. The RMC liner is installed with an allen wrench instead of having a screwdriver slot like yours. I think the socket for the allen wrench makes the flash hole at the bottom of the socket look larger in the picture. The pocket acts like a funnel for the flash to get to the charge. And of course, because of that pocket. the length of the flash hole on the RMC liner is shorter than on a slotted liner. You really should get one to try.

EDIT: a 1/16" drill bit will fit in my flash hole, but a 5/64" one will not. If yours is less than 1/16" diameter, I would drill it out to that size.

 

[big6x6]

BEAUTIFUL countryside Pete! I'm jealous!