First flintlock gets an A!

[big6x6]

Yesterday, for the first time EVER...I shot a FLINTLOCK! It was a BLAST! I ordered a Traditions Hawken Woodsman .50cal flintlock... shooting it was even easier than I anticipated...

I shot once at 25yds to make sure I was CLOSE then I moved the target out to 50yds... I used 75gr fffg Swiss, T/C flints, Hornady 0.490 RB, and Bore Butter soaked T/C 0.015 patches... recoil was next to nothing and ignition was ALMOST immediate! So quick I was SURPRISED!

Here are my first 7 shots at 50yds:

It took a little shooting to get used to the ignition... Also...the patch/ball was pretty easy to seat so I went to a 0.495 ball...MUCH better...

That's six shots! I swabbed after 3 shots because the 0.495 ball was kinda tight going down... I had ZERO ignition problems and I can tell you I had a ball shooting this rifle... I think this is a pretty well put together muzzleloader... I hope to get another flintlock soon..

 

[frontier gander]

nice shooter indeed! My traditions kentucky flinter loves a 110gr 3f goex charge. They are some great shooters with very little tweaking needed.

How does yours spark? I had my frizzen rehardened and then switched over to the 5/8" tom fuller flints.

 

[cayuga]

I have the same rifle kind of. I have both a flintlock and a cap lock. My flintlock has a 1-48 twist and my cap lock has a 1-66 twist. Both are excellent shooters.

Also my flintlock, like yours, has an excellent fast ignition. I did put a RMC vent touch hole liner in it. They are a little bigger and I think it helps with the speed of ignition.

My rifle likes 90 grains of Goex 2f, a moosemilk patched .490 ball, and 4f in the pan. It really does shoot great. Your groups are no surprise other then the fact you took to a flintlock so fast without flinching.

A little trick I do... take a hairy pipe cleaner (craft stores) and shove that in the touch hole liner then close the frizzen on it to hold it there. Then dump your powder and set your ball. Open the frizzen and real slow, drag that pipe cleaner out. Now you have a fully open dry vent hole with just a little bit of powder pulled up behind the lip. Try that and tell me how fast it goes off. Its as fast as my inlines or cap locks.

They sure are a beautiful rifle. Well made, and the hardware to stock is excellent. That is a great rifle you have there. And will will shoot roundball all day out there.

You better be careful, you will get hooked on this traditional stuff.. flintlocks are fun to shoot. That is some excellent shooting there. I bet it made you smile big time.

 

[Semisane]

As an old hand with flintlocks ( 1 year :lol: ) let me welcome you to the club Big 6. Ya` done good with the rifle and with the shooting. Mine is a Great Plains .54. I love that sucker.

Do like Cayuga suggested and get yourself an RMC touch hole liner. It's installed with an allen wrench instead of a screwdriver. It's easy to take out for cleaning and the socket for the allen wrench seems to act like a funnel for the pan flash to get to the main charge.

Go here http://rmcsports.com/catalog.htm and type touch hole liners in the search box on the upper left corner of the page.

The picture shows a RMC liner on the left and my original Lyman liner on the right.

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[frontier gander]

If you do go with the RMC T-H-L be sure you lube not only the threads but the actual head of the liner. I installed one in my Kentucky and it was a really tight fit. Traditions uses a pressed in bushing for the touchhole.

 

[cayuga]

I use one in my Traditions Woodsman and yes, I anti seize the threads, but have never had a problem taking it in or out. And it works great.

 

[big6x6]

How does yours spark?

I shot it 14 or 15 times...not a single misfire of any type...

Thanks for the pipe-cleaner trick Dave..I'll try that. One thing I did do was put a small amount of powder in the pan and tap it until I could see a trail of powder well into the touchhole and then add the rest. I am going to get a couple of those liners but I'm going to make sure I don't have to get one for a different rifle! :wink: :lol:

The only areas I could see where say a T/C was better....T/C bluing is awesome and the Traditions wasn't to that standard.. Also...the hardware is thinner/smaller on the Traditions and the screws aren't as substantial.. but the T/C FL Hawken is as LEAST $300.00 more money. I have to say I was set up to be disappointed but instead I was well pleased..

 

[cayuga]

I don't like to trail too much to the vent. You can get a fuse effect where you will hear a sizzle ...BOOM!

While the hardware on the Traditions is not as heafty as the Thompson Center, the rifle has much more suttle lines to it. It matches the rifle well. Now I lucked out as the bluing on the barrel of mine is good, but the lock blue is terrible.

 

[Morris]

Flint lock

Big 6
You are hooked now I started with a Lyman deerstalker 2 years ago I now have a T C Penn hunter also and 2 GM barrels extra. Just stick to one for a while and get that one to keep shooting like it is. I find the flints are almost easier to clean tan a percussion. Well good shooting and enjoy.

 

[Spitpatch]

Here's the way I see it....

Modern inlines have served well, to open up the sport of muzzle loading to a large number of people. To the masses if you will. And, now that the masses are making smoke, the old roots are starting to grow again, drawing people BACK to the old traditional ways. Renewing the past. Remembering days gone by. Understanding why so many Mt. men met their maker at the hands of "old Grizz" on that fateful rainy day.

Spitpatch, coming from the old RB days, selling his best RB gun, for the benefit of joining the new modern muzzle loader revolution, now finds himself surrounded by those who would play with his emotions, cloud his sensabilities and tug him to-and-fro. Like a yo-yo. Wow, I made a rhyme.
:shock:
Listen, I only got so much cash on hand!!!How do I keep up??? :lol:

...and you thought this was going to be a serious post.... 8)

Good report Chuck