T/C Hawken Flintlock .50GMB;cayuga's challenge(pics added)

[k]

i want to take this out this season,so more range time was needed.set up a target with a 3/4" dot at 25yds and benched a decent 1" group with 2 hitting the bull but did notice slow ignition.next up is a 3x5 card with a 3/4"bull in the center.offhand i take two shots missing both times and really notice the slow ignition and now see that flint is sitting out of square to the frizzen and loose.picked out my best looking fuller flint and got back to shooting.7 more shots at the card offhand yielded 4 hits and a 5 "group.my load was 80g vol. goex t/c ticking patch lubed with lehigh valley and .495 speer RB and 3g 4f in the pan.i then upped my charge to 90g and set a target with a 2" square bull out to 55yds.off the bench 5 shots yielded 4 of them in a 2" group and the other about 7" away(bad flinch=screwdagroup )i have read alot of posts about flinters igniting as fast as a caplock but i am not there,suggestions please............karl

this is 55yds.off the bench.below is 25yds

[img]http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc461/kb1111/kb1knight027.jpg

 

[cayuga]

Some things I found that slows a lock down is; a soft frizzen, dull flint, smaller then normal vent liner hole, clogged vent liner hole, the pan is fouled, the flint is dirty, too much powder in the pan, pan powder making a fuse, and finally a poor lock spring.

When I shoot my flintlock ( and I am not saying this is the way to do it... just that it works for me) I do a couple things...

Wipe off the flint, frizzen, and pan with isopropyl alcohol and let it dry.

Make sure the flint has a good sharp edge and is solid in the jaws.

Put a fuzzy pipe cleaner into the vent hole and close the frizzen to load the rifle.

load the rifle as normal.

Slowly!! pull the fuzzy pipe cleaner out of the vent hole (after I open the frizzen of course.)

put 3 grains of 4f powder on the outside of the pan..



If I do all of that my rifle seems as fast as any percussion cap rifle. As someone once told me, a poor lock is a poor rifle. I have good locks. And good frizzens. It sounds like you did some good shooting, but it is not as easy as a lot of people think it is.

 

[k]

this is my 4th time shooting a flinter.i do clean after every shot with a mix of windex/alcohol in and out with plenty of dry patches and do pipe cleaner the touchhole(but haven't left them in during loading)one thing i have noticed is the frizzen has lost some material where the first strikes.would you consider that soft? i do not know if this is the new style lock either.one thing is for certain i won't be shooting at deer offhand,yet ...........karl

 

[cayuga]

http://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=18302

Look at that post. There are pictures of where the flint is hitting the frizzen. If the flint hits dead center on the frizzen it is probably the old hammer. It if hits 1/4 way down from the top, it is probably the new.

Since you are shooting roundball I am guessing your green mountain barrel is the 1-70 twist 32 inch barrel. That should be a great roundball shooter. Next time you shoot, your shooting roundball, and black powder because of it being a flinter (right)... try not swabbing. A lot of time if you use a moist patch on the ball, you do not have to swab. Try five shots without swabbing. You will be able to tell when you need to swab.

Other then that you just have to follow through. You should have seen me when I got my first flinter and had to figure all of this out. I did a lot of head scratching and asking lots of questions of people. It will all come to you.

I am sure it will be a good shooter.

 

[k]

thanks for your help again cayuga.from those great pics i see ihave the old style lock.i guess i,ll send it to t/c,after hunting season of course :wink: i am gonna try your pipe cleaner trick and see if it helps.it did come with a rmc ventliner and yes it is a 32" 1/70" .after i changed the flint the ignition time was pretty good but still not as fast as my cappers but still accurate using a rest.thanks again dave.........karl

 

[Semisane]

I'll add one more thing to Cayugad's excellent list.

If your frizzen does not open easily due to either lack of lubrication on the pivot pin, pivot pin too tight, roughness where the spring contacts the frizzen, roughness of the pivot pin or pin channel, or too strong a spring, lock time will be slowed significantly.

Make sure the contact surfaces between the stud at the bottom of the frizzen and the top of the spring are smooth and polished. Also, check the pivot pin and the pin channel through the frizzen to make sure they are nice and smooth.

 

[Morris]

flint

I did not send my flintlock in I just ordered the new hamer for 20.00 it was here in 5 days. simple to change. But you can get it free by sending it in,