Flintlocks

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  • Last Post 14 October 2020
alco posted this 20 September 2017

Any body out there shooting their smoke poles.  I've been shooting my TC FL Renegade some.  It seems to shoot a little better each time I shoot it

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Pigslayer posted this 14 October 2020

Things happened in my life & due that the .40 cal. Flinter that I was building was left to sit in the corner for several years. Well, a couple of weeks ago I said to myself; "I need to get back to work on this" with enthusiasm! Been inletting the stock for the double set triggers, sideplates and escutions.

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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dromia posted this 07 April 2018

I am currently shooting three flintlocks, all Pedersoli.

A true left hander "Hawken" in .50" calibre.

A "Pennsylvania" rifle in .32" calibre.

A Mortimer Target rifle in .54" calibre.

The first two were bought new and the Mortimer second hand, all function and shoot extremely well.

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JeffinNZ posted this 06 April 2018

I built an Isaac Haines in .40cal back in 2003.  Using to practise dry firing it (with a wooden flint) down the hall way aiming at a 1 inch black dot. 

Cheers from New Zealand

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 06 April 2018

wow !! ... that is some cat !! ... ( g )

ken

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Pigslayer posted this 06 April 2018

SouthDakota4440:

Thank you for validating my post. I use a browning solution that I get from "Dixie Gunworks". It takes a lot of time & a lot of applications but perseverance results in a real nice finish! I begin by draw filing every flat of the barrel with a fine cut file. Then I sand each flat with emery paper . . . maybe as fine as 220 grit. Not too smooth & definitely not polished! The smoother the surface the harder it is for the browning solution to take. I apply the solution with Q-Tips to every inch of the barrel & tang. Then I hang it up to dry. The more humidity that there is in the air the faster & deeper into the metal it takes. The process is nothing more than "controlled rust". The next day I take 0000 steel wool & buff it lightly. Then I wipe it down with alcohol. Once it's dry I apply the browning solution again. I keep repeating those steps until I get the desired finish. Different steel results in a different hue and dictates how many times one repeats the steps. My first barrel was a "Getz" swamped barrel & it took the solution more readily than my second which was a "Green Mountain" barrel. When browning the lock assembly I of course disassemble it and then brown the parts that will be visible. All of the iron sights & "furniture are done in the same manner. Some steel results in a deep brown with an almost faint purple hue as in my "Getz" barrel. Others result in a solid brown as in my "Green Mountain" barrel. So anyway, not only have I got all of my barrel lug dovetails cut in the barrel along with the barrel lugs installed but I also have inletted the stock barrel channel for the lugs. The barrel now "settles" nicely into the stock! Next I have to locate & drill the holes through the stock & barrel lugs for the barrel pins (4 ea.). This can get a little scary as one has to accurately lay out  where to drill the holes. I drill them with a hand drill only . . . no power tools!!! surprised 

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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SouthDakota4440 posted this 06 April 2018

Hey Pigslayer,

That's a neat long rifle flintlock...and you're correct, not all maple stocks were stained.  In fact, I've contemplated a similar stock on a Model 70 Win...just to be different.  By the way, from what I can see in your pictures, the wood to metal fit and your quality of browning appears excellent!  One has to admire the amount of workmanship and time that goes into that.  By the way, if one wants to see historical arms of different areas of our country's history, the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum in Cody, WY will do it.  In fact it is overwhelming.  And you're correct...those blonde long rifles are in there from the Colonial area thru the Revolutionary War and a bit beyond.

 

 

 

 

mm

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Pigslayer posted this 05 April 2018

As I've gotten older the eyes need more light. Especially after cataract surgery. I bought one of those Lights that you wear on your forehead. Mine has a 3 LED array and is incredibly bright. Batteries last a long time. It sure helps out when inletting a stock. I was using it last night when doing the last barrel lug dovetail. 

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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Pigslayer posted this 04 April 2018

Been busy this afternoon cutting in dovetails for the barrel lugs. Yep, with a hacksaw, small (very small) cold chisel & various files Years ago I bought a book called "The Art Of Building The Pennsylvania Longrifle" by Chuck Dixon. It has been an indispensible tool for me in building these rifles. A rather arrogant fellow at the range looked at my .45 caliber flinter & exclaimed that I had made a mistake in that I left the stock "blonde". He said that it was the wrong color for the time period. I told him exactly what an experienced gun builder told me. It's my rifle, I built it, & I'll build it any way I want. He walked off in a huff. As I researched the history on these rifles I found (as Chuck Dixon said) that people built these rifles with what they had or could scrounge up. Brass was scarce so "furniture" was made or iron/steel or . . . no furniture at all. The "Poor Boy" didn't even have a buttplate. Some simply had a hole in the stock where they would put patch grease. So if someone tells you rifle builders out there that you did it wrong . . . you know what to tell them!

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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Pigslayer posted this 02 April 2018

The .40 Caliber Southern Mountain I had started several years ago. I buy stocks from Pecotonica Long Rifle Supply as they make some really nice stocks, I order mine inletted for the barrel only & even that will need more work. After a long winters nap I decided to get back to work on inletting for the tang (already fitted to the barrel). I had already inletted for the lock along with installing the touch hole liner & seating barrel. Next will be cutting the dovetails for the barrel lugs. I do this by hand . . . lot's of filing & fitting. So I finished inletting for the tang this afternoon. I feel a lot better about getting back to work on it as it has been on the bench staring at me for a long time (several years). I have to inlet a little deeper for the lock as the flashpan needs to bi tight against the barrel. I'll try to get some pics posted of my progress. These rifles take an incredible amount of very tedious work . . . but I love it. They are not cheap to build either. One can easily invest as much just in parts in one of these rifles as they would in a nice modern rifle.  

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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Pigslayer posted this 02 April 2018

Small Siler Lock.

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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Pigslayer posted this 02 April 2018

I used a large Siler lock on my Issac Haines & love it. I used a L&R Durs Egg on my Southern Mountain and was not impressed with the craftsmanship & will not buy another. I had to rework the lock parts to get it to function properly. When I spend $130.00 on a lock I want it to work properly out of the gate. I bought that lock a long time ago (years). That same lock now is over $190.00. Wow! At the Silverado Gun Shows here in Maryland there is a accomplished gun maker (Flintlock) that has a booth. He does beautiful work. Anyway he spoke of the same problems with the L& R locks. Hoping that L&R has worked on their quality control. At present I have a .40 cal. Southern Mountain on the bench. I am using a small Siler on that one. I also bought the small Siler a long time ago. It too is real close to $200.00. My Lord, My Lord! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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nosee posted this 02 April 2018

Don,t hook that carb. to the rifle,it won,t work HA! HA!--Nosee.

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Pigslayer posted this 02 April 2018

This is my Southern Mountain in .45 Cal.. I kept it blonde. Another good shooter. 

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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nosee posted this 01 April 2018

My flinter, a friend built for me,fiddle back maple stock,32 brl,40brl.and a 18ga.smoothbore, L&R lock. Very nice shooting rifle, I buy English flints.---Nosee

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nosee posted this 01 April 2018

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Pigslayer posted this 01 April 2018

Love my smokepoles!! People at the range can't believe how accurate they are. I built my first one back in 2001. An Issac Haines with a Getz barrel I don't think that you can get a Getz barrel anymore. With these old eyes I can still put three roundballs in a 2" bull at 50 yds. using (of course) primitive sights.

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

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Dirtybore posted this 14 October 2017

I have two Southern Mountain 45 cal rocklock long rifles I use in competition at rendezvous.   I also carry a Pedersoli Blue Ridge 54 cal rocklock while hunting.  I stopped using the caplock at rendezvous in 1991.  Though I was hunting with traditional caplocks since 1986, I've been hunting with the Pedersoli rocklock since 2005.  There was about 10 years I used my 20 gauge Northwest Trade gun for grouse hunting but between the price of fuel and the locking up of all the timber lands put an end to that.

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alco posted this 06 October 2017

Shot my flinter today.  First time knapping the english flint with pliers.  It works!!!!   I hadn't tackled the cut flint yet.............

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BigMan54 posted this 04 October 2017

I built a Navy Arms FL Kentucky rifle kit when I was in High School. Had nothing but problems trying to get consistent ignition.  So when I got outa the service I tried again with a CVA Tower pistol kit. It worked better, but when I got set up for hunting, I went with a Caplock. I just felt I owed it to the game I hunted & myself to have that extra edge. So I got a T/C Hawken caplock in .54 caliber. 

These days I'd like to find a .45 cal flintlock.  But it seems .50 cal is all that's offered. Not to mention trying to find 4F in SoCal. 

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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onondaga posted this 02 October 2017

alco, you asked,

"Is there a way to resharpen the ends on a cut flint ???"

Gunflints sawed or knapped are both sharpen able. Developing the skill isn't so easy. I generally resharpen flints in the jaw of the hammer with pressure flaking and shearing. The principles and mechanics of that need understanding and experience to do well   First efforts generally fail badly.

I use a whitetail antler tine about 6" long. Not a sun bleacked pickup antler but a hard fresh one not a weathered one. Sharpen the tip to a rounded point with sandpaper to a 1/4" radius. You will use this like a push knife tool so it should fit your hand easily to use as  tool. I push the point directly on the part of the edge I want to start, Push in toward the middle of the flint  with the tine held in that line. Then simultaneously increase pushing into and pushing down 90 degrees.  About of half of your maximum arm strength should be needed to take flakes at all. A flake will tear off. With experience you will control the size of the flakes but that is the basics of resharpening a flint by "pressure flaking". A well executed flake when sharpening a gun flint looks teardrop shaped and about 1/4" long and pointed where your pressure flake tool push started the tear.

The edge can also be sharpened by shearing on the edge of the frizzen or with a simple shearing tool. A 1" wide steel paint scraper makes a good simple shear. Hold the scraper by the blade with only 1/2"  extended past your thumb tip and forefinger pinching the blade like a big key you are going to turn. A shear is used by holding the flat edge against the flint edge, pushing straight into the rock and rotating one end of the blade down  a little like a scissor does to shear off bits of flint. With practice, you can sharpen and straighten the flint edge. I learned shearing on the frizzen well for hunting necessity. It can be learned and there are YouTube videos on the subject.  Both using the frizzen or the paint scraper method are just a matter of practice figuring how much arm power to use to get the stone to shear gradually into a new edge. Using the frizzen as a shearing tool right on the rifle to touch up a flint is total AMERICANA and invented by Americans. ...find a video, it is hard to understand from just words, But I hope I have helped. I don't even think about it when I am doing it as I have been doing it for 60 years.

Important to remember is that after you flake or shear a nice new straight edge, loosen your jaw and reset the flint position to your new edge.

Watch whole thing, there is a short part on using the frizzen as I do for a field touch up in this video.  The flaking method he shows is poor, this guy is not a flint knapper, but he makes it work:

 

Gary

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