Switching to flintlock

Go for it.

Make sure that you use good quality real 4F black powder for your pan as well as real black powder for the main charge. In my experience the substitutes don't work reliably with a flinter. Also, avoid the temptation to overfill your pan. Less is more.

Make sure your flint is well knapped and properly secured. I have an older Lyman Trade Rifle with a good frizzen, but I have heard that some Lyman guns don't spark well due to frizzen problems. You probably want to read some reviews of the weapon you plan to buy, paying attention to frizzen quality.

Done right a flinter can be almost as reliable as a percussion gun.

I went flint and never looked back. It's a sickness.

I am thinking of switching from percussion to flintlock.

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I shot a flintlock once. Once was enough. The experience was similar to shooting a percussion cap gun with the exception of hot priming powder in the eyes. It was like a spoon full of burning hot sand granules thrown in my aiming eye, and I was wearing shooting glasses!

While the flintlock lasted for centuries, once percussion caps were invented, the transition from flint to cap was barely twenty years. There are lots of examples of historic flint locks converted to percussion caps, and in my opinion, that is a good enough reason to keep the cap.

Some black powder shooters shake their head when I say I have more luck with flintlock reliability. I really do. Caplock is not for me.

Slamfire said:

I shot a flintlock once. Once was enough. The experience was similar to shooting a percussion cap gun with the exception of hot priming powder in the eyes. It was like a spoon full of burning hot sand granules thrown in my aiming eye, and I was wearing shooting glasses!

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Another reason why you shouldn't overfill the priming pan.

Sistema1927 said:

Another reason why you shouldn't overfill the priming pan.

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amen! I love my flintlocks much more than caplock! I finished a traditions Kentucky rifle in 45c flintlock last year and I love shooting this fine rifle!!

"I went flint and never looked back. It's a sickness."
Amen. Same here.
If a shooter experiences flashback from the priming pan, the pan - as noted already - was overloaded.
Also - 3Fg works as well as 4Fg as a priming charge. Properly done ignition is virtually instantaneous.

Pan should only have powder enough to come to the level of the bottom of the vent hole. As others have said -- less is more for fast ignition.

(Be sure to remove the lock afterwards and scrub it inside & out with soapy water and toothbrush. Dry thoroughly (I throw mine in the oven on warm) then wipe everything down with something like Mobile-1. Drop a toothpick's end's dot of oil on/behind each spring hinge point.

JeffG said:

Some black powder shooters shake their head when I say I have more luck with flintlock reliability. I really do. Caplock is not for me.

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I agree a good flintlock is much more reliable in my experience.

Flints are tremendously more fun than any caplock. Those that don't "get it" have probably never even shot a (good) flinter.

There are many who switch to flint once they experience it. Caplocks just don't have the same appeal to most SERIOUS shooters.

Yes!

With a flint pistol the priming powder is not quite as close to your eyes as with a rifle but you wont have that scorched face flinter look!!!

If the Good Lord wanted us to shoot caps, why the creeks and stream beds would be full of 'em, just lying there for the taking! Nothing like a flinter!

You might want to consider a gun that can be converted easily between flintlock and percussion. Then, if you don't like one, you can switch to the other.

One such gun is Pedersoli's 1805 Harpers Ferry pistol. They recently came out with a percussion version. That can be easily converted to the original flintlock version, if you purchase a lock and a vent liner, both of which are available as parts.

I am having the same affliction. I'm hooked on cap and ball revolvers. Wouldn't really mind a nice caplock rifle of any sort, even an inline. BUT, there's something about the flinters.... The more I read the more I'm convinced they are good reliable arms withing their inherent limitations, and likely adequate for what i want to do.

I have hunted using flintlocks exclusively for going on 14 years. It's an addiction and you'll only end up getting more of them. I've NEVER - in many 1000s of rounds - been sprayed, spit on or had sparks thrown into my face from flintlocks. I have, on a number of occasions, been hit in the face with sparks, pieces of cap and bits of burned powder from shooting percussions. I still have a couple of very good percussions and shoot them at the range from time to time; but it's always flint in the woods. They are, if you know how to treat them, uber reliable.

+1 to what was said about real 4F powder. Start looking for some now.
I find it is OK to use a modern BP substitute for the main charge IF you first dump about 15 grains of 4F down the barrel. My "duplex" load of 15 gr of 4F and 70 grains of Pyrodex works in my .50 caliber Renegade.
This duplex load saves me a lot of real blackpowder which can be hard to find at times.

My flinty:

Cooldill said:

My flinty:

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very nice

Jimster said:

I went flint and never looked back. It's a sickness.

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Thats for sure!

on the 4th, fun for the entire family.

Nothing beats the braggin' rights when one takes a deer in a light drizzle with a flinter!

LD