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Help with Flintlock shooting please.?
I have been flinting for a few months now with my father in law. We are experienced in cap and inline blackpowder but not flintlocks. We are shooting Thompson Center and Traditions hawken style guns. Our problem is with constant quick ignition of the flash pan. It seems we either break our flints or fail to ignite 3 times out of 4 and when we do the delay is too long between trigger pull and bang! I have tried 3F powder in the pan because we can't find any 4F and 2 F in the barrel we have tried multiple amounts of powder in the pan from 3 grains to 6 and also cleaning the vent hole/ignition hole and even enlarging it on one gun. The frizzen seems to be in ok shape and the flints are quality english and german not the agate style. What am I doing wrong?
The Flintlock is a blast to shoot, but it is finicky.
***Inserts from Link***
Knapped flints are preferred to cut agate. Bevel up or down doesn't seem to matter, use whichever gives the best spark in your lock. Bevel down can give a longer scraping pass on the frizzen surface of some locks. The flint's initial strike should not be at 90 degrees to the frizzen face, but at a slightly greater angle, a scraping action is desired, 90 degree angle will just shorten flint life. The flint needs to be held very firmly in the cocks jaws. Two materials are used for this, leather and lead. Leather is the most common choice. Lead was used mainly in large military locks. Leather has the advantage of holding the flint firmly yet providing a slight cushioning to the initial contact, which can extend the life of flints. It is the scraping action that causes most of the sparks. To hold the flint firmly, it needs to be placed as deeply into the cocks jaws as possible.
Priming the pan - The pan should never be filled to the point where powder covers the touch hole. If the touch hole is covered, powder will have to burn down until it uncovers the touch hole before the main charge can ignite. The key is to be sure that the touch hole is clear so that the hot gas flash can get through the touch hole to the main charge. A technique used is to carefully place the charge away from the hole and not fill the pan completely(1/3 to 1/2), then to tap the rifle on the lock side just before firing to jar the powder away from the touch hole. Several late flintlock period manufactures even sloped the cavity in the pan slightly away from the touch hole. For quicker ignition use the least amount of powder that will ignite your main charge. Experiment to determine this amount.
Powder used in priming should be 4 F or finer. Fine powder ignites easier/quicker.
Vent Pricks serve two very important purposes. One is to clear the vent of debris, the second is to open a channel for the hot gas flash to the main charge. For reliable ignition it is common practice to insert the vent prick just before priming the pan and closing the frizzen. Some also force a small amount of priming powder into the vent with the prick, being sure to insert the prick at the finish, far enough so that the open channel is maintained. Since fine powder ignites easier, this small amount can't hurt and actually helps ignite the main charge. You are not trying to create a powder train. You are trying to place a few grains of fine powder into the surface of the channel that you created in the powder with the prick. You are not reducing, blocking or changing the channel in any way. Try it both ways and use what works for you, the important point here is to keep that flash channel open! Vent pricks made of bronze welding rod are recommended because bronze won't wear the metal in the touch hole like a steel prick will. Pricks that have 4 sides work well as the sharp edges help clear the fouling in the touch hole.
Inserts came from the Tuning link.
I attached several links that should help you.
http://www.floridafrontiersmen.org/loading.htm
http://members.aye.net/~bspen/flintlockfaq.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/flintlock.htm
http://members.aol.com/illinewek/faqs/tuning.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEArQu_53SI
http://members.aye.net/~bspen/wetflints.html
Hope this was of help, have fun and keep your powder dry.
D58
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