In this archived thread, I said I wanted a blunderbuss.  For no other practical reason than the Swedish Chef had one.

I got home from sea on Tuesday and my wife had this waiting for me.  

I have never used a flintlock before.  It looks like I can get flints and .662 balls from Dixie Gunworks.  Should I use leather or lead to clamp the flint in place?  Can you recommend a powder measure?  The recommended charge for this blunderbuss is 70 grains FFg.  What else do I need?

Update with range report:

It was a hoot to shoot:



And the implement:









Thank you all for the information and advice!

Congrats!  That lady is a keeper for sure!

Leather or lead isn't really going to make a heck of a lot of difference.  I personally use lead, because I have difficulty keeping larger flints from moving in the jaws of the frizzen on occasion with leather.  I just hammered a ball flat and trimmed it a bit to fit.

I would get on over to http://www.trackofthewolf.com/ and take a look at what they have to suit your needs.  They carry a lot of the stuff specific to flintlocks that can be difficult to find other places.

You'll need a cleaning jag and patches large enough to fit the bore.  I use windex to clean my black powder guns, then oil with CLP.

If the gun does not have a touch hole liner, that might be worth looking into, a "White Lightning" liner will improve ignition speed.

If it was my gun, I would also make or procure a range/cleaning rod to use with the rifle, so as to spare the supplied wooden ramrod.  A piece of brass or aluminum round stock threaded for a cleaning jag on one end and a t-handle on the other works well.

With the smooth bore, patching isn't as much of a concern for you as it would be if you had a rifle.  Most smoothbores of the period used paper cartridges, with the paper acting as patch.  You will need wadding if you plan on shooting shot/buck loads out of it, which is what they were intended for.  TOTW sells wads in the appropriate size, I'm sure.  They sell shot too, #4 buck is sold in a 5lb bag for $25, which should make for great fun and turn heads at the range!

It goes without saying that you'll need real black powder to enjoy your flintlock.  I would stick to FFg.

Thanks!  The manual says 1" flints, so I think I'll go with the lead.  Do the different cuts of flint make a big difference?  Or am I fine with the economy line?  I can't wait to take this thing out for a spin.

I have had better results from real knapped flints, as opposed to the cut/shaped ones.  The knapped ones, when they chip, chip along the natural line of the stone and retain a useable shape for far longer.

It really doesn't pay to try and make a cheap flint work, especially for a beginner.  Tom Fuller flints are supposedly the best, and they're available for $20 per dozen.  I'd recommend using them, you'll get a good, strong spark to the pan, and have one less thing to worry about.

I need one.  Because.



Make sure you get us a range report!

>OP, is the barrel marked 'Black Powder Only' "Made In Italy' Etc?
Thanks, have fun.

+1 on that.

Be sure to use correct 1" flints, he had a posting showing locks that were damaged by the wrong sized flints.
Want one myself.

I just got home today from three weeks of required training.  While I was gone, I hit up the Track of the Wolf store and ordered the correct size round ball, some #4 shot, English hand knapper 1" flints, etc.  I will take pics tomorrow!  I stopped at a lot of gun shops while on the road between home and Fort Lauderdale and haven't found real FFg black powder yet.

I plan on hammering a round ball flat and using that piece of lead "sheet" to clamp the flint in place.

Here is a list of the Goex distributors.  It looks like the closest distributor is this one:

The Maine Powder House
P.O. Box 519
482 Sokokis Avenue Limington, ME 042049
Phone: 207-637-3775
Fax: 207-637-3623
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.mainepowderhouse.com

If they're not close enough, you might call them and see if they have any retailers closer to you.  They're a distributor, so they make money on the sale anyway.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Google maps says I'm 30 miles away.  I just emailed them to see if I could buy in person.  If not, it's free shipping and free hazmat on a 25 lb lot.
I only have one week left at home before I go back to work so I'm anxious to try this out.  Unfortunately, work is taking me to CA for the next six months, so I'm going to be without any guns at all for a while. .

Maine Powder House has lots of black powder in stock.  I called and Chris said I could pick up at his store front.  He also said Goex is raising their prices in January.

Bump for update.

Damn that's nice.

Too bad there's no left hand model.

Pretty sure that's not banned in Cali as it isn't even classified as a firearm

Thanks for the intel!  I'll have to hit up my local shop before Christmas.

Really glad to hear that you got what you needed to make smoke and fire!  How did she shoot?  We need details man!

She made a nice boom.  The recoil was gentle, not sharp or painful.  I'm still figuring out how to aim.  I haven't tried the shot yet.  All shots were made with a .69 ball and 70 grains of FFg, the recommended charge from the manufacturer.  I also primed with FFg.  Ignition was very, very easy.  I over primed the pan a little bit just for the picture, but got good ignition with a very small amount of powder.  The priming hole is reasonably large.  The dog latch mechanism is equivalent to half cock.  Clamping the flint in place was very easy.  I lowered the hammer to the frizzen slowly by hand to ensure I tightened the flint in place such that it was square to the frizzen.

My next door neighbor stopped by and he took a shot, too.  I can see more flintlocks in my future.

I feel you buddy, I've lusted after one of these for years...

OP Enjoy! and hang on to that woman!