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Posted: 6/29/2017 8:17:54 PM EDT
Was asked about flintlocks and here's what I thought.

First, the basic rules of firearm safety still apply to muzzle loaders.   Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.  Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.  After you've got those, remember to keep the pan unprimed until you are ready to shoot (range rule only).  

Second, here is a suggested list of tools or accoutrements:

Pan brush
Touch hole pick
Straight steel rod (for tightening down upper jaw of cock)
Leather scraps (for clamping flints -stay away from flat lead. Lead does hold the flint better, but Jim Chambers (Siler Locks) warned me that when you have casted parts, the cock can bend because of the additional weight of the lead)
Powder horn
Shot pouch (later called a possibles bag/hunting pouch)
bullets
bullet mold
patches (some greased for shooting and uncreased for cleaning).
range rod (metal or fiberglass rod used at the range for loading and problem solving)
jag (clean the barrel and to load) fitted to your range rod
stuck ball remover (remember the problem solving? If you load without powder, you need one for the range rod to remove the ball)
Breech plug scraper (fits on the end of the range rod and is used to scrape off the fouling from the breech plug)
Wiper (original name for worm - used for removing patches that fall off your jag)
powder flask or horn
powder measure (can be home made)
Shot pouch (bullet bag)
Patch knife (if you strips of pillow ticking, you'll need a patch knife which is attached to the strap of your shot pouch so you can cut off excess material)
Bullet starter (something to start the bullet down the barrel).
Spare flints.

Nice but not necessary things to have:

priming horn (not historically accurate for American Revolution era but OK for 1797 onwards)
Stuck Ball discharger & flintlock adapter (easiest way to remove stuck balls but keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. My classmate shot his a vase his mother in law gave his wife).
Bullet board - (not historically accurate until the late Federal Period). It holds a patched ball and allows for quicker loading.
Ballistol or Moose Milk (goggle the latter for recipes on how to make your own) for cleaning the bore.
Bore Butter (useful for cleaning or as patch lube)
Bear Grease (patch lube and lubricant - read about it in Ned Roberts' The Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle).
Round tin (OK, take your used cleaning patches and place them into the round tin. Punch a small hole in the top and throw it into your fireplace/campfire. When the smoke stops coming out of it, it is ready. You now have char cloth for fire starting.)

Instructions:

Remember this saying which is the loading sequence: Powder, Patch and Ball or it won't shoot at all. Use the aforementioned range rod in lieu of the ramrod. Always grasp the rod by the sides and not the top. People have had wood ramrods break and have impaled their hands on them. Ouch! Metal or fibre-glass range rods won't do that and they're safer for the range. In the field, you can use the ramrod but always hold it by its side and never from the end. Another safety thing to remember that while loading, don't stand over the bore or look down the bore either.  Cant it away from you (and anyone else).  After you loaded your flintlock, you may now prime your pan. Remember than unlike the olde days, priming is last because it is safer for you that way. It is OK to use the same grain powder as you load with and this is historically accurate. The second Gunsmith of Colonial Williamsburg, Gary Brumfield, told me that from high speed photography they noticed that with the larger grain of powder, the sparks from the frizzen/battery/steel tend to bounce out less from the bottom of the pan than they did with the smaller grain 4F power.

To begin, make sure your pan is open (frizzen/battery/steel) and the hammer on half cock (these measures are for your safety). Then:

1) Always pour the powder from the horn/flask into the powder measure and never directly from the horn. If you have a smoldering ember in the barrel, it can light up your horn and it becomes a grenade. Don't do that.
2) Place a patch on the muzzle. Be sure it is centered on the muzzle.
3) Seat the ball on top of patch.
4) Use the bullet starter's short end to start the ball & patch down the muzzle. Now use the longer end of the bullet starter to push it a few inches down the barrel.
5) Use the range rod with the jag to push the ball down until it is seated against the breech plug.
6) Prime the pan.
7) Cock the hammer and you are ready to shoot.

After you shoot, do not blow down the barrel to moisten the fouling.  If you must blow, use a blow tube.  If there are any embers in the bore, you don't want it to flash off with your mouth over the muzzle (and what's that rule about muzzle control?).  

Hint: With both the range rod and the ramrod, drop them down the empty and clean barrel. Make a mark to show where it is when it is empty. After the gun is loaded (and you need only do this one time), put the range rod and ramrod down the loaded barrel (remember muzzle control). Make another mark. These two marks will tell you whether your barrel is loaded or not.

Hint 2: If you walk around the rendezvous site, you may want to leave the range rod in the muzzle. It generally signals that the barrel is empty. If the rangemaster or safety officer asks you to show that it is empty, lift the rod up and drop it. It will have a loud, metallic ring to it. A loaded barrel with have a thud because of the lead ball.

Hint 3:  Keep some spare flints around.  Learn to knap them to keep them sharp.  Wipe the frizzed off occasionally.

As to powder size, general rule of thumb is 2F for 50 cal and larger. 3F for 45 cal and smaller. 4F for priming (if you want to use smaller grain powder).
Link Posted: 6/29/2017 8:26:55 PM EDT
[#1]
Nitpicker here:  Flintlocks don't have hammers, it's a cock.  Percussion guns have a hammer.
Link Posted: 6/29/2017 8:42:18 PM EDT
[#2]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Nitpicker here:  Flintlocks don't have hammers, it's a cock.  Percussion guns have a hammer.
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The proper term for what is called a frizzen, is in fact hammer. But yes, he used the wrong term.
Link Posted: 8/20/2017 7:31:37 PM EDT
[#3]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The proper term for what is called a frizzen, is in fact hammer. But yes, he used the wrong term.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Nitpicker here:  Flintlocks don't have hammers, it's a cock.  Percussion guns have a hammer.
The proper term for what is called a frizzen, is in fact hammer. But yes, he used the wrong term.
The intended audience would need to have "cock" defined.  While they will know what is ment by "hammer".
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