Care and feeding of a flintlock

[azwidget]

 Mongrel is getting close to finishing the rifle I have always dreamed of owning. Up until now I've been shooting a .45 left handed percussion rifle.

What items and information will I need that I don't own or use with my percussion, for the .36 flintlock?

[beowulf]

the biggest difference really ? flints ! and you cant use anything other than black powder without problems with ignition ! you can buy or make a flint knapper to touch up your flints when they dull , but other than that really anything used for your percussion rifle will work with your flinter ! some use a priming horn , but I`ve found them to be unesseccary , and I`m not really all that certain that they were all that common back in the day !  hope this is some help !

[tman891]

You will need a vent pick. Get more than one as they tend to sometimes hide when You need it. There is a learning curve to shoot flint but lot's of enjoyment when things come together. I am a fan of shooting one "go to" gun, leave the others (percussion) at home . Have fun don't   

[mtnmike]

Welcome to the DARK side

[Watauga]

AZwidget You can save yourself a lot of What am I doing wrong time?
By learning to hold your on target aim for an extra second after the shot (or two in some cases) longer than you did with the cap gun.
I know it don't seem to take longer to go off but???
I was shooting low with a rifle that did not shoot low before converting to Flintlock.
But from a bench or rest it shot like it did before.
I was dropping the barrel just a tad early shooting offhand  
(At least that worked for me)    

[flintboomer]

Make a quick temporary non PC vent pick from a paper clip by bending the wire out 90 degrees.
Throw a couple more unmodified paper clips in the bottom of the bag for when you lose your nice PC one that you buy.

If you participate in a speed match use one or two of the unmodified clips to hold precut patches to the side of your bag where they are easy to get to.

You will be aware of the flash, but if you see the flash as flame you stopped looking at the sights and your shot will be bad.

[azwidget]

This is all great info, guys! Thanks!

[flintboomer]

Like Wautaga said, follow through is even more important with a flinter than with a percussion because the gun hasn't gone off until it goes bang and on a bad day when the thing hasn't gone off consistantly it is natural to start pulling it down to look at it and see why it didn't go off and you will begin to do this before you finish pulling the trigger. I have seen shooters do that and the ball hits the ground about halfway to the target because they aren't following through when it does go off.

If it doesn't go off wait 2 seconds, then pull it down. If it flashed but didn't go bang, keep it pointed downrange just in case you have a really bad hangfire, wait a few more seconds, then pick the vent and reprime. If it klatches, look at the flint, wipe the frizzen face and the edge of the flint and try again. If it Klatches again dump the priming, leave the frizzen open and either reset, sharpen or replace the flint. ALWAYS carry at least one spare flint. 2 is better. Flints break, flints get dull, sometimes flints fall out of the jaws and get lost, but when things are right and you are doing your part they will shoot just as well as anything else out there.

[BE Wild Willy]

I'm really pleased with the quality of the flints that I received from Stonewall Creek Outfitters. Service and delivery time was top notch too.

[Hanshi]

AZwidget, A flintlock uses mostly the same stuff as a percussion except for caps, of course.   The tips, posted above, on flintlock shooting will help you get started: extra flints & knapping practice / vent pick (you'll seldom use it, though) / small pan primer dispensing 4F (some just use 3F from the main horn / always "follow through" when you shoot.  We'll need pics of that rifle!