HuntAway

OK, I defer to you guy's for help on this. I have hunted deer with everything except a flintlock. Is there anything special I need to know while waiting for Mr. Buck to come walking by?

With my inline I taped the end of the barrel to help keep moisture out and placed a fired primer on it for the night. It stayed that way until I shot a buck (about 6 days). Can I tape the barrel without effect on a roundball? What do you recommend, plug the flash hole until ready to fire and at night or dump the load each night?

Any and all advice appreciated.

Thanks, NEWBIE Flintlock Hunter

HuntAway

frontier gander

yeah you can tape the end of the muzzle and then use a tooth pick and plug the flash hole.
You can also buy a cows knee for covering your lock.

What did you buy huntaway?

gleason.chapman

When it is raining/snowing I use a plastic sandwich bag, cut the sides and use a rubber band to hold it in place. I did buy a cow knee from RMC sports, www.rmcsports.com. I don't put anything over my barrel, just keep the rifle pointed down when hunting, at night it is in a garage so it doesn't need any tape on it. Putting the tooth pick in the flash hole is a good idea. I don't generally leave powder in a FL ML for very long, especially if raining/snowing, best to shoot it out, clean and then reload. I have gone over night, but not 6 days like you do with inline. You have a high amount of ignition with an inline and more opportunity with the flash hole for moisture getting to the powder. Chap

frontier gander

www.possibleshop.com is great for flintlock supplies.

Just ordered some stuff the other day.

cayugad

Use a finger cot or electrical tape over the muzzle to keep the water out. On the frizzen you can do a couple things. If it is raining, use a leather cow knee to cover the lock and frizzen. Also a small piece of plastic tarp will work. Just pay attention to the direction the water channels off the cow knee or plastic. Make sure it moves away from the lock. A large plastic bag is another way to do it.

Another thing is carry a birthday candle or small piece of bees wax with you in your pocket. After you load the pan, close the frizzen and then take that candle and saw (for a better way of describing the way I do it) the edge of the frizzen cover. What you are trying to do is put a wax bead all along the edge of that frizzen. Also soft lube will work, but lube can work into the frizzen on real hot days. Candles seem to hold up better.

Every hour or so, if the air is damp like over cast, fog, etc.. open the frizzen, blow/brush the powder out, wipe it out with an alcohol patch (you can actually get alcohol swabs at the dollar store that come prepackaged), wipe the frizzen and flint off as well, and then re-prime and candle the frizzen again. This will always keep fresh powder in the pan and also you are making sure that the powder is dry.

When hunting, I use Goex 3f as a prime instead of 4f. They 3f is not as moisture sensitive I was told, and you will never notice the difference in the lock time. In fact if it were not for the fact I bought two pounds of the 4f priming powder, I would never buy it again. The 3f works that good. Keep your flint nice and sharp and it will fire off just fine.

A frizzen cover is a nice feature. It slides over the frizzen, keeping it dry and also acts as a safety for you. Since the flint can not contact the frizzen because of the leather cover, it will not throw a spark. Flintlocks can go off without primer in the pan so keep that in mind when climbing trees or crossing fences.

Last yearI hunted when it was snowing lightly. I must admit I was concerned. But when it came to the moment of truth, I fired that rifle like a spring day. It is a good idea to practice frizzen and lock problems when it is lightly raining, misting, or snowing. Take your flintlock to a range, load it, and stand around out there for ten minutes. You will see if you do it all right, the rifle will fire perfect.

HuntAway

FG, I have a Lyman GPR .50 that I have been playing with. I bought my son's Deerstalker's .50's in Flint as well (one right and one lefty). I will be using the GPR for deer. They are really getting into it. Both have forgotten the powder goes before the patch and ball. lol

I got my cow's knee the other day from RMC. I also ordered a couple of ramrods. That was a good thing because I broke my wooden one while shooting on Sunday.

I was using wet lubed patches for target shooting,but I think I will use dry lube patches for hunting. I'm concerned about a wet lube patch sitting on powder all day. The dry lube shoot well out to 50 yds which is plenty for where I hunt. 50 yds is a long shot there!

What about my prime. Will it last all day or should I be dumping it every hour or so?

Thanks,

HuntAway

HuntAway

I posted before I saw your post cayugad. Thanks!!

frontier gander

Dont worry about the lubed patch sitting on the powder. Ive had my mountain rifle loaded for close to two weeks now.

lonewolf5348

The secret for fast ignition is to use only 2 grains of 4F in the pan:I always if I can tap the powder away from the vent liner.I would think for better ignition on the Lyman a good idea would be to open the vent line (cone the inside and outside of the liner)I think the factory vent liner on Lyman rifles are a little small.I myself change my pan powder about every 1/2 hour and on humid days will switch to 3F on the priming powder.I will always shoot out my load on the end of a day hunt.I always keep a used flint with me(I will always use a new flint when hunting).I keep a old flint just to shoot out the load.I also set my flint to hit square 90 degrees on the frizzen when hunting at the range I use different flints and off set my flint to get more shot out of a flint.I see as much as 65 shots of a Missouri flint but use tom fuller black English flints for hunting.
I cover my barrel on humid days with a plastic glove finger tip if it start to drizzle when hunting I run a bead of beads wax along the stock about an 1" from the lock to keep water off the lock.I also have a leather cover to cover my lock and frizzen.I do set up my flinter by cleaning the barrel and lock with alcohol and dry patch also the frizzen is clean the same way I do't use any grease on the vent liner threads when hunting.I do take some flitz metal polish and polish the powder pan and frizzen about every 200 shots.

Mossie

I use a car shammy treated with waterproof boot dressing (Mink Oil) to wrap the lock in wet conditions and my pan fits tight so the prime charge doesn't leak out at all. I can open it up so it forms a little tent resting right on top after the hammer is pulled back. It will hold whatever form you mold it to so that you can see the sights with it sitting on there. I can fire that thing in a downpour and it always goes off. I tape the muzzle with electric tape.

Some of the guys I hunt with prefer to use a couple of wraps of Suran or Reynolds plastic sandwich wrap and just cock the hammer and fire with the plastic right on there. I like my method better because I can change prime charges every so often with no problemand I can remove it and put it in the possibles bag easily. It's always there if I need it. The cowsknees just don't seal things up good enough to my liking.I agree 3f works a little better in wet raining weather but if it's cold and snowing I go with the 4f.

The best stuff that I have used for making a little dam in front and behind the lock so water doesn't run along the barrel channel and wet your powder is the stuff that is used for holding candles in a candle holder. It stays plyable in cold weater, stays were you put it, re-useable and shooting your gun won't melt it. When using the treated car shammy it will mold tight to the barrel channel so you really don't need to do it though.