Thanks to some info in a post by Mazo Kid, I am some-what patiently waiting for the arrival of my neew factory second Austin Halleck Mountain Flintlock.

I have been doing some searching but still have a couple of questions.

First 777, I shoot 777 in the percussion gun that I have now, I know Hodgdon doesn’t recommend this for a flintlock. However, I have been very pleased with it. Figured I’d try some FFF (finest grade they offer) and see how it does (if it’s bad I can shoot it up in the other gun). So, has anyone else tried this?

I see that Black English Flints are highly recommended. I also see that this is available in different widths. Does anyone know where these are available? Which size this gun will need?

Dixie Gun Works catalog is recommended as a good source of info. I hate to Buy a catalog so I can buy stuff…. If I purchase flints (and other stuff) from them, will they “throw-in” a catalog for free (like Brownell’s)??

What other cool stuff will I need? Is there any recommendation/stay away for specific brands?
I see Cabelas offers the Flintlock Tool Set, is this all I need? Is there better?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0015282214737a&navAction=jump&navCount=1&indexId=cat20819&podId=0015282&catalogCode=IF&parentId=cat20819&parentType=index&rid=&cmCat=MainCatcat20712&hasJS=true

Thanks in advance guys (sorry this is a little long), never any bad advice here!!

Nate

I think you and your new flinter will be happier with BP. BP's ignition temoerature is lower than all the "substitute black powders", making for fast, sure ignition. You can probably get away with substitutes if you use a booster charge of BP. Too much trouble for me to dump two different charges. You are going to need BP for your prime anyway.
Black English flints work very well in my guns...some frizzens do better with sawn agate flints, but not many, IME. Try Track of the Wolf for flints. I've dealt with Dixie in the past, and they are OK, but TOTW seems to ship faster and have a better in stock rate. 5/8 or 3/4 size will fit most sporting rifles. You are going to need a vent pick, which can be as simple as a toothpick or length of music wire with a loop bent in it, or as complex as some of the $20 handforged picks. they all work, decide where you want to spend the money. Never had much use for a pan brush, I use my thumb to wipe the frizzen, and a bit of rag to wipe the pan. You will also need some sheet lead or leather to hold the flint in the jaws of the cock.

You will probably want a priming horn, vent pick and fouling scraper, among other things . I prime with 3f and get excellent ignition, but most recommend 4f. I second Charley's recommendation of black powder. I shoot 3f in my 54 and it shoots great. Congratulations on your new piece.

I tried Pyrodex duplexed with a black powder booster charge, and it wasn't worth the hassle. Don't bother unless 777 lights much easier than Pyrodex. Generally, use a flint that's the width of the frizzen. Most locks use a square flint, but you may need one that's longer than it's width. If the flint's too short, put a wooden match stick or two behind it, wrapped in the leather. Cut some leather out of an old glove or boot.

I use wood toothpicks for vent picks. Cheap, won't damage the vent and I've usually got some in my pocket anyhow. The old timers used a feather, and they're still handy. If you load, but won't be ready to shoot for a while, stick a feather in the vent as a loaded gun flag. Dumping the pan powder doesn't guarantee a safe gun, as a spark from the frizzen can bounce through the vent and fire the gun, even with an empty pan. This happens often enough that you can't take a chance on it not happening. My yard's a Flicker nursery and they moult the yellow wing feathers every summer and keep me well supplied.

Don't let anyone stand in line with the vent when you shoot. There's a pretty strong blast out of it.

Bye
Jack

Thanks for all the great (and fast) replies...

I may still pick up some tf the 777, after all when it doesn't work (I'm almost convinced it won't , but got to try) I can shoot it up in my other gun, so it won't be wasted.

Guess I'll get a can of black too... I like the idea of shooting and priming with the save powder. so I guess I'll start with one can of FFFg and see if I have trouble.

Anyone have any info/insite into re-knapping the flint? I've seen some reference to this, doesn't sound hard, but thought I'd bring it up.


Thanks again

Nate

There is some information on lone about flint knapping...have to hunt up the site. But on many flits, they will kid of "self-knap" if you just flip them over in the jaws.

Flinters work best with black powder...can toss a bit of FFFg (about 5-10gr.) down the bore and use 777 for teh rest of the charge, then prime the pan with black...but the trouble of having two powders isn't worth it (unless you have some pyrodex of 777y you just want to use up) and once you start burning black, whatever clean up advantage 777 had is pretty well gone.

HAve had locks that would set off pyroidex, American Select, and 777....but those powders just don't burn as fast unconfined (as in the pan) as black, so even if the flint sets it off, it really slows down ignition.

Bought a pound a ffffg about 4 years ago...just one pound...but at 3-4gr. a pan, tends to last a real long time (something like 2000 shots). Don't think it's needed, fffg does a good job, but ffffg does flash unconfined a bit faster and it seems to speed lock time just a hair.

Try Track of the Wolf for flints...at least their web patch frop flints is easily understood and illustrated.

You've received very good advice here. Unlike a percussion rifle, the lock time on a flintlock can be highly variable. I also recommend FFFF for the pan, and don't fill it so full that you cover up the touch hole.

I had a muzzleloading license for last year's elk season and the only source of black powder I could find was the Mountain Man Gun Shop in Manitou Springs.

You might also like the web site of the Contemporary Longrifle Association, www.longrifle.ws

Thanks for all the great advise.

I got a little carried away at Track of the Wolf and should only need to pick up some black to get shootin.

Gun got here last night... There are some minor imperfections, but nothing that should affect preformance!

Can't wait to get out and make a stink

Nate

I had good results with ffg777 in my .45 cal. flint gun using 5 grains of black first and also in the pan. I found it doesn't coke up like black and the bore doesn't have to be swabbed as often. Remember to reduce the charge and measure by volume as they recommend. You will, however, miss the huge cloud of smoke and the messy cleanup. I'm sold on the stuff.

popgun,

I had thought about going this route, but figured it would require carrying three powders, Black FFFF fro the pan, Black FF for the first and finally 777.....

However, your post prompted me to ask the question, What about Black FFFF for the Pan and the initial down the barrel????


Anyone do this (Popgun, is this what you are doing)??

As alway, thanks

Nate

Nate,
Yes you can use FFFF blac for both.
I have used FFF black as my only powder in my .45 and .50 cal. flint guns for many years, both for priming and the main charge. I recently tried 777 and found it worked great with about 5 grains of black poured in before the 777. I also reduced the charge 15% as recommended by Hodgdon and next time out I plan to try even lighter loads. 777 doesn't work as a priming charge, it lit, but just made a poof and a big orange ball of fire.

popgun.

Thanks for sharing all your experience guys


Nate

Best bet is to stick with BP in your flinter, I did use up a half pound of pyrodex a fella gave me. I had to use a small primer of black to get any lock time at all. If just the straight pyro it would shoot a lot of flame out the vent before building up enough pressure to go bang. That build up and push may be causing a very bad situation as it could push the ball down the bbl a substantial distance before actual explosion occurs. Be safe and use black in your rock lock.

Hey,

I finally made it to Sportsman’s Warehouse to get my Black FFFFg…. They didn’t have any. Guy said that they didn’t carry any Black Powder, and that he hadn’t been able to find any around town.

He said he uses Pyrodex P (FFFg equivalent). So I bought a pound of this…

Tried playing with it at home at got about 50% ignition of the Pan (I was only charging the Pan)… Think the Flint is fairly good (got the English ones from Track of the wolf), and it appears to be throwing a decent spark (I did a lot of fiddling)…

Is this all the better I can expect with Pyordex?
Does anyone know of a place around Denver I can get some Black?
Any Flint checks I can do to ensure that It’s not a spark problem (gonna run out of flints soon)??

ANY HELP??

Thanks

Nate

Even the best flint locks won't set pyrodex off in the pan 100% of the time...and you'll notice that when it does go off, it's not a real fast flash...and that it may not set a main charge of pyrodex off.

You are going to have to find at least one pound of black powder. Can shoot with enough black in the barrel to cover the vent (call it 10gr.) and the rest of your mnain charge pyrodex. Along with real black in the pan, will get the easy to ignite/fast flash of black and have black powder on the other side of the vent to insure igniton. This would limt your hard to find black powder use to about 13-15gr. per shot, so taht pound of black would last a good long time.

Flints: if you think they aren't sparking well enough, then flip them over in the jaws and try a few shots...will notice it chips littel bits of lint off and helps create a new sharp edge after three shots or so.

Be sure the flint's face is hitting the frizzen dead level...want as much of that edge as possible to rum doen the frizzen.

ntjaxn,
Your flints may start to wear down and quit sparking after several shots. As Ribbonstone said, you can turn them around. After that you can put a new edge on them by chipping the edge with a pair of pliers or the back side of a knife blade. This takes a little practice, so hang on to your old flints.

You may want to check out this online source of bp


http://www.grafs.com/shopRegularproducts.cfm/startItem/1

nyjaxn:

Last Fall I had a Colorado muzzleloading license and made several inquiries out there in an attempt to find black powder for my Kentucky flintlock. I have a good supply here at home but the airlines will not allow any quantity of loose powder.

I finally found a very helpful fellow named Chris at the Mountain Man Gun Shop in Manitou Springs. The number there is 719-685-1458. He told me that there is no one in Denver that carries black powder.

guys,

Thanks for all the responces... I went ot my gun smiths last night and he had a pound of Goex 3F. He in structed me to us a silver spoon and a glass dish to grind this a fine as I could....

Well, this worked great, I was able to get 100% "flash in the pan"...

Thanks for the info for Mountain Man Gun Shop in Manitou Springs and for Grafs... I knew you guys would come threw... now I can shoot up what I got from the smith, and know I can get more..

As to turning the flint over, It seems the hammer (the large screw holing the flint) hits the top of the fizzen before the flint (have to use flint belvel down). So I have to rig up som match stick ro something to get this to work (using the fizzen to knap).... Think I'm going to have to learn some other method... I've read some techneques on-line, guess I'm going to have to make a tooland teach myself.

Thanks again everyone

Nate

Hello,

I used to be interested in flintknapping and I once asked one of the old time knappers what type of flint he thought sparked the most. These guys knapped arrowheads and knife blades and such prolly not gunflints but anyway he said by far ,without a doubt, Coshocton flint from Coshocton County Ohio was his choice.
Tis type of flint is mottled blue with quartz crystals right in it. I have no Idea how this would measure up to english gunflints or german agate but the way he described it i'm sold! I tried locating some but I was unable. Of course I didnt search very hard. I've seen english flint.... from dover sold at various places. I imagine with a hunk of this stuff and a little reading on the subject, oh.. and a little practice one could learn to knap gunflints easily.

Had to add this info.

Thanks Flinter...

From a quick internet search, this flint make pretty arrow heads, but doesn't look like anyone is making any gun flints out of it...

Guess I'll just have to file this info.

Nate

My brother sells french amber flints through his website.
I have used these in my flintlock, and they give good sparks and can also be easily knapped after being dulled by shooting. If you are interested, email me and I can give you his web address. We use a piece of stiff copper wire that is mounted in a wooden handle to pressure flake the edge of the flint; creating a new edge. I have also used a nail or punch held perpendicular to the edge of the flint and tapped lightly by a small hammer, to make a new edge. Good luck!
Mike