Im looking for a flintlock pistol something thats a little nicer then a lyman one but not quite as expensive as some I see that are around $1000.
Anyone have any ideas?

Im looking for a flintlock pistol something thats a little nicer then a lyman one but not quite as expensive as some I see that are around $1000.
Anyone have any ideas?

You can try looking on the Track of the wolf site.
Nice guns cost more. But you should be able to find something pretty good for 600-800 bucks.

Dan

ANSWER: Pederosoli.

You can get them from a number of online sources.

They have a broad array of quality built pistols. You can get a Harper's Ferry for around $425. A terrific looking pistol. And it shoots well although it only has a single blade front site so it is not known as a target pistol even though with practice you can get pretty darn good. This flintlock is what I consider the best example of what a flintlock pistol should look like and feel like. At 58 caliber it is truly awesome, as well! Although do not be afraid of it---the kick is not bad at all. 40 grains of ffffg and a big ole .570 diameter round ball and it hard to imagine having more fun on the range. KaBoom. Actually, I would be comfortable using something like to this for hunting to about 35 yards. Also: Most pistol shooting ranges or competitions are less than 25 yards so as I said although this is not known as a target pistol it still can be shot well with practice to reasonable distances. Plus, the big ole cannon balls it shoots sure makes nice big holes you can see very well from pistol shooting distances.

Or if you want something for higher accuracy target shooting Perderosoli makes several beautiful pistols with front and rear sights that will shoot accurately, are high quality, and can be had for less than $1000.

Flintlock pistols are far far far more fun than percussion. Nothing like holding a K-Boom in your hand.

ANSWER: Pederosoli.

You can get them from a number of online sources.

They have a broad array of quality built pistols. You can get a Harper's Ferry for around $425. A terrific looking pistol. And it shoots well although it only has a single blade front site so it is not known as a target pistol even though with practice you can get pretty darn good. This flintlock is what I consider the best example of what a flintlock pistol should look like and feel like. At 58 caliber it is truly awesome, as well! Although do not be afraid of it---the kick is not bad at all. 40 grains of ffffg and a big ole .570 diameter round ball and it hard to imagine having more fun on the range. KaBoom. Actually, I would be comfortable using something like to this for hunting to about 35 yards. Also: Most pistol shooting ranges or competitions are less than 25 yards so as I said although this is not known as a target pistol it still can be shot well with practice to reasonable distances. Plus, the big ole cannon balls it shoots sure makes nice big holes you can see very well from pistol shooting distances.

Or if you want something for higher accuracy target shooting Perderosoli makes several beautiful pistols with front and rear sights that will shoot accurately, are high quality, and can be had for less than $1000.

Flintlock pistols are far far far more fun than percussion. Nothing like holding a K-Boom in your hand.

The pistol will kill deer easily with well placed shots but I like about 1000 fps at the muzzle so you need 50-60 gr of powder or more. I would install a rear sight before hunting with it. Practice till you can shoot well enough under field conditions and limit shots to 20-30 yards.

The Pedersoli guns are OK metal wise I suppose but the styling, wood fit and finish is not going to equal a good shop made pistol and I though the question was something that looked right.
None of the imports look right for a "Kentucky" pistol. A very skilled friend of mine made a true copy of J&S Hawken 25 odd years ago for the old Western Arms Company (they were doing what Cimarron is doing now). They sent it to Italy to be reproduced and the Italians (Uberti IIRC) sent it back saying they could not duplicate it.
You simply cannot get a "good" historically correct representative Hawken, Kentucky rifle or Kentucky pistol by buying an import.

Dan

Dan---
I hear you about the superior quality and finish of a shop made pistol. But I don't know anyone who would make a good pistol for $400-$600 bucks, as well as Pederosoli. I read the question as---'something better than a lyman but not as pricey as the $1000 pistols'. Actually what I do is buy the guns and then refinish them myself to get the look I like. It has worked for me so far. I save a bunldle and get teh wood look and finish that satisfies my aesthetic preference. If I had $1000-$3000 to spend on a gun I wouldn't need to do this I suppose. But in the meantime it (the refinishing work) is satisfying and helps keep me out of trouble. :)

Thanks guys I really like the look of the harpers ferry 1805 pretty much just what I was looking for

Aoren--- The Harper's Ferry is beautiful. Here is website with nice pictures of many Pedersoli guns. I did not buy from these guys (yet). http://www.cherrys.com/ped_pist.htm

I would say if you have $500 you could get a nice flintlock pistol, better than any Lyman.

Do you want it for paper punching or hunting? Or re-enactments/rendevous?

$650 gets you a no-frills but high quality shop built pistol. What most people don't realize is that building a pistol takes just as much time and work as a rifle. True, you have a smaller piece to work with but the time spent finishing out the added length of the rifle is eaten up with the curved trigger guard and tang. Lock, trigger, nose cap, thimbles, grip cap and so forth all take the same amount of time to put on a pistol as on a rifle, just because it's smaller in size doesn't mean it's easier or faster to build.

Many things that you won't get in a production gun is the ability to specify a custom barrel like octagon to round or full round. You can't get a barrel built to shoot full power big game hunting loads with PRB's. You can't get a hand lapped match-grade barrel. You can choose the sights you want or the placement of them. Another thing is, you pay $400-$600 for a production gun now and if you decide to sell it after shooting it a dozen times, you'll be hard pressed to get 30% of what it cost you - you invest in custom or semi-custom shop-built pistol and take care of it and five years later you'll get more out of it than you have in it.

Mark--- Do you build flintlocks or know someone who will?

In the very first post Aoren asked: QUOTE---"Im looking for a flintlock pistol something thats a little nicer then a lyman one but not quite as expensive as some I see that are around $1000. Anyone have any ideas?"... I know the pedersoli's fit the description he asked for (ie a little nicer than a lyman) but I was not aware that you could get a quality but no frills gun custom built for $650, Although, to me and in my finincial situation, that is still substantially more than the $400 for a Pedersoli.

Your post is intriguing and I'd like to be introduced to some flintlock makers.

Dan---
I hear you about the superior quality and finish of a shop made pistol. But I don't know anyone who would make a good pistol for $400-$600 bucks, as well as Pederosoli. I read the question as---'something better than a lyman but not as pricey as the $1000 pistols'. Actually what I do is buy the guns and then refinish them myself to get the look I like. It has worked for me so far. I save a bunldle and get teh wood look and finish that satisfies my aesthetic preference. If I had $1000-$3000 to spend on a gun I wouldn't need to do this I suppose. But in the meantime it (the refinishing work) is satisfying and helps keep me out of trouble. :)


Lots of places sell parts. Try buying some of these and making one. I like ML pistols and have built 6-7 over the years. The American Longrfiles site has a lot of builders who post on it.

Prices... For the ML gun buyer.
Just remember that locks are 115-120 bucks or more now and this is for one that is pre-made, some lock casting sets are over 100 and often come without screws.
Then barrels, they need breeching or at least checked if they come breeched, often building a pistol means making parts since almost everything on the market is for rifles. Anyone doing good work should be getting 40-50 dollars an hour shop time.
I just spent about 2-3 hours polishing the exterior of a large Siler lock and hardening all the screws yesterday. This was a "finished" lock with the ugly grey bead blast finish. So now with $50 an hour we have a $220-$250 lock and its not hardened yet. If I send it for color case hardening its going to add about 100 bucks more. Its pretty easy to spend a couple of hours striking and polishing a pistol TG. This makes a 15-20 dollar part worth 60-120.
Pistol rod pipes have to be made in most cases,couple of hours.
Then the ramrod going to take at least 1/2 hour to an hour. Sights an hour or 2.
Then polish and finish everything.
Some smiths think that pistols are more work than a rifle. Thus a GOOD Kentucky pistol is easy worth 1000 bucks. But some people who will lay out 900-1500 for a Colt 1911 Clone become apoplectic if you ask 1000 for a pistol that is a work of art with 10 times the hand work of the 1911.
Back in Colonial times a rifle was 5-10 pounds. Circa 1820 they were 10-40 dollars. In 1830-40 a top end Hawken was 30-50 dollars. Gold was about 16 dollars an ounce. This was a LOT of money.

End of rant.

Dan

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/DPhariss/ML%20Guns/Patternsdrawn2.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/DPhariss/ML%20Guns/Readytoshape2.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/DPhariss/ML%20Guns/Readytochecker1.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/DPhariss/ML%20Guns/Checkerlayout1.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/DPhariss/ML%20Guns/Pistol2_1.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/DPhariss/ML%20Guns/Pistol2.jpg

But some people who will lay out 900-1500 for a Colt 1911 Clone become apoplectic if you ask 1000 for a pistol that is a work of art with 10 times the hand work of the 1911.

Excellent point Dan! Back when I was shooting comp, there were very few "specialty" shops as in maybe 3 or 4 in the whole country and no one that really wanted to mess with a 1911 because 9mm was the end-all answer for everything, so if you wanted a worked 1911, you had to do it yourself or live with whatever you got from the local gun handyman. I've put my own 1911's together from parts and it takes about 1/10 the time to build a 1911 that it does to scratch-build a traditional flintlock. Tuning a complete 1911 off-the-shelf gun takes 3-4 hours and you can get $400-$700 for the work yet you can easily have 5-6 hours into completing the lock for a flinter and that's not doing anything fancy, just a basic functional lock.

I don't recall if it was in this forum or another one, I commented about a production single shot break-open centerfire rifle carrying a $849.99 price tag and the stock looked like it was hacked out by a 7th grade shop student with a dull hatchet - or a $749.99 bolt action with the recoil pad not installed flush with the wood, covered in deep swirls from an orbital sander, lop-sided barrel channel and checkering panels that were offset better than a 1/2" from one side to the other.

Aoren, Zoar, & others: Check out www.fire-iron.biz (http://www.fire-iron.biz) for an outstanding pistol. Mark is being very humble.

What Pistol is that at the end of Dphariss' post the one at the bottom with the silver barrel?
Its similar to Track of the Wolf's Tennesse pistol

Everyone has different preferences. For wood I really like curly maple with strong deep red tones with a hand-rubbed high gloss finish. I do not like carvings in the wood. I am refinishing my Harper's Ferry and it is coming out terrifically. Even though it cam ewith Walnut wood I was able to really change the look to more of my liking. Behlen's Blood Red stain followed by dark almost back Walnut to get a deep dark reddish look then layers of linseed and Tung Oil. It looks like it came off a Seafaring Vessel from the 1812 era. I probably have $450 into it.

What Pistol is that at the end of Dphariss' post the one at the bottom with the silver barrel?
Its similar to Track of the Wolf's Tennesse pistol

Its Kentucky pistol in 45 cal that I built for my son.
Many original guns were left "in the white". I just never got around to bluing or browning the barrel. The lock is now color casehardened though.

Dan

Yeah, that is a nice looking pistol.

I am thinking about putting a rear site on my Harper's Ferry. It doesn't seem like it should be difficult.

it---the kick is not bad at all. 40 grains of ffffg and a big ole .570 diameter round ball and it hard to imagine having more fun on the range. KaBoom.

Zoar, is that a typo, or do you really use 40 gr. of ffffg powder as the load? I have heard that 4fg powder is really not a good idea as it can be very inconsistent when used as the load.....one time high pressure, the next low, etc. It is mainly used for priming; and I am using 3fg as both load and priming powder with good results. Emery

Zoar, is that a typo, or do you really use 40 gr. of 4fg powder as your load? I have heard that using 4fg as the main load is not a good idea as it can be very inconsistent.....one time high pressure, next shot low pressure, then any place in between. Do you get good accuracy with that load? I am using 3fg as both my load and priming powder with good results. Only have to carry one powder that way. Emery

dphariss where did you buy the kit for the kentucky pistol?
All the ones I see that are similar to that are blued, did you remove the blueing or did it come white?

Mazo--- Sorry that was indeed a TYPO. FFFg not FFFFg. I don't even have fourF.

3F works plenty fine as bore or pan powder. And yes I find it works while the Triple Seven crap does not work in my flinters.