Precussion or flintlock?
- Thread starter oldfart
- Start date
As it was explained to me, percussion is the way to start out.
Mostly this was for the reason that flintlocks can get frustrating if you don't know what you're doing. Both have a learning curve, but the flintlock is much sharper.
I went for a percussion, can't really comment on how I like it though, still haven't had a chance to shoot it
Mostly this was for the reason that flintlocks can get frustrating if you don't know what you're doing. Both have a learning curve, but the flintlock is much sharper.
I went for a percussion, can't really comment on how I like it though, still haven't had a chance to shoot it
I'm a brand new BP shooter and I have both a .45 cal Hawken Flintlock and a new inline Traditions .50. I much prefer shooting the inline but the Flinty is a lot of fun too. I'd go percussion myself, for the first one, if I had it to do over again. After firing my two and a few other fellows rifles, I find the percussion guns a lot simpler to shoot accurately. Wally! Get out and try the percussion! You'll love it!
Al
Al
Edit - I meant to say - make sure it isn't an inline!
Nah, inlines are fun too, but I got a cap and ball browning .50 mountain rifle, much like the traditions version. It has many of the same characteristics as the flintlock, just a lot simpler.
P.S. Goldigig - you have no idea how long I've been waiting to try it! Two months without a day off and counting! First weekend off I get I will have a very very very sore shoulder....
Nah, inlines are fun too, but I got a cap and ball browning .50 mountain rifle, much like the traditions version. It has many of the same characteristics as the flintlock, just a lot simpler.
P.S. Goldigig - you have no idea how long I've been waiting to try it! Two months without a day off and counting! First weekend off I get I will have a very very very sore shoulder....
- Location
- Algoma region
My opinion is get a smoothbore military flintlock!!
Thats what brought me back to shooting for pleasure.
Big powerful simple locks, smoothbore so ease of loading, pleasure to shoot and adaptable..
Shot or ball or a mixture of both.
And beyond just function the british and french military smoothies are just real lookers!!
Cheers
Thats what brought me back to shooting for pleasure.
Big powerful simple locks, smoothbore so ease of loading, pleasure to shoot and adaptable..
Shot or ball or a mixture of both.
And beyond just function the british and french military smoothies are just real lookers!!
Cheers
caplocks are a lot less startleing, a flintlock you have a fairly large flash of flame and smoke about 4 inches from your eyeballs, hence the name flinchlock.
caplocks are like shooting an inline but with a side hammer. just a crack and then the boom almost instantanusly after.
make sure if you get a lyman you go out and purchase a REAL flint if you get a flintlock, their compressed ceramic things i have heard no good stories about, small sparks failed ignitions etc. just easy to sharpen.
caplocks are like shooting an inline but with a side hammer. just a crack and then the boom almost instantanusly after.
make sure if you get a lyman you go out and purchase a REAL flint if you get a flintlock, their compressed ceramic things i have heard no good stories about, small sparks failed ignitions etc. just easy to sharpen.
i have been shooting blackpowder rendys and such since the early 70s,, i started with a precussion gun, a well, but to do it over i would buy a flint trade gun , as it will be a shotgun , hunting gun, rendy gun , by far the more vesitile,, and you will have a lot more fun i think,i have shot flint guns only for more than 20 years and will never go back to precusion anything,,wade
My first black powder rifle was a percussion rifle (a Hawken kit bought over over twenty years ago). I found that it had its own learning curve and presented some qwirks that they don't necessarily write about.
For example, how easy it is for the channel between the cap and bolster to get obstructed by a weird little disk of carbon fouling that sometimes forms in front of the cap after the rifle discharges. This little bit of fouling was responsible for more than one failure to fire on the next shot (and underscored the importance of using a "nipple prick" between shots).
Having bought my first flintlock a few years ago "just to see what they were like", I'd have to admit that flintlocks are more fun. They're about as simple as you can make a shootin' iron and, provided the touch hole is of the proper dimensions and your flints are knapped English flints, they can be very fast and reliable (and no messing around with loose caps).
Bottom line is: if you're looking for a rewarding shooting experience that was the state of the art for over two centuries (and lets you re-live a little part of what some of your ancestors probably dealt with) get a flinter.
For example, how easy it is for the channel between the cap and bolster to get obstructed by a weird little disk of carbon fouling that sometimes forms in front of the cap after the rifle discharges. This little bit of fouling was responsible for more than one failure to fire on the next shot (and underscored the importance of using a "nipple prick" between shots).
Having bought my first flintlock a few years ago "just to see what they were like", I'd have to admit that flintlocks are more fun.
They're about as simple as you can make a shootin' iron and, provided the touch hole is of the proper dimensions and your flints are knapped English flints, they can be very fast and reliable (and no messing around with loose caps). Bottom line is: if you're looking for a rewarding shooting experience that was the state of the art for over two centuries (and lets you re-live a little part of what some of your ancestors probably dealt with) get a flinter.
Thats a good point you mentioned about smoothbore being easier to load. I watched a fella shoot one the other day and he didnt seem to have to clean for probably 10 shoots. That fact did not sink in, till you mentioned it. Apparently smoothbore isnt as accurate but he was doing well
- Location
- Algoma region
Hi old fart......"normally someone gets mad if I say that- ha ha ha"
I think your only going to notice accuracy differences out past 50 yards, I wish I could remember where I first read it, but sometime during the 1800s there was a study of accuracy of rifled vs smoothbore military arms.
From what I could glean from my reading the study the smoothbores performance only really started dropping after 75-80 yards with a dramatic decline after 100 yards.
Presently all my completed flintlocks are smoothies, but I am slowly and tenderly building a rifled Jager in 62 cal.
Flintlocks are really something I greatly enjoy, I am only now trying to get me a nice origional percussion.
Which ever you choose I am shure youll have a good time with it!!
Cheers
I think your only going to notice accuracy differences out past 50 yards, I wish I could remember where I first read it, but sometime during the 1800s there was a study of accuracy of rifled vs smoothbore military arms.
From what I could glean from my reading the study the smoothbores performance only really started dropping after 75-80 yards with a dramatic decline after 100 yards.
Presently all my completed flintlocks are smoothies, but I am slowly and tenderly building a rifled Jager in 62 cal.
Flintlocks are really something I greatly enjoy, I am only now trying to get me a nice origional percussion.
Which ever you choose I am shure youll have a good time with it!!
Cheers
Flintlock. Cut out all the crap with licencing and registration. Besides, you will always want one (flinter) if you go percussion.
Flintlock ignition is not hard to learn, just get a decent one.
So far, in the history of firearms, flintlock is the longest lasting method of ignition. If all those folks who have used them over 300 years figured them out (without the internet!) you can too.
Load your pan with only a few grains and then when aiming, ignore it, looking only at your sights and target. You will not even notice the pan-flash.
Flintlock ignition is not hard to learn, just get a decent one.
So far, in the history of firearms, flintlock is the longest lasting method of ignition. If all those folks who have used them over 300 years figured them out (without the internet!) you can too.
Load your pan with only a few grains and then when aiming, ignore it, looking only at your sights and target. You will not even notice the pan-flash.
