| Posted: Fri Apr 17th, 2009 07:43 PM |
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Charley
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After being told my flinters weren't an upgrade from percussion, I pulled them out, checked them over, and decided I still like 'em better!
Here are mine, from top to bottom:
Top is an Italian copy (not close!) of the US Rifle, caliber .54 M1803, aka a Harper's Ferry rifle. First flinter I owmed, it's a basic rock basher lock. Geometry is wrong, frizzen wasn't hardened properly, and on and on. TOTW had a loooong piece about correcting the flaws, but life's too short. I hardened the frizzen, polished the lock a bit, and shoot it as is. Does pretty well now. I've taken a couple of whitetails with it.
Second from the top is Dixie's Tennessee Squirrel rifle a poorboy in .32. Decent, but not a great shooter. Had the replace that small diameter ramrod, wood kept breaking. I cheated and switched to fiberglass. Not a re-enactor, so I don't care.
Third is a 20 bore Pennsylvania Fowler from Flintlocks, inc, AKA Jim Chambers. This is how a flinter should be. Smoooooth lock, 100% ignition, and fast. I sometimes dove hunt with it. Want to take a whitetail with a PRB, but haven't had the chance, yet. Figure a .600 ball would work well anywhere in the rib cage.
Bottom is another poorboy southern rifle in .45 from TOTW parts. Good shooter, good lock, though not quite as fast as the Chambers lock. I've got two whitetail does with this one.
What can I say, I like flintlocks!
Attachment: DSCF0008h.JPG (Downloaded 87 times)
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17th, 2009 11:46 PM |
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3006 user
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Charley, if they work, that's all that counts. Look pretty neat, too.. The only reason I don't have a flinter is because I'm not patient enough to go through the loading process.
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18th, 2009 12:26 AM |
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Dirtkicker
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Like Charley I have four flinters. Before I relocated to the relatively treeless High Plains I spent uncounted hours in the deep woods with a PA long rifle. I've hunted with just about every kind of shootin' arn you can imagine, but the flinters have an appeal all their own. Some of my happiest days have been spent afield with a rifle that hasn't been improved on in almost 300 years.
The fact that it also had a major hand in driving the Brits out of our country (and teaching them some respect for American riflemen) is no small incentive to love it.
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18th, 2009 12:38 AM |
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72coupe
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Beautiful hardware Charley. I particularly like the bottom 2. I didn't mean to impune your choices, just to point out the progression of firearms.
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18th, 2009 03:31 AM |
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Charley
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72coupe wrote: Beautiful hardware Charley. I particularly like the bottom 2. I didn't mean to impune your choices, just to point out the progression of firearms.
No offense taken, of course, just running with the joke...
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18th, 2009 07:03 PM |
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fryboy
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love the title of this thread( flinchlocks)personally i prefer the capped hawkens( what can i say i'm from the plains where the big but short barrel and halfstock ruled) long rifles are sexy as heck tho ( in either persuasion ! ) perhaps being lafthanded influences me as well ? for there are more right handed "flinchlocks" than lefty's and that primer powder in ur face kinda bites -been there done that
nice irons charley !!!!!!!!! i like the look of the top one best ( the hawken in me i guess ) but appreciate the attributes to the 3rd one as well ( besides it's sexy as heck too ! )
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18th, 2009 11:29 PM |
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Dirtkicker
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The mountain men who were big users of those Hawkens by and large preferred flintlocks to caplocks. They were suspicious of the new-fangled locks and knew that with flintlocks all you needed was powder and ball. No worries about running out of those silly little top-hats!
Actually, one of my favorite rifles is a forerunner of the Hawken. It's a TC Seneca, a caplock, a modern rendition of the New England deer rifle. It's .45, light, beautifully slender and a very good shooter with either ball or conie. It's said that the Hawkens were just beefed up versions of this design.
Last edited on Sun Apr 19th, 2009 05:21 AM by Dirtkicker
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19th, 2009 04:16 AM |
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Charley
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The M1803 is considered by some to be the father of the mountain rilfe. Several went west with the Corps of Discovery, AKA the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 2nd, 2009 05:52 PM |
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quigleysharps4570
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Nice rifles.
I've a little .40 caliber longrifle that's sent quite a few critters to their maker and since I've had it the caplocks don't see much action anymore. 
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Timberghozt
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smokepole shooters 
jk, gents.I got a 50 cal Hawken replica made by CVA my father bought me when I was in Desert Storm as a welcome home gift.I liked it good enough but it was a percussion cap rifle..
I`ve seen some real pretty flinters and some custom made percussion shooters.
Just aint my thing to hunt with one I guess.,Got lots of respect for folks that limit themselves by using it.I guess the same as me bowhunting to some of the folks I know around the ranch.
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12th, 2009 04:35 PM |
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DavidVanVorous
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Have an L&R Manton patiently awaiting inletting into a piece of curly maple in the tool box. Cant work on it as the wife threatened the bodily parts below the belt iffen I dont get her cap lock done 1st...
D.
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12th, 2009 06:38 PM |
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Ranch 13
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 Well you know what they always said , if the almighty would of wanted folks shootin them percussion guns, he'ld lined the bottoms of the cricks with tins full a percussion caps and tc maxiballs.
Sides all that everybody knows kids play with cap guns.... 
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13th, 2009 03:18 AM |
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quigleysharps4570
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DavidVanVorous wrote: the wife threatened the bodily parts below the belt iffen I dont get her cap lock done 1st.
What are you building her?
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13th, 2009 03:25 AM |
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Charley
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Cant work on it as the wife threatened the bodily parts below the belt iffen I dont get her cap lock done 1st...
Mrs. Charley is that way about some cabinetry she wants done...
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| Posted: Sat Nov 14th, 2009 07:49 AM |
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DavidVanVorous
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quigleysharps4570 wrote: DavidVanVorous wrote: the wife threatened the bodily parts below the belt iffen I dont get her cap lock done 1st.
What are you building her? A blend of parts that should end up being a fairly nice Leman 1/2 stock.
Using a Davis lock, Davis double set, CVA .45 barrel and breech, brass trim from Don Stith (St. Louis Plains rifle works) all wrapped up in a piece of P++ curly maple.
The rest of the story is that its been on my build list since around 2000 along with my .5 cal full stock Hawken...
D.
Last edited on Sat Nov 14th, 2009 07:50 AM by DavidVanVorous
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| Posted: Sat Nov 14th, 2009 09:10 AM |
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quigleysharps4570
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Sure want to see pics when that ones finished.
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