I had the first range session today with my recently acquired .50 caliber GP.
Right after opening the box two weeks ago I mounted a new black English flint in the cock, put a little powder in the pan, and snapped it off. The pan went up with a satisfying woosh. Did that four more times and got a good flash each time. Then I pulled the Lyman touch hole liner and replaced it with a RMC liner.
Today I toughed out fifty shots with the temperature hitting ninety-one degrees and humidity up to 88% by the time I quit - shooting 15 three-shot groups at 50 yards over a chronograph.
I'll post shooting results later, but this is about the gun's reliability and overall performance.
I didn't pick the touch hole liner as I shot. It went 21 shots before my first flash in the pan. Poked a wire in the flash hole and it was off and running again.
Got my first KLATCH with no pan ignintion on shot number 27 or 28. Lightly knapped the flint and she was off and running again. Got another KLATCH around shot number 40 and lightly knapped the flint again. Took four more shots and quit at number 45.
I was letting the barrel cool after every three shots. When I did that the pan fouling turned to soup and I had to wipe it out with a patch. But I never poked the vent throughout the entire shoot, except that one time.
So after a total of 55 successful flint strikes, two KLATCHES and two knappings, here's what the flint looks like.
Can you say "
happy camper"?