Has anyone taken a deer with a flint lock with patch and ball? What was it like?

About how heavy is a 50 cal lead ball? I've never seen any weight on thier boxes.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

KHM, I shoot two or three whitetails every fall with my flintlocks. Theres not that much difference between a flintlock and a caplock once you get used to it. A fifty caliber ball weighs 175 grains. So much is written about saboted bullets and inlines, but roundballs kill way out of proportion to their paper ballistics. I have two 54 cal. flintlocks that I usually hunt with, but this past fall I used my 40 caliber longrifle and killed two deer with two shots. The first one was at an even 100 yds and didnt run out of sight. The second was shot after hunting in the rain for about three hours, no hang at all. When properly operated, a flintlock is alot more reliable than some folks think. Scopes are not allowed here in Ga. so I seldom use the inline during muzzleloader season. In fact I seldom use the inline at all. I find the flint easier in every way to shoot and clean. I guess its what you get used to. When hunting with a flint you need to pay attention to your prime though, with the caps, you can just stick one on and forget it. I guess thats the biggest difference. After you figure out how to keep your prime dry while hunting theres not that much difference though.

I'm a GA boy too. So how does one keep his prime dry?

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

Never shot one.Seen alot of military guys use them who are stationed at Dover AFB Delaware,but residents of PA.

PA is or was Flint Lock only.

Only thing I know is there LONG and go Click---Bapp---BOOoooM!
You need a freekin tri-pod to shoot some I've seen.

Closest thing I have to a Flint is my old CVA side lock.I have more or less retired,for now anyway.

Edited by - aj52 on 02/02/2003 13:28:19

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Only thing I know is there LONG and go Click---Bapp---BOOoooM!
You need a freekin tri-pod to shoot some I've seen. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

If the flash hole is aligned with the lock properly, the pan isn't overprimed, and the lock is of decent quality, the ignition on a flintlock can actually be quicker than that of a cpalock.

I had a long ignition time on my flintlock that caused me to flinch after awhile, but I opened the flashhole a little bit and used less priming and now its really fast.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms... who's bringing the chips?

I use a .500&quot; diameter cast ball in my .50. It weighs 185 grains. Makes a softball size hole GOING IN and a thumb-sized hole exiting.

Keep yore powder dry!!

Soft ball sized hole eh?

So would the round balls work as good with a faster twist made for connical bullets? The cva I had was a 1 in 32&quot; twist I think, and round balls shot fine out of it. Or should I go with the slower twist made for roundballs only? Does it make any difference?

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

Kodiak, generally the fast twist guns will shoot roundballs best at reduced velocities. Not all of them though. If you are getting a gun to shoot roundballs only, I would get a slower twist. One of my .54 cal. flint rifles has a 1:66 twist and will shoot hollow base bullets almost as good as balls. If I ever need a bullet I will use that. As for keeping the prime dry, theres a couple of ways. You can seal the pan with some kind of grease or wax, something like wonderlube works good. After you shoot it once, wipe the pan and from then on, you might need to dump the prime every so often as the fouling in the pan will attract moisture. Hunting with a flintlock requires a little more thought I suppose, but I dont believe it is more complicated than an inline. Its just what you get used to. The bottom line is that a muzzleloader is and always will be just that, a muzzleloader. You can make one look like your 3006, but its still a muzzleloader. Kodiak, we have a muzzleloading match at the Griffin gun club the first sunday of every month. We would love to have you join us. Let me know if youre interested and I will get the directions to you.

I do not shoot a flinter but have used a hawkins with a patched round ball for years and I will tell you this it will put down any size deer you want. Practice Practice Practice and Be SAFE