Thompson Center Pennsylvania Hunter Flintlock
 

I just acquired a Thompson Center Pennsylvania Hunter Flintlock and I am looking for some advice. A while back there was a discussion about installing set triggers in this gun. Does anyone know want parts are needed? My gunsmith and I need to know what brand of set triggers we need and what all has to be changed.
Thank You for any help you can give.

I'm going to go out on a limb here without talking to T/C. But because the Hawken and Renegade locks are interchangeable I would bet a dollar to a doughnut that they used the same lock in the PA Hunter. That being the case I would guess that the double trigger from either of these models would work. BUT....there would likely be different inletting in the stock recess for the triggers and possibly a different trigger guard.
Probably a less expensive route would be to have your smith work on the single trigger to give you the pull you want.
On a side note - I prefer a double trigger also but most of the high end custom muzzys I've fondled come with single triggers. Must be for a reason!

Thank You so much for your insight, and working with the existing trigger may be something that would be worth a try. It is really bad now, lots of play and hard to pull. I think the double set triggers is still the best option and I would sure like to do that. We still would like guidance on that project.

Since a Patriot pistol comes from around the same era you might look into using the set triggers from that.

Personally, I prefer a single trigger for hunting, and a set trigger for target shooting. Especially, if the target shooting is offhand.

My PA Hunter has the single trigger. I would suggest trying the rifle as is. Its a very good trigger. BUT I would call T/C and see if the triggers could be changed out, before purchasing anything. If they are able to switch out, it should be a simple fix.

You will or already find.. the rifle is a great roundball shooter.

hunterdn78,

Yea... and you would pay through the ying-hole for them so don't bother! I have a PA Hunter flintlock and a Firestorm flintlock. The locks are the same and the guts on these locks are the same as a Hawken or Renegade. MY advise if you're not comfortable disassembling your lock and honing and de-burring all the bearing surfaces with stones and needle files is to have your gunsmith do it for you. All you need is a nice clean break without the creep. I have done a number of my own locks but, I was a machinist all of my life and had done that type of work previously.

The PA hunter was designed as a single trigger (with oversized trigger guard) rifle to accommodate the use of gloves by the hunter during Pennsylvania's late ML season after Christmas when the temps can be VERY cold. It was also designed with a round ball twist of 1:66 because that's all that was legal for use at the time the PA hunter rifles hit the market.

I bought my Firestorm flintlock for $200 used but in excellent condition because the guy absolutely HATED the trigger pull it had...there's nothing wrong with those single trigger systems, sometimes they just need a little lock tuning.

BPS

This is the first time I have owned a flintlock, always had percussion guns before. Is there anything I should do to the frizzen to keep it working like new? Any other details that I need to know to make my shooting a success?

Put a new flint in it, cock it on an empty chamber and hit the trigger. Pay attention to the spark. It it sparks good, your all set. There is cases where you wear out the frizzen. It gets soft. You can harden them again or simply purchase a new frizzen and replace it. But you have to shoot A LOT to do wear one out. Your frizzen would be all clawed up if that were the case. I am guessing that it will be just fine.

Also when you load the rifle... dump your powder, black powder only, and then turn the rifle to the lock side down. You can then slap the lock. This will knock powder up behind the touch hole. Another way is purchase some hairy pipe cleaners at a craft store. Push one of them in the touch hole and then close the frizzen to hold it in place. Now load the powder and and ball.

When your ready to load the pan, open the frizzen cover and SLOWLY pull that pipe cleaner out. That drags powder behind the touch hole and also insures that the hole is open and clear. Dump 3 grains of 3 or 4f powder in the pan. You have to experiment. Some like the powder close to the touch hole while others like it center pan. The trouble with the powder too close to the touch hole is you can sometimes get a fuse effect. Its still fast. But when you fire it, listen to the pan ignition and then the main charge. They should be almost one in the same. If you hear ... tick--- boom, try moving the powder to a different spot in the pan.

Every few shots take a patch and wipe out the pan and wipe the nose of the flint off. Keep it clean of fouling so you get a good solid spark.

Other then that, have fun. I have several flintlocks... and they are just a lot of fun to shoot. My T/C Hawkens has a real fast lock... all three of them.

Some double set triggers will fire both set and un-set. Best of both.

Sort of. Using the front trigger unset is usually a really hard pull unless you use an after market trigger like the Davis. Even then it's more pull than I like.

hunterdn78,

MAKE SURE you wipe both the frizzen and the edge of the flint clean of any oils with a patch saturated with 91% alcohol and then a dry patch before a shooting session. I also put my finger over the touch hole (or vent if you prefer) and then pour a couple tablespoons or so of alcohol down the bore. Put another finger over the bore and tip the rifle back and forth a few times and then dump the alcohol out. Swab the bore with a couple of dry patches. You should then be free of any oil residue and ready to load.

Make sure your flint edge is square to the face of the frizzen to ensure a good set of sparks.

BPS

Thank to all the great advice! I have worked on the existing trigger and it has an improved pull now. I am still looking to install double set triggers when I figure out what to get and install. So glad that we have a forum on black powder, what a great way to learn so much.

My wife HATES to use the trigger "set"... (she's a little heavy handed on trigger pull). I honed and smoothed the bearing surfaces on her Cabela's .54 Hawken percussion (double set) and her T/C PA hunter carbine flintlock (single trigger) so she now shoots them both very well and has taken several deer with each.

BPS