Chambers Gunmaker's lock kit

[Matthew323]

With all the info rolling in from my breech plug thread, I'm having to rethink my ideas vis-a-vis a Renegade fast twist rifle.

I've always been a flintlock person. My first muzzleloader at age 17 was a flint Lancaster County .45 cal. from Golden Age Arms Co. in 1971.

I don't particularly care for L & R locks.

Has anyone here, or does anybody know of someone, that has taken a Jim Chambers Gunmaker's flintlock kit, and fitted it to a T/C Hawken or Renegade lock monetise.

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[michiganmuzzy]

With all the info rolling in from my breech plug thread, I'm having to rethink my ideas vis-a-vis a Renegade fast twist rifle.

I've always been a flintlock person. My first muzzleloader at age 17 was a flint Lancaster County .45 cal. from Golden Age Arms Co. in 1971.

I don't particularly care for L & R locks.

Has anyone here, or does anybody know of someone, that has taken a Jim Chambers Gunmaker's flintlock kit, and fitted it to a T/C Hawken or Renegade lock monetise.

Thanks,
Bruce

What don't you like about the L&R lock? Ive been looking at them for my renegade. That and the Davis trigger

 

[Matthew323]

As far as a made-to-order, drop-in fit for the T/C Hawken & Renegade, the L & R locks are the ONLY ones available.

Over on the ALR Forum they have a reputation for consistently needing a lot of tinkering to get to work as well as an out-of-the-box Jim Chambers or R.E. Davis flintlock.

Also, I don't think their geometry is as good as a lot of other locks. That being said, the men who REALLY KNOW the flintlock over on ALR, all agree that the L & R flintlock for the Thompson/Center rifles is head & shoulders above the factory lock.

All three of my previous long rifles from back in the day had Siler flintlocks on them. Back in those days, the vast majority of the builders had to be capable of putting a Siler together correctly because most were sold as kits, not fully assembled locks ready to use.

I was very fortunate in that the locks on all three rifles functioned perfectly. I was also lucky in that I stumbled upon sawn German agate flints, which are stunningly good for anyone that has never had the opportunity to use them.

In those days the agate flints were only slightly more expensive per flint than the knapped ones. That IS NOT the case today. They are 3-4 times the cost of a black English, or amber French flint.

And, PLEASE do not confuse the cheaper in every way sawn American agate flints with the expensive German ones. They are inferior in every possible way. At $7-$10 a pop, the German flints seem quite foolish for most to purchase. However, they can be repeatedly resharpened on a diamond wheel or whetstone until there is no longer enough left for the cock to grip in its jaws.

Bruce