Now....I've got

[Sharpsman]

.....to learn how to run a flintlock!

Hawken 50 Caliber by Rick Mulhern, on Flickr

:cheers: :cheers: 

I've had good luck with a percussion Hawken so now there will be another 'learning curve'! This is a Tom Watson rifle that I'll examine for a couple days and if all is OK....I'll be shooting it soon! It's 50 caliber with 35" Sharon barrel and 1-70" twist.

 

[Okie Hog]

That is a very nice rifle.

 

[Sharpsman]

falcon

Looks pretty neat! Guy made it's been making them for 35 years!

Hawken Flintlock in 50 Caliber by Rick Mulhern, on Flickr

 

[Smokin' Joe]

Congrats!!  I think you'll love the flintlock.  For me, it's more fun to shoot.  Love the full stocks too!  From the pictures your new rifle looks really well made.

 

[Okie Hog]

i'd thought about buying a rock lock.  But it would probably be a long learning curve for me; replete with more stuff to remember and care for.   i can't even make my five year old flip phone work.

 

[patocazador]

falcon, I've found that a flintlock is easier to use than my flip phone. Give it a try. :Red tup:

 

[Old Smoke]

Dude, you have back into the stone age now.  Next you'll be learning to throw a spear!

That is pretty thing.  Love the wood and dark furniture.

 

[Sharpsman]

Dude, you have back into the stone age now.  Next you'll be learning to throw a spear!

That is pretty thing.  Love the wood and dark furniture.

No spears or rocks!

This one will pretty well 'round me out'!! :cheers: :lol: :bom:

 

[Randy Johnson]

I will never understand this "learning curve" thing with flintlocks.
If the gun has a good lock - and that rifle has a good lock, and there is nothing wrong with the size or placement of the touch hole, and with the overall worksmanship of that rifle, I'm betting that is okay, there will be NO noticeable difference between shooting a flintlock and shooting a percussion. If you are hunting in the rain a cap gun might have an advantage.
I'm guessing that rifle started life as a Sharron kit. If so, I had the same rifle, minus the patch box, and it was without a doubt the best shooting rifle I ever had. From a rest at fifty yards it shot cloverleaf groups every time. Even my original (percussion) chunk gun wouldn't do that, although to be fair to the chunk gun, it was never fired from a bench. Laying down to shoot is a whole other ball game.

 

[Sharpsman]

I will never understand this "learning curve" thing with flintlocks.
If the gun has a good lock - and that rifle has a good lock, and there is nothing wrong with the size or placement of the touch hole, and with the overall worksmanship of that rifle, I'm betting that is okay, there will be NO noticeable difference between shooting a flintlock and shooting a percussion. If you are hunting in the rain a cap gun might have an advantage.
I'm guessing that rifle started life as a Sharron kit. If so, I had the same rifle, minus the patch box, and it was without a doubt the best shooting rifle I ever had. From a rest at fifty yards it shot cloverleaf groups every time. Even my original (percussion) chunk gun wouldn't do that, although to be fair to the chunk gun, it was never fired from a bench. Laying down to shoot is a whole other ball game.

Based upon what knowledge I have of Flintlock rifles and have witnessed is that the main thing I see reference the 'difference' betwixt FL and percussion rifle is that of ignition speed! And by that I mean that the ignition of the percussion rifle seems somewhat faster and to that end....I believe there is that 'curve' of required maintenance of hold and trigger control because there are actually two ignition sources; one in the pan after hammer fall and then the main charge a nanosecond later! :Salute: :cheers:

 

[Randy Johnson]

I will never understand this "learning curve" thing with flintlocks.
If the gun has a good lock - and that rifle has a good lock, and there is nothing wrong with the size or placement of the touch hole, and with the overall worksmanship of that rifle, I'm betting that is okay, there will be NO noticeable difference between shooting a flintlock and shooting a percussion. If you are hunting in the rain a cap gun might have an advantage.
I'm guessing that rifle started life as a Sharron kit. If so, I had the same rifle, minus the patch box, and it was without a doubt the best shooting rifle I ever had. From a rest at fifty yards it shot cloverleaf groups every time. Even my original (percussion) chunk gun wouldn't do that, although to be fair to the chunk gun, it was never fired from a bench. Laying down to shoot is a whole other ball game.

Based upon what knowledge I have of Flintlock rifles and have witnessed is that the main thing I see reference the 'difference' betwixt FL and percussion rifle is that of ignition speed! And by that I mean that the ignition of the percussion rifle seems somewhat faster and to that end....I believe there is that 'curve' of required maintenance of hold and trigger control because there are actually two ignition sources; one in the pan after hammer fall and then the main charge a nanosecond later! :Salute: :cheers:

Believe me, I have been shooting flintlocks almost exclusively for just a little shy of 42 years. I got my first one on April 16, 1974 at Dixie Gun Works, on the way home from the Air Force base in Louisiana where I'd been stationed. If you have a well made rifle, with quality parts, you are not going to be able to tell the difference between flint and percussion from behind the butt plate.
Even the best shooters can't hold bench rest steady shooting offhand. If the click - whoosh - bang attributed to flintlocks actually existed, the only people flintlock shooters would ever beat would be other flintlock shooters. Instead, it isn't too unusual for flint shooters to take home all the bacon shooting against cap shooters. I am not as good a shooter as I was twenty years ago, and I was never a great shooter, but even as unsteady as I am - and was - I've beaten cap shooters lots of times. I've cut cards, I've split the ball on the axe on several occasions, and I've hit some really small gongs and shot a few fifties on paper. If there was a noticeable lag between the flint striking the frizzen and the ball leaving the barrel I would never have done any of those things.

 

[Sharpsman]

That's good to know!

Thanks!