Flint Lock Problem

[Henry Baker]

My Brother has a 50cal, kentucky Long rifle, flint lock. It is a David Pedersoli which he got through cabelas. His problem is that the powder in the pan is burning but not spreading into the barrel so it will not discharge. He does use the correct FFFFG powder in the pan and the hole is not cloged, butt wene a pick is inserted into the hole it stops half way in across the width barrell. Your help is appreciated.

Thanks alot,
Henry Baker

 

[4V50 Gary]

Going half-way across the width of the barrel is O.K. It should go all the way over. Try a piece of wire and see whether it does or doesn't.

However, the touch hole location may be too high (and there is a lot of debate as to the optimal position). For a quick fix, you might want to remove the touch hole liner and replace it. Jim Chamber's White Lightning touchholes work well, but ask Jim whether he sells them in metric (do a web search for Jim and if you get a lady who answers the phone, that's Barbie).

Question: Is the powder igniting consistently? If not, then the frizzen may not be hard enough or the flint too dull (knap it). You might also want to use a larger grain of powder for the pan. My research suggests that the priming horn did not come about until the Federal Period (1790s) and prior to that, most hunters primed from the same horn they loaded with. Soldiers poured powder from their cartridge into the pan to prime their guns.

 

[JN01]

If you put a pick into the touch hole and it's stopping halfway across the bore, it sounds like something is blocking it.

Is it possible that a bullet was rammed down the bore with no powder behind it? (Not that uncommon, I've done it once myself)

Try removing the touch hole liner to see if there are any blockages. If there's a ball in there, you can trickle a little powder in, replace the liner, and shoot the ball out. After you fire it, check the bore with the ram rod to make sure the ball made it all the way out the barrel.

My other concern would be if a ball was loaded without powder behind it, with a load of powder and another ball loaded on top of it. Trying to fire it in this condition could be dangerous.

They do sell a device that uses a CO2 cartridge that you can use to expel a ball from your muzzleloader. Dixie Gun Works and places like Bass Pro Shop sell them.

 

[4V50 Gary]

Older guns had breechplugs that went into the barrel only 1/2". Modernly our breechplugs are 3/4" and this means that to set the lock right, it has to be placed forward. Placing it back (for aesthetics) works only if the breechplus is modified (cut/filed) partway so that there is an opening for the flash. This might be the case with your flintlock. There was an article several years ago in the NMLRA magazine, Muzzle Blasts, about it.