Yazel Flintlock

K

kwhi43

New member
Got in the mail yesterday. Had a pleasant surprise . After taking it apart there
are no signs that it had ever been fired. Quite rare to find one like this It is
about 25 years old. 32 caliber. Ed Rayl barrel. Popped several pans of powder
but probably won't get to shoot it for a while. It is all steel and heavy for me.
Probably will sell it later. Slim chance I won't. Yazel is 89 years old and hasn't
made these for several years. These dominate the Nationals at a Friendship.
These and the Lewis. I know it's fun to play with.

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After making some comparings , both have Excellcent triggers. The Lewis has
a Green Mountain barrel, Yazel a Rayl.

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It's a flint Smith Model 41, not a High Standard. Have the Herrett target grips on mine. The other is the Smith factory grip.
 
I always wonder why so many folks who build modern flintlocks use the single neck cock. I thought that lesson had been learned around 1800. They can't make a gun like that and then plead that they want to keep the old appearance.

Jim
 
These type Flintlocks are not suppose to look old. They have only one purpose.
That is to shoot in the Flintlock matches at Friendship. They must be the most
fast firing of any flintlock and must be accurate enough to shoot inch groups
at. 50 yds. People who don 't like the looks of them solve their problem by not
shooting them.For those who like the more traditional looking , there are
matches for those at Friendship also. There are quite a few of us at Friendship
who shoot both. Some people like to drive the old classic cars, but you wouldn't
put one in a race against a modern Indy car. I'm sure there are those who drive
both kinds of cars. Each one has it's place. Probably there are lots of folks on
this Fourm who have in-line rifles as well as folks who have side hammers.
Probably some even have both. They all have there place. I shoot in quite a few
different kinds of matches and use whatever kind of pistol the match calls for.
Some even shoot in matches that their pistols can shoot 5 times or more without
reloading. I think they call those revolver matches. They even have matches
where you can use a scope or red dot reflex sight. If I don't like what they use
in a certain match, I just don't shoot it, simple. There is a place for everyone
and their type of shooting. We aim to please.
 
I sure wish I didn't live on the other end of the country from Friendship sometimes.

Of course, if I did go there, I would probably be too busy at the trap range to have time to shoot pistols.
(and you should see some of the muzzle loading shotguns used there if that flintlock pistol offends your sensibilities.)
 
Yes I have been to the shotgun range. They shoot trap, skeet, and sporting clays
The shotguns don't look anything like you would think they would.

Here is a friend of mine here in Missouri who shoots shotgun at Friendship.
This is the gun he made and uses. Most all there are like this

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I've met that guy, Rod Gates, he comes to the Red River Renegades annual Shotgun Soiree in Electra, TX. He does build some beautiful guns.

Here's Andy Larson holding a 4 gauge inline built by Vic Beeson.

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Me shooting an underhammer 12 gauge built by Bob Mimms. That thing under the barrel is just an 8 ounce weight to help balance the weight in the stock.

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Yep, that's Rod. I have know him for over 40 years. He comes to our shoots
here at Ft. Osage three times a year. He does build very nice rifles. Rod is a
nice guy to sit around a fire with. He has lost a lot of weight compared to what
he used to be. Full of of BS, but who isn't.
 
I always wonder why so many folks who build modern flintlocks use the single neck cock. I thought that lesson had been learned around 1800. They can't make a gun like that and then plead that they want to keep the old appearance.

Jim
Click to expand...

Most double neck cocks are for muskets. Musket locks and target pistol locks have a whole different set of priorities. A musket lock must be reliable and go off every time, fast and accurate are not so important. So they have big heavy cocks that hold big flints that scrape on big frizzens.
A big heavy musket hammer is the last thing you want on a target pistol, you want a light fast lock that minimally disturbs the pistol's aim from the hammer fall reaction.
The reason the locks look so traditional is because the builders use commercially available locks on their target pistols, although, the locks are often modified internally. The one on my 10-ring does not have a half cock.

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10-ring flintlock pistol
 
That is correct. The Yazel does not have a half cock, neither does the Lewis.
I have had quite a few different locks in my hands in 50 years and I have not
seen any faster that the Lewis. The lock is a modified "Becky"



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Another thing to consider about these "modern flintlocks" is the fact that there is no reason a Yazel, Lewis, or 10-ring could not have been built in the 1800's. The milling machines that cut the parts would have been driven by a line shaft powered by water or steam instead of electric motors but they could easily have been made.

On the other hand, how many modern "traditional" mass produced guns were made using computerized CNC machines and such?
 
Yazel Percussoin Target Pistol

Nice: I have a .36 caliber Yazel percussion cap that I inherited from a close friend. Unfortunately it does not stay cocked. I've adjusted the set screw as much as possible with no affect. Anyone know someone who works on Yazels?
 
Which screw are you adjusting? Is it the very little tiny little one which sits
way down in the hole on the long bar?
 
I owned a Yazel once but sold it because I do not like the grip angle. Are there
any currently made pistols that are built on the 45 Colt grip angle and trigger
placement? I heard there was an article in Muzzleblast on using a 45 frame,
can anyone tell me what month and year maybe I can get a copy. Thanks
 
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