I took my family to the range yesterday. My youngest is now old enough and big enough to shoot a small (.17 Rem) centerfire rifle, and I thought it'd be good to get out as a group and poke some paper and 'kill' some milk jugs. I also wanted to have my eldest shoot the .257 AI on the TCR-83. It's a better caribou cartridge than the .17 Rem. and since she is left-eye-dominant, she shoots left-handed and single-shots tend to be more ambidextrous than bolt guns. I also wanted to get my wife to shoot her 7x57 and the .38 Special I bought for her to carry while running, biking and skiing. A good time was had by all.
 
As we were leaving, a fellow showed up with a flintlock, and after I'd turned our target frames in, I walked over and unabashedly asked if he would let me shoot his rifle. As usual among the muzzle loaders I have met, he was all too happy to let me shoot it. It was a Tennessee Valley flintlock in .54 caliber. Nothing fancy, but well made. I'd be quite willing to be seen with that rifle.
 
He 'stoked' it up for me (80 grains of FFg behind a 325 grain round ball). I took it, took aim, set the rear trigger, and... click. The hammer didn't drop. We fiddled with it a bit, and I tried again. Same result. Keep in mind that this was a function of the hammer not falling - a mechanical failure if you will, not a falure to ignite. So after several tries, he took the rifle, fiddled with it some more, and tried it from his hip. All the while, I was looking closely (close being the operative word), at the lock. When he fired it, I was about 18" due West (if the muzzle is North) of the flash-hole. As you experienced flintlockers are well aware, this is not the 'best' place to be when a flintlock fires. I took the full blast in the face. You could say it got my attention. The primary blast hit me in the chin and throat, but it was a good thing I had my glasses on as several pieces of burnign FFg. I had to scrub FFg out of little burn holes in my chin and neck when I got home. I've attached a picture for emphasis. You'll also see little burn-holes in my t-shirt.
 
Anyway, we figured the trigger issue was 'resolved', so he stoked it up again, and I tried again. Same result a couple more times, but finally, it went "whoosh-bang". Very cool! Looks like I'm in for a flintlock. :D
 
I thought I wouldn't want to fiddle with a flintlock and all its hassles, but this rifle demonstrated that ignition can be very consistent. (The 'mis-fires' were a mechanical problem with the trigger, not a problem with it being a flintlock.) I'll definitely need to get used to the slow "lock time", :) but nonetheless it was great to shoot, and seeing the whole operation in action allayed any concerns I had about consistent ignition. I'll just have to remember where to stand when someone else is shooting. :)
 
Paul

That doesn't look like alot of fun. I am intersted in a 32 or 36 caliber for hunting snowshoes with but they are pretty high priced compared to a 45 or 50 cal.

I'll tell ya HB, that .54 cal. with a 525 grain round ball and 80 grains of ffG was a 'pussy-cat' recoil-wise. Considering the velocities of all of these muzzle loaders, I wouldn't expect too much difference in meat loss between a .36 and a .50. But having killed nothing with either, I could be wrong. I seem to recall though, that you "eschew" eating brains. Just use a .50 and make head shots. :D
 
Paul

Paul;
If I remember correctly, the true sparkler shooter is supposed to be tattoed on the right[ or left, as the case may be] cheek, not all over!
Overdoing it again!
Don

Yup...in slo-mo photography you can see the 'jet' of gas pouring out.  Unburned powder comes out as well.  (As a matter of fact, you might just try shooting a centerfire over the snow and observing the unburned powder.)

In the documentaries (re-enactments) of British & French armies using the 'linear tactics', you can see the shields that are placed around the 'pan' to keep the next feller over from being 'sanded'.  I'll tell you something else... if you do not adjust the frizzen so that it comes up high enough, the gas can come straight back at the shooter as well.

.36 caliber for squirrel...the ball is about the size of a small pea.  .45 caliber...maybe.  .50 caliber and above?  'Bark 'em' or write the meat off.

Paul,

You mentioned there were issues with the lock not falling and the "whoosh-bang" when it did fire:  I am quite sure if you have a well tuned lock you would not even hear the "whoosh" part.  It sounds like to me that much work could be had on the lock.
 
With a good lock you won't find toooo much delay to be concerned.  When we shoot skeet with flinters, station 8 can be made with a "low gun" before the target crosses center field.
 
The main thing is knowing when to pull the trigger and keep the barrel moving.
Inexpensive 36 cal, look at a Traditions Crockett model.
 
Sincerely
Smokepole

Pulled the trigger and the hammer didn't fall? He might be screwing the lock too far into the stock. I find that if I tighten the lock screws too tight, that can sometimes happen. #1 reason for the hammer not falling though is that he's got the rear trigger adjusted incorrectly. If you see that feller again, you might want to mention that he should take a small  screwdriver and take it to the little screw in between the 2 triggers. I play around with the mechanics of my flintlock quite a bit. Once, i found that adjusting the rear trigger to have too much of a "hair trigger" will cause the  rear trigger mechanism to disengage, but it will not engage the hammer.
 
Just a thought.
 
Flintlocks sure are fun. Was it a longrifle? Hawkens? do you remember any specifics about it?   The fun thing about flintlocks are you can go out there with your possibles bag, powder horn and buckskin if you want to, and people aren't gonna look at you too wierd. They just think to themselves (and probably ask you) "Must be a re-enactor. Darn blackpowder enthusiasts...."  Heh heh.

QuoteWas it a longrifle? Hawkens?

It was a fairly "long" rifle with a full stock, so I suppose it was a "long rifle". Was not a "Hawkens". Made by Tennesee Valley.
 

Quotedo you remember any specifics about it?

Not much more than I have already related. Fairly 'plain jane', but I liked it. I don't recall an in-stock patch box - nothing very 'special' about the metal or wood. The barrel was "in the white" and appeared to have been acid-etched to simulate a hammered effect, but it didn't detract from the over-all appearance. I did notice that the grooves were very deep - I'd guess at least 0.010". He shot two ball diameters - I can't recall what the exact numbers were, but one was a 'small' ball for a loose fit and easy loading. The other was I think "bore diameter" and a "difficult-to-load" fit.
 
He had an interesting stand for loading at the bench. I'll definitely have to make one of those up. He used strips of "home-made", prelubed cloth for patching. He'd just put the end of the strip of cloth under the ball, seat the ball with the handle of his patch knife, and cut the cloth off 'snug'. Looked to me like his round-balls were purchased as opposed to personally hand-cast. The sprues were fairly large. The sprues on my hand-casts are almost undetectable.
 
That's about all I remember.
 
Paul