So... I got to shoot a flintlock.

[gitano]

Was 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.

do 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