Sparky's ready to shoot

[Doble Troble]

 

There are many warts, most of which don't show in the pix.

 

My next challenge will be to figure-out how to get it to ignite black powder. By careful flint installation and chipping the end sharp I can consistently get sparks, but its not the intense shower that I was expecting. Usually its just a few. Maybe this is enough, I don't know, but if it is that BP must be some flammable stuff. I've used Pyrodex in cap and ball pistols and tried it in the pan and it just sits there like a dark gray smirking pile.

[Doble Troble]

Well, guys I tried to shoot it yesterday. My first stop was "Guns Unlimited" for some FFFG blackpowder. They quit stocking it last spring due to homeland security regulations that call for storage in a safe on casters painted red with "Flammable" signage on five sides (you get a pass on the bottom). These physical requirements are combined with administrative ones that include plans of the facilities, closest fire and police stations, rail crossings and more that I didn't file. The proprietor's take was that they're trying to regulate BP out of existence. The closest place to purchase it appears to be Winchester, VA, about a 2 hr drive one way.

 

Looks like Sparky's going to have to wait until I can figure-out a source of ammo. It looks like you can still order it on the internet, but you have to buy in bulk. So much for safety. The regulations are essentially taking BP out of gun shops and moving it in bulk to the private residences of everyone that uses it. They're from the government, and they're here to help us.

[MorgansBoss]

Beautiful rifle DT! I'm sure FC can give some advice on improving your spark production but I can attest that black powder IS very flammable stuff indeed! Haven't bought any in a while and wasn't aware of heightened regulations. As far as I know though, BP has been required to be stored in a magazine for years. Most local jurisdictions also have provisions in their zoning and or fire codes that preclude it's storage and sale in many shops. That said, I know of a government facility (a national park no less) that has thousands of pounds in one location for use in civil war cannon and firearm demonstrations!

 

BTW - Winchester is only about 45 min. from me.

[Doble Troble]

At Guns Unlimited they used to keep it in a magazine. The magazine was still there, but empty. They now want it in a very "special" (read "expensive") magazine now, and what has been adequate for a quarter of a millenium all of a sudden no longer is so.

 

I suspect that I'll be buying 10 lbs myself on the internet and rigging up a magazine that will allow me to sleep well at night. I only wish had some terrorists to blow-up because I'll soon have what I need to do it. I suspect that a fair percentage of my neighbors will have increased explosive supplies also. Its only Demoncrats who don't trust the militia, and its a mistake in so many ways.

[Doble Troble]

Thanks, MB! Like I said there are MANY warts, but I'm overall very happy with the effort. Much time was spent trying to minimize the effect of mistakes. But most of these were learning episodes that were very much worth the experience, and I have a flintlock rifle too! I very much encourage the others here to give putting one of these together a try.

 

I'm going to order 10 lb (1 lb FFFFG and 9 lb FFFG) of black powder from Powder, Inc. in Arkansas. I faxed them the release form today. I bought a Benchmade switchblade from another outfit in AR, since Cllinton's a New Yorker now maybe I can start liking that state.

 

I've been experimenting with the Pyrodex I have on hand for the cap and ball pistol. If I get the flint about 1 hair off the frizzen at half cock, and make sure that the edge is sharp by tapping with the end of a short steel punch, I can get 1/2 a pan full of the Pyrodex to ignite about 1/3 of the time. I hope that real black powder will be even more reliable. It's very fun to have the pan ignite. Its like being a kid on the fourth of July again!

[Eldora]

Beautiful indeed! I've considered building a Kentucky style several times just for the heck of it. Just never got around to it. You know how it is...so many ideas and not enough time/money to satisfy the urge. I still use BP too and was not aware of the regs. Better see if I can round up a couple of pounds. Again, great looking rifle! Enjoy!

[flaco]

Glad I stopped in here, DT.

 

Your project looks great. Magnificent wood.

 

My only experience in building black powder was a pistol kit. I enjoyed the building, but made the mistake of taking it to a Halloween party as mandatory for my pirate outfit.

 

I loaded a bunch of black powder, and stuffed it with newspaper as wadding. When I shot it off across the lawn, the newspaper was trailed by still burning powder.

 

This was not uniformly viewed as a really wonderful thing to do.

 

I sort of liked it though.

 

Oh well.

 

flaco

 

Wasn't youth grand?

[Doble Troble]

flaco,

 

You were clearly hanging-out with the wrong crowd. That was just plain fun (thanks for the newspaper tip though - I've got some felt wads that may not ignite as well)!

[FC]

Great fiddleback maple! BP is very flammable, more so than smokeless. You don't need lots of sparks, but the more the better. Could be the angle of the flint. Try inverting it and see if it helps. I use a nail set to very gently tap at the edge of the flint to knock off bits and make it sharp. I do this on the gun.

 

I bought a gob of 2F black powder online. Do not use pyrodex in a flinter! It is too hard to ignite with a flint. I bought a CO2 blaster to dislodge stuck balls from Muzzleloader's Shooter's Supply out of Ozone, AR. Never do what I did and use moisture to swab the barrel between shots. Yup, big mess. Maybe that's fine for cannons, but not for muzzleloading rifles. You need 4F for the pan. I would look at the links where I listed links to BP shooting information. There's one site that has lots of helpful information.

 

Where'd you get your flinter?

[Doble Troble]

I wound-up getting BP mail order from Graf's. I tried and tried to reach Powder Inc in AR but never heard back from them.

 

The Graf's BP arrived yesterday and works like a charm.

 

I had gotten to the point where I was able to set off Pyrodex RS about 1/2 the time. I think it was actually a good experience because everything has to be just right to set a pan of that stuff off. Its "flammable" labeling is misleading.

 

I figured-out about little chips at the end of the flint, and I've found that if I set the flint up about 1/16 off the frizzen that it works best. The skinny flints are much better in my lock that the humpy ones. I think it would be a good service if someone would post about installing and knapping flints for us greenhorns. I'll step-up as soon as I think I'm really good at it.

 

I got 1 lb of FFFFG and 7 lb of FFFG. The FFFFG goes off as soon as I start thinking about pulling the trigger. The FFFG isn't much slower. VERY FUN! I CAN'T WAIT TO REALLY SHOOT THIS THING. This was a "kit" that I bought summer-before-last from Track of the Wolf. The stock came about 6 mos after the rest of the parts, and of course its impossible to do much with the rest of the parts without the stock. By the time the stock appeared I was knee-deep in other projects. I finally started this in September and was hoping to have it finished for deer season. I've got 'till the end of this month, but doubt I'll have it sighted-in in time.

[FC]

My gun can't handle wide rifle flints. I found that I can only depend upon leather to hold my flint- those lead wrap-around holders don't work. I really have to torque down the screw on the flint.

How much did the stock cost? Mine was $150, but yours is definitely nicer.

[Doble Troble]

I had some nice thin leather scraps that work well for holding the flint. I haven't tried the lead, but the leather's working so I'm not going to mess with it. I have learned to hog down on the top jaw screw.

 

The stock was $180 from Track of the Wolf. I do remember agonizing over how much to spend on the stock, especially since I didn't know what I'm doing. But I'd done enough Mauser stocks that I bumped it up a notch when ordering this one. I think I got lucky that they sent me such a nice one. I'm glad I didn't screw it up too bad (but I did screw it up - the tang inletting isn't good and I put two extra pin holes in it BUT I LEARNED). Hopefully this one will shoot. If it does I don't think I'll do another one - even though I HIGHLY recommend the experience - my Mausers will be much better now - I can now use chisels and inlet wood. Pinning things tight has opened-up a whole new world. And somehow a lot of things about the Mauser design makes more sense having assembled something technically in-between an anvil and a Mauser.