1st flintlock PLEASE HELP

[wallydoodle]

Just bought my first flintlock and dont know how much powder to load in the barrel. Its a Hopkins and Allen and i cant find info on it for a manual any pointers r appreciated

[Karl/PA]

Couple of questions first.

What caliber is it?

Are you using black powder or a substitute or is it a breech loader using pellets?

Round ball, minie or sabot?

Their web site should have a manual for downloading. Manufacturers today are so liability conscious.

Finally, is it an actual H&A antique or a recent copy?

[arjohnson]

If it's a modern flintlock and not a antique I'd start at 80grns of FF to see how it shoots, then progress up to 100grns if you like. That's if it's a 45-54 caliber. Also make sure you use 4F for the flash pan, this is with black powder, I don't know much about the newer powders as I used standard black powder with my flintlock.

[BigMikeM31]

If it's an antique, I'd suggest getting it looked at by a competent BP gunsmith. No, I don't know any of them. First, use REAL BLACK POWDER. It ignites at a lower temperature, and is better suited for use in flintlocks. True black powder most commonly comes in FFg FFFg and FFFFg varieties. IIRC, those designations represent the size of the granules. FFFFg is the most finely "ground" and the designations work backwards from there. There are others, but you won't see them very often. FFFFg (4F) is only used to prime the gun. You put a small amount of priming powder in the flash pan and close the frizzen to cover the pan. The next issue that comes up is what powder to use as the main charge. Some folks advocate 2F and some 3F. Its like the Ford vs. Chevy debate. That being said, I shoot 3F in my .50 cal Lyman Trade Rifle. One benefit to using 3F for the main charge is that you can also use it to prime the rifle. FFFFg supposedly ignites and burns faster, but if I recall, the difference is negligible. If you're not sure whether the black powder bug will bite or not, I'd save $20, buy a can of 3F and use it for both purposes.

[PA Rifleman]

Here's a board that has a lot of resources about flinchlocks:

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/

Your question shouldn't be hard to answer over there.

[Pete D.]

Wally: Good advice so far. The Muzzleloading forum is a vast source of info.
About your gun - it's a flintlock so forget about using anything but the real, the holy, black. The substitutes will not work.
As noted, you can prime and load the gun with a single powder if you use fffg (3F). A good starting load for 3F would be 70 grains (for FFg the 80 grain load is a goog start)
My Lyman GPR .50 and my TVM .62 smoothbore both get fed FFg and are primed with ffffg (4F). They shoot fine and misfires are very rare. The Lyman gets 90 grains and the smoothbore 75-80. Do not overprime the pan. About half full, even a bit less, is all you need.
A good source of flints is Track of the Wolf; Tom Fuller's black English flints are about the best.
Pete

[PaGunNut]

Whatever you do under no frustrating circumstances do not light the pan with a match or lighter! Hey! What can I say saftey first! Bad New Years Eve story too much of the top shelf!

[arjohnson]

My buddy did that about 20 years ago and to this day still has the marks on his hand to prove it, not a smart thing to do.

[762xIan]

Dixon's isn't to far, and I am sure they can help you out if you take the trip up to them, they can check it out for you and probably give you some starters as well as all the supplies you need.

Link to Dixon's: http://dixonmuzzleloading.com/

Dixon's is also the same outfit that hosts the Gunmakers Fair every year.

[dgm0967]

I agree with most the posts here. It ain't easy but it is rewarding. My TC Hawkens likes 4g in the pan and 2g in the barrel. I use 70 grains in the barrel and top it off with a Buffulo ballet in 320 grn. I know most folks use balls and patches but that is so 1880's. I've found the TC agate flint to work the best and clean the gun after every use. Butter bore\wonder lube will become your friend.It can be frustrating but once you get thru the learning curve you will like it.