FLINTLOCK FAQ
Beginners Guide to Flintlock Shooting


The time of the flintlock on the world stage has come and gone, but a rich history of their use in both peace and war remains. Many modern black powder shooters find shooting them a fascinating pastime, and interest in them seems to be increasing. This FAQ will consider some aspects of shooting flintlocks which I have come to understand in the twenty-five years since I bought my first.

Here are the parts of a flintlock.



I N D E X

When was the flintlock invented?
How long was the flintlock in use?
Can anyone shoot a flintlock successfully?
Are flintlocks reliable?
Are flintlocks loaded the same as percussion?
How do I learn to shoot a flintlock?
Is flintlock ignition slow?
What factors contribute to sure-fire shooting?
What should I look for in a lock?
What about flints?
How do I put the flint into the cock?
Does the flint bevel go up, or down?
What size flint should I use?
How do I keep my flint sharp?
What makes a good frizzen?
How do I prime for best performance?
Are all touch-holes equal?
What is the normal loading sequence?
Can I shoot my flintlock rainy or very damp days?
Doesn't black powder absorb moisture from the air?
Are there any special flintlock safety concerns?

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When was the flintlock invented?
In 1608, a Frenchman from Normandy, one Marin le Bourgeoys, was appointed to the French court. He made the first true flintlock for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610. This was not an idea that sprang full-blown from his mind, but the result of putting together the pieces of a puzzle which already existed. The development of firearms had proceeded from matchlock to wheel-lock to snaphaunce and miquelet in the previous two or three centuries, and each type had been an improvement, contributing some design features which were useful. It remained for Monsieur le Bourgeoys to fit these various features together to create the flintlock. The new system quickly became popular, and was known and used in various forms throughout Europe by 1630.

How long was the flintlock in use?
Unlike most weapons systems and configurations, which last a few decades, the flintlock was center stage for both military and civilian use for over 200 years. Not until the Reverend Alexander John Forsyth, a Scottish minister, invented the rudimentary percussion system in 1807 did the flintlock begin to slide into oblivion. The slide was a slow one, even at that, since the percussion system was not widely used until around 1830, and the flintlock continued in use until the time of the American Civil War, 1861-65. When one considers the amazing political changes, all the wars, all the expansion that took place during that time period, it becomes obvious the flintlock was a better idea.

Can anyone shoot a flintlock successfully?
Of course. It is true, however, that some people will enjoy shooting them, and be more successful at it, than others. In the same way that a percussion gun is more trouble to shoot than a modern breechloading one, the flintlock is more trouble than the percussion. Whether one considers this as being more difficult is up to the individual. They require more attention to the little things...and, the Devil's in the details. If you are the type of shooter who wants to just pick up his gear, load up and shoot, you may find them cantankerous and temperamental.

Are flintlocks reliable?
Yes, nearly as much as percussion under all circumstances. It does take some learning of the basic needs of this particular type, but there's no reason a flintlock shouldn't fire essentially every time the trigger is pulled.

Are flintlocks loaded the same as percussion?
Yes. For the same caliber or gauge, the main charge is the same. Flintlock ignition is available on many types of gun, fusil, fowler, northwest gun, musket, single and double barrel shotguns and pistols. Except for the ignition system, the lock, everything is the same for flintlock and percussion.

How do I learn to shoot a flintlock?
Practice. Practice some more. A pleasant and easy way to develop the skills for shooting the flintlock well is to proceed through a series of steps, starting with 'dry firing'. Since firing the gun with no prime in the pan, no load in the barrel still wears flint and frizzen, replace the flint with a whittled piece of hardwood the proper size and fire many times using that. When the sight picture doesn't change when the hammer falls, put the flint back in and prime the gun lightly, only, no load in the barrel. When the sight picture stays steady through the flash of the prime, start loading the barrel, but with light charges. Work up to full charges gradually, and you will find that there's nothing magic or impossible about shooting a flintlock, it's just a learned skill. You'll soon be 'steady to shot', and the term 'flinchlock' will have no meaning for you.

Is flintlock ignition slow?
A bit slower than percussion, yes. A well designed and properly set up lock, though, will give ignition fast enough to get the job done, easily, and will seem barely slower than percussion to the shooter. That's true only if all factors are optimized, however. Dull flints, soft frizzens, weak springs, an over-primed pan or a touch-hole that's too small or partially clogged will all slow ignition appreciably.

What factors contribute to sure-fire shooting?
A good lock, a sharp flint, a well tempered frizzen, the proper priming and a proper touch-hole are some things to consider. Next question.

What should I look for in a lock?
A good lock will have the cock, or hammer, lined up correctly, straight on with the frizzen, so that the flint will strike directly on the frizzen, touching it all across the edge of the flint. The flint should strike the frizzen at about the junction of the upper and middle third. The curvature of the frizzen should roughly match the arc the edge of the flint transcribes as it falls. Conventional wisdom says the nose of the flint should point down into the center of the pan when the hammer is down, but I've never had a lock that did that. I've also never had a lock that didn't spark well, so I'm suspicious of that 'rule of thumb. Locks of higher quality in earlier times had a roller on the frizzen where it rides on the frizzen spring. Most modern replica locks do not have a roller, but work well. The mainspring, or hammer spring, and the frizzen spring need to be in proper balance. The frizzen spring, especially, needs to be strong enough to resist opening the frizzen too easily. A frizzen spring too much weaker than the hammer spring will allow the frizzen to pop open, flying completely away from the flint as it falls. The flint needs to scrape down the face of the frizzen, or it will not cut steel and spark well. Most any name-brand maker of locks in this country produces locks in which these factors have been worked out, and their locks can be depended upon. Locks are available in three basic sizes, musket, rifle and pistol.

What about flints?
Black British flints are highly thought of, today, and many shooters prefer them. However, archaeological digs have shown that no flints of that type were used during the French and Indian (Seven Years) war, that only 5% of that type were used in the American Revolution, and only 50% during the war of 1812. The main type used instead was the tan colored French flints, apparently the standard of the time. Today, either will work well. All those flints were made by knapping them from a large spall of flint. Also available today are sawed flints, cut from agate or other stone. Many shooters dislike them, but I've had good luck with them, find them to be durable, if a little harder to sharpen.

If you can, select flints yourself from a shop or suttler. The longest lasting flints will be those with consistent, solid color throughout. A good flint can last through hundreds of shots. If you find a good source for gun-flints, buy more than you think you'll need. It may be a while before you can find quality flints again. Most flints go for around $.50 to $1 a piece.

How do I put the flint into the cock?
Tightening the jaws of the cock directly onto the flint will rarely work, as the grip is poor. To improve the grip, something needs to be wrapped around the flint before it is inserted. Either leather or thin sheet lead can be used. Most shooters find leather works best, as lead tends to compress, loosening the flint. Wrap the leather around the bottom, back and top of the flint, insert it into the cock and tighten down moderately. Move the cock and frizzen so the cutting edge of the flint is touching the frizzen, and is flush all across the frizzen face. Hold everything firmly right there and tighten the flint down well. If the flint needs to be adjusted back closer to the cock, cut a small hole out of the leather so the flint is directly touching the post of the cock jaw. If that's not enough, break off part of the back edge of the flint. If the flint needs to move forward for a proper fit, insert leather, wood or lead to push it a bit forward.

Does the flint bevel go up, or down?
Depends. Most locks will spark best with the bevel up, but some need it to be down. It doesn't matter, as long as it sparks well.

What size flint should I use?
Just as locks come in various sizes, so do flints. The properly fitting flint will be one wide enough to fit from one side of the frizzen face to the other. One must be careful not to use too large a flint, as the flint can strike and damage the breech area of the barrel. Measure the frizzen before ordering flints, and there will be no problem.

How do I keep my flint sharp?
All flint can be sharpened while in the cock, by a process of chipping, or knapping the edge. Three basic tools accomplish this in slightly different ways. First, the fine point of a deer antler tine can be used for 'pressure flaking'. The tine is placed on the thin edge of the flint, set at an angle not quite straight up, tilted a bit forward, toward the frizzen, and a sudden sharp push given. This will chip off tiny flakes of flint from the under surface of the cutting edge, leaving it sharp. Second, a short small diameter metal rod, like a nail, can be filed to form a shoulder near the end. This shoulder is placed on the flint edge, the rod held at the same angle as before, and light taps given to the top end of the rod. The result is the same as with the tine. Third, a small hammer can be used to peck the edge of the flint, chipping it away. The back of the patch knife blade will serve well here, also. Fourth, the frizzen can be closed until it touches the top of the flint edge and a sharp downward pressure applied. This is called 'hammering the flint', and works well on some locks. Whatever method is decided upon, the shooter needs to practice it until it is easy and natural to him, since nothing is more important to making a flintlock shoot reliably than sharp flints. Always do it before every hunting trip, before every critical shot. Visit Knappers Anonymous for more information on the art of flint-knapping!

What makes a good frizzen?
Other than proper geometry and proper strength of the frizzen spring, proper temper. The action of flint on the frizzen is identical to that we use in starting fire with flint and steel, in that the flint shaves off tiny flakes of steel, heating them to very high temperature in the process. A properly tempered frizzen will create hot, white sparks that seem to sizzle and bounce before they die. A frizzen that is too soft will give sparks that are more red than white, and seem to have no life to them, dying quickly. The quantity of sparks is also obviously different between the two, the well tempered one giving off great showers of sparks, the soft one very few, or none. Frizzens can usually be tempered again to improve their function. If not, a 'shoe' of good steel in the form of a thin sheet cut to fit can be silver soldered onto the frizzen face. We see "to steeling a frizzen" as a common entry in the journals of early gunsmiths.

How do I prime for best performance?
Once the flint has struck the frizzen and sparks have fallen into the priming powder, there is a flash as the powder burns. Best performance will come from having that flash be as fast as possible. Any powder can be used as priming powder. It is well known, however, that finer grained powders burns more quickly, so it is advisable to use them. For me, priming powder is always FFFFg (4F), never anything else. A common mistake made by beginning shooters is to put too much priming powder in the pan, the feeling being that a big flash will work best. Not so. A big pile of powder may well block the touch-hole, and then the fire train must burn through that pile to reach the main charge. It's much better, much faster, to have only the flash ignite the main charge, not a slower burning trail of powder. On most pans, one third of a pan of priming powder, or less, will work best. Well set up and properly primed, a flintlock will fire reliably while being held upside down. Strange, but true. The 'air burst' of burning prime flashes through the touch-hole with no trouble.

Are all touch-holes equal?
Well, yes and no. Three things need be considered. Position of the touch-hole in relation to the pan is important. It should lie about 1/8 inch above the bottom of the pan, centered on the pan from front to back. The size of the touch-hole should be about 1/16 inch, possibly 5/64 inch for reliable, rapid ignition. The shape of the touch-hole channel can also be a factor. A plain, straight hole drilled through the side of the barrel into the bore will work very well, and will last a long time. Possibly a better arrangement is to line or bush the hole with stainless steel. A liner that is drilled on the bore side in the shape of a cone can bring the powder of the main charge to within 1/16 inch of the outside, giving the fastest possible ignition because of the short distance to be traveled by the flash of the prime.

What is the normal loading sequence?
Load the barrel in the ordinary way, depending upon what type of gun you are shooting, rifle, smoothbore or pistol. Brush the pan free of all residue from the last shot, using your pan brush. If residue remains, wipe it out with a moistened cloth, then a dry one. Include the frizzen face and the edge of the flint in this wiping. Prick the touch-hole, to make certain it is clear. Place a few grains of priming powder into the pan, not more than 1/3 full, probably less. Close the frizzen, cock and fire. If you will make each of these steps a routine part of the procedure, and if you keep an eye on the flint edge for sharpness, the gun will fire every time. You'll notice after a few shots that your frizzen, flint and pan are getting pretty fouled, and inconsistent ignition will surely be the result. A small cleaning patch dampened with rubbing alcohol is best for wiping the face of the frizzen, flint and pan to prevent the buildup of soot that would dull your sparks. A good wipedown every few shots is all that's needed.

Can I shoot my flintlock rainy or very damp days?
Certainly. This is a frequent misconception about flintlock shooting. With only minimal extra effort, flintlocks will fire reliably in even the wettest conditions. A simple 'cow's knee' of oiled leather to fasten over the lock area will keep out rain quite well. A bead of grease of any sort laid in the crack between barrel and forearm a few inches in front of the lock will keep water from channeling down into the lock. Keeping the muzzle down at all times will accomplish the same. A bead of grease around the lip of the pan, to seal it when the frizzen is closed, will very effectively waterproof the pan.

Doesn't black powder absorb moisture from the air?
That's a common belief, but not one I agree with. Black powder itself is not hygroscopic, it's the salts left after black powder is fired that are. The main charge in a flintlock is no more susceptible to wetting than that in a percussion arm, it's the prime that is a concern. Priming powder placed in a perfectly clean and dry pan will last for hours on the wettest day if the above precautions are followed. However, if even a little of the residue from the last shot is left when the prime is placed, it will turn to soup, quickly. Simply make certain that pan is really clean and dry, and you'll have no problem.

Are there any special flintlock safety concerns?
Flintlocks are as safe as any other gun, and as dangerous. All customary safety precautions used with any other black powder arm should be followed. In addition, it's possible to fire a flintlock by dropping the hammer on the frizzen when the pan isn't primed. Highly unlikely, but possible, so consider your gun ready to fire anytime the cock is pulled back, primed or not! Debris in the form of sparks (slivers of steel), chips of flint and burning grains of priming powder can strike the shooter's face or eyes. Shooting glasses are recommended. Also, be aware of the fact that your touch-hole is a two-way street, so to speak. Pressure from ignition of the main charge causes hot gasses and debris to shoot out the touch-hole, traveling ten feet or more! Advise those around you to stay clear of the lock-side of your gun when you shoot.

Special Thanks to Bob Spencer for the vast majority of this work, and Coon 'n Crockett Muzzleloaders for use of their graphic.

©1997 Brad Finch


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