Smoke Pole Question

Why should I get a percussion cap muzzy rather than a flinty? And what would be an entry level gun (smooth or rifle) or kit?

what's your goal ?

season extender ?

want to participate in Rondy?

total independence from primers?

what do you plan to shoot ?

budget ?

flinters cost more than percussion more parts , more work more tuning

I already have an inline that i bought for a season extender about 20 years ago. I want to hunt with it just for fun but I dont like finicky guns.

The percussion has better ignition. Period. The flintlock will be more finicky. That said there is no reason to get one over the other, other than your personal preference. My cap feels like a cartridge rifle. The flint…. sometimes, only sometimes ill sip my coffee after pulling the trigger, come back, and shoulder the gun in time for it to go off. Its a great gun, but the caplock is better technology.

I love building guns and there are a lot of good easy builds with CVA, traditions, etc. Track of the wolf and Jedediah Starr trading company have lots to choose from. Kits and ready to go guns

I have shot plenty of deer with my (PRB) patch and roundball .45. Cap. Was even thinking of taking it for a bear this year. Most will say its to light. My experience is everything falls to the ground after it goes off. 50 is the standard big game caliber and easiest to find. Most feel more comfortable with the caliber for big game. Definitely rifled. PRB needs a slow twist. Order a Jedediah catalog and get going!

I've owned and shot 30 some muzzlers of every configuration and brand still have 18 The one i've used and had the most enjoyment with is a Thompson center 12 ga. on a New Englander stock cyl. bore Wouldn't think twice about shooting a deer at 40 or so yards with a .735 patched ball Cramps up Turkeys to 35 yards furthest i ever shot at one with 75 grains 2 half in. wonder wads and 1 1/8 oz. #5 shot you can back off to 45 grains and 1 oz for a 25 yard small game shooter however 1 1/8 of 5's seem to hold the best pattern. Right now i picked up a cva bolt with a rusted up bore and reamed it to 28 gauge but haven't shot it enough to comment All this is MOHOP so its worth nothing but you can see the way i'm leaning

Some years ago the Game Commission eliminated center-fire rifles during the extended (late) deer season in my area. PA has a dedicated primitive/flintlock season during that time period. I think we are the only state that has one. I bought a flintlock just for that season.

Prior to that I shot a percussion (cap lock) muzzleloader. The flinter is definitely more finicky. But over the last several years I've done my homework and learned my lessons and it is now a very reliable weapon as long as you keep the powder dry (pan powder especially), keep a good flint in it, etc.

I've only had one failure to fire and have killed a dozen or more deer with it. The one failure to fire was while a doe was standing broadside forty yards out, it was a damp day. Luckily, she stopped and looked at me after the "click" and I was able to recock and lower the frizzen. It fired on that second attempt and that fat doe went home with me.

We also have an October "muzzleloader" season during which any muzzleloader is legal (inlines, cap locks and my flinter).

Wish we had a Flintlock season….Yinz guys have it right !

Best time in the woods! The deer have calmed down and if snow, great still hunting.

I shoot a Flintah…Cuz I shave with a Straight Razor. Guys that shoot caps …use Bic Disposables…lol

IMHO the deal with today’s muzzle loaders is simple. You get what you pay for. A well made (hand built by a craftsman) flintlock is going to be scary quick and super reliable, cap guns can and do fail but what’s even more important for someone who’s never had any experience with one is to spend a lot of time learning to shoot it well. There are some mass produced ML guns that’ll preform well, my old Lyman Great Plains Rifle is one of them. Smoothbore vs. Rifle you ask? A smoothie will give you the ability to hunt both large and small game but again, much is required as it relates to practice and working up loads that’ll give you what you’re after. Whatever you decide, buy the best you can afford and find a mentor that’s got some gray in his beard to get you flying right.

Caps it is then!

Got my first caplock rifle this summer, just for the early season. Have been hunting with a .54 flint both early and late seasons. They are both rewarding to hunt with, but the flintlock definitely takes more practice and has more little parts that all have to line up just right. Good luck!

Percussion caps are more reliable, and definitely less finicky than a flinter. That said, flinter reliability really comes down to the shooter and their habits. Do you have a sharp flint? Clean frizzen? Clear touch hole? Primed the way your lock likes it? I have been shooting flint for 18 years, rifle and smooth. If you want range (100 yards) go with a rifle. If you want versatility, go with a smoothbore. I love my 62's, but I lose deer hunting accuracy at about 40 yards. My 54 rifle will hold a 4 inch group at 100, with patched round ball.
Flinters also need real black powder, none of the modern substitutes. Flints are scarce right now also, but then again so are caps and powder.
I love all my flinters, haven't shot a cap since I got my first one. Each one is a bit different, you definitely have to spend time with them and learn the gun. Flinters will also amplify all of your technique flaws. Once you become a good flint shooter, your centerfire shooting will be even better.
If you are ever down around Sheboygan County, I'd be more than happy to help.
Did I mention flinters are just dead sexy?

A flintlock isn't finicky if you know what you're doing.

what if I don't shave at all?

Well, one thing to think about....



If you touch off a flinter out the window of your truck, it turns the cab of your truck into an instant Cheech n Chong movie.

if your on a budget and an entry level gun the cap locks are a lot less expensive

might be a good starter , the nice part about TC is they were decent quality and parts are still fairly easy to find

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/911207351

Then you're expected to ambush the critter and kill with your bare hands or a rock.

I'm by no means a gun nut. TC went out of business?

If I understand correctly, the longer the barrel, the slower the twist? Can I shoot conical bullets like a minie ball out of a 1:60?

get yourself a Lyman Deerstalker .50 cal flintlock..one of the better shooting blackpowder rifles out of the box shooters

the company is still in business however in 1996 I think it was they had a fire that wiped out most of their traditional muzzle loader line , it wasn't making enough to on the line to replace all the tooling thus it went away

the up side is there were a lot of them out there , still are and they were well built for a production gun,

thus the Glock effect a couple places make barrels , I think someone is making a replacement lock and I think someone is making a replacement stock even.

the threads were all inch not metric and nipples , ram rods , sights and such are all still around

twist is independent from barrel length merely the measure of the "thread pitch " inside the barrel

1:60 1:66 and 1:70 are considered round ball only twist

the TC were all 1:48 from the factory the combo twist shooting patched round ball and some short conical both well

there are aftermarket barrels in slower and faster twist , the long range conical shooters like a 1:30 or 1:28

while the guys who are dedicated patched round ball buy 1:66

Mini balls are undersized for bore , Maxi balls fit into the rifling on the way down and provide greater accuracy but slower loading , the mini should just slide down a clean bore under it's own weight , they were developed for rapid reloading they need a push down a fouled barrel but scrape the fouling off as they go down , then the skirt expands into the rifling during the explosion propelling it out the barrel.