PA: Happy Flintlock Eve

Tomorrow's the opening day of my favorite season here in PA. Good luck to all the Flinters. Keep your powder dry.

Based on the forecast this week, keeping your powder dry is going to be a feat. Anyone have any tricks for keeping your flinter ready to shoot when mother nature is not cooperating?

Prime with 3F instead of 4F and don't prime until you're ready to shoot.

Or like me.....................wait til it's NOT raining.

My recurves are waterproof, me not so much.

Lots out there good luck and careful all those non-legal bucks.

Get a small piece of leather, about 5x9 inches and grease it up real well, put a tie on each corner and tie it loosely over your lock. It is called a cow's knee. Only takes a second to slip it off.

You can also take a bit of grease (tallow) and seal the seam where the frizzen closes on the pan.

And as said above, prime with 3F, that attracts far less moisture. If you've shot already and the gun is dirty, I would clean it well before hunting in damp weather.

I opted out today, just wasn't a good day to be out with the flinter.
Might go tomorrow, depends on the weather when I get up.

I keep my lock tucked under my armpit as much as possible and change out my priming powder often. I heard about using 3F instead of 4F but never tried it.

Luckily for me, they changed 5C back to regular rifle for the extended late season. It used to be centerfires but then they changed it to flintlock only like the rest of the state.That was 6-7 years ago. Now they changed it back again.

Didn't get out hunting today, spent too much time setting traps on new farms.

I'll get out next weekend, did get my 54 caliber sighted in yesterday, put a peep site on it...

Hard for me to get excited with this forecast too. I wouldn't mind going out for some catch and release if we qere actually getting real still hunting snow. As it is, i have a buck tag yet but a full freezer of does. I have a couple stands that would likely produce deer at last light but very unlikely for a legal buck. So its muskrat trappong for me until or unless winter arrives.

As guthooked said "I'll get out next weekend, did get my 54 caliber sighted in yesterday, put a peep site on it..." Boy do I like peep sights. And I slide a bread bag open at each end over the action and keep a chemical hand warmed right in the lock mechanism. Pull the bag back prime and the hand warmer has fallen off----bang.......jk

Another vote for a cow's knee...



I've also seen where people take a crayon, candle wax, tallow, etc... And make a "horseshoe" on the barrel around the lock area. The idea is to help direct any errant trickles away from the lock. Wipe it off after shooting.

Traditions also makes the... prophylactics... that go over the muzzle to keep the rain/snow/debris out of the bore. Supposedly you can shoot through them without removing them. Never used them, don't know. I think they're actually called muzzle mitts or something.

Mike

I have one of those covers that is hard plastic.
Someone can have it if wanted, I'm done with flintlock.

Walked once and sat once, saw a squirrel lol.
Heard one shot.
Definitely wet over here.

Get yah a cow knee…all fixed !

I do a a lot of still-hunting during flintlock season Nessie. the cow's knees I looked at all seemed like they would take a bit of time to get off. Yours doesn't though.

I use those. I gets cots (finger protectors) and slip them over the muzzle. I've shot through them.

If Iam sitting…it’s just draped ovah the lock….comes off real quick. And if your moving …just a few wraps of the ( wangs) and it’s stays put..but comes of easy. And when it’s damp or rainy….3F in the pan is a must…instead of 4F ( which absorbs moisture guickah )

I think the guy I bought it from ..gets 20.00 bucks for one…If I remembah..real soft and supple….and treated too

I quit priming with 4F years ago. Have not noticed any decrease in accuracy and I don't have to carry a primer any more.

Don't forget you can use those unused buck tags for a doe in this late season.

Fresh snow this morning and no moisture in forcast today!!!

33deg high of 45, cloudy with light winds!!!!

Should b easy to see.

You guys priming with 3F, will it run through your pan primer? Or do you use something else?

I prime with on of these:

You've convinced me, !'ll start looking for one similar.

I just prime from my horn. Not sure if 3F will work in those little valve primers.

That's what I use. This is the first year I used 4F. Always just used 3F because I didn't want to buy a whole pound of 4F. Had a friend give me a bit of 4F for fixing a muzzleloader for him.

Good to know CoonsBane. I'll fill it with some 3F and see how it goes.

Hey lugnut..your pm box is full. Tried to send you a pm

I cleared some out Nessie, should go through now.

I don't use a primer like that very anymore... 3f works in those but not nearly as smooth as 4f. May take a couple tries to get the amount you want to dispense.

I also found that not pushing the plunger into the pan helped things flow smoother... I would put my thumb over the end, turn it upside down and push the plunger a few times. Then dump the prime in the pan... That prevented scooping any soup into the end of the plunger and caking it up.

Mike