Need some flintlock help

[Mr. 16 gauge]

O.K., I've had this Pedersoli trade musket for a few years now, and I've taken it to the range and practiced with it. However, I have NEVER been able to get more than 6 shots with it before the flint will no longer spark. Lately, at the range the most I get is 3-5 shots, which I find a bit disconcerting because from what I've read everybody else is getting 20+ shots before their flint quits sparking.

Today I took the gun squirrel hunting again, and this time I missed no less that FOUR squirrels because every time I tried to shoot it, it wouldn't spark.....and this is even after changing flints! I tried 3 times on one squirrel alone, without success.

I'm frustrated to the point that I am ready to throw this damn gun into the lake....or at least trade it for a percussion gun. Those I KNOW how to make go boom!

What am I doing wrong? I've knapped and ground the flints down since I shot them last; I've tried various flints (English & amber flints); I've tried bevel up....bevel down....nothing seems to make a difference; THE GUN DOESN'T WANT TO FIRE.

Could it be a frizzen problem? Could the frizzen be too soft (or to hard)?

I wanted to hunt with a historical weapon, but I don't get that many chances to go out hunting, and to lose 4 squirrels in one outing is quite a bit bothersome....I'm glad I wasn't deer hunting with it, or the gun would still be out in the woods wrapped around a damn tree!

Please help me solve this problem if you can

Thanks in advance.........

[Adam Helmer]

Mr. 16 bgauge,

Help is on the way; many savvy flinters will chime in. I sharpen my flints on a whetstone. I use crocous cloth to polish up the frizzen face and get better sparks and longer flint life with a smooth frizzen. I dry all oil off the frizzen with a cloth before I load up. I wipe the residue off the flint every few shots. Bevel up or down is not a concern so long at the flint hits the frizzen at least halfway up from the priming pan.

Hope this helps.

Adam

[DogYeller]

If you're not getting spark the problem may be the frizzen.

I had the same problem with a Thompson .45 Hawken rifle. I contacted Thompson and explained my problem and they sent me a new lock and frizzen, no charge. Come to find out almost all of those early Thompsons had that problem. I still Squirrel hunt with it. You might see if you can contact someone with the same rifle and see if they are having similar problems.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I sharpen my flints on a whetstone. I use crocous cloth to polish up the frizzen face and get better sparks and longer flint life with a smooth frizzen. I dry all oil off the frizzen with a cloth before I load up. I wipe the residue off the flint every few shots. Bevel up or down is not a concern so long at the flint hits the frizzen at least halfway up from the priming pan.

Thanks for the input, Adam....I have already done most of this. As for where the flint strikes the frizzen, it is hitting up on the higher end of the frizzen (I will try and post a pic later).

I had the same problem with a Thompson .45 Hawken rifle. I contacted Thompson and explained my problem and they sent me a new lock and frizzen, no charge. Come to find out almost all of those early Thompsons had that problem. I still Squirrel hunt with it. You might see if you can contact someone with the same rifle and see if they are having similar problems.

I posted this question on another muzzleloading website, and someome said that the Lott locks used by Pedersoli are crap, and to get a new lock from TOTW. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again guys for the responses...........

[Skinny Shooter]

You may want to check with Chuck Dixon http://dixonmuzzleloading.com/index....p&link=contact
Tell him your problem and he may have a solution in his shop.

[DogYeller]

Here's the parts page at Track of The Wolf. I believe you'll be able to solve your problem here.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(pqu....aspx?catID=14

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Here are some pictures of the lock and frizzen....hope they are of decent enough quality to help with diagnosing the problem.

[Adam Helmer]

Mr. 16 gauge,

Nice photos. The second picture shows a rough frizzen. I polish mine with crocus cloth so they look like a mirror. Yesterday, I shot my .54 Hawken flinter 26 times and never had a stutter. After I cleaned and oiled the rifle, I polished the frizzen and touched up the flint with the whetstone. I think I finally got it right.

I only have 6 flinters and they are my favorite arms for target work and primitive deer hunting. I use my .45 flinter with ball and 50 grains of 2F Goex for squirrel. I have yet to see a squirrel this Fall, so I did not respond to your other thread. Be well, my friend.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

The second picture shows a rough frizzen.

So do you think I have an improperly hardened frizzen? Or do they all take a beating like that?

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Mr 16 if you look back a few threads under tc 54..I posted a problem I was having and included in my problem/fix was the missfire issue. That was one problem I never encountered with the TC in all the years I owned it other than one lend out to a trusted cousin that I warned..do not clean with anything other than the #9 I gave him to use when cleaning it....he didn't listen so I found out when I went to fire it and no spark..he said snuck in gun oil..and some must of gotten on the wrong parts..but if you read under that TC54 post about the mixing of cleaning solvents and the oily/gunk that ended up on the flint after only one or 2 shots that could be a place to look..I now am back to dry patches lubed with #9 only and pan is dry as popcorn stinker after every fire....I also keep my flint at least 1/16 inch from the frizen and an old cva I played with in the past would not spark and found it was a weak spring...not dropping the hammer fast enough to make hot spark..and it was a new gun...can look there also.

[Adam Helmer]

Mr. 16 gauge,

Frizzens take a hammering from flints and show gouges and pits over time. I polish mine so the flints last longer.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Well, since the weather today was crappy, I decided to make the trip to my 'local' BP shop (which is about an hour drive away) and see what they had to say......their diagnosis? Dull flints (although they seem pretty sharp to me); at any rate, they put a new flint in, and it sparked right up....so I guess I'm back in business.
Tommarow's weather is suppose to be crappy for duck hunting as well, so maybe I'll try and get out and see if I can take a squirrel or two again......

Wish me luck!

[EricH]

That frizzen looks like mine on both my DP'S. I use english flints mostly from TOTW. I have found that some flints will need knaped after 5 shots while others will go 20-30 shots. I have to wipe frizzen pan and flint after 5 - 10 shots.
Good luck and blast some tree rodents.

[Gil Martin]

Years ago, I had a similar problem with T/C case hardened frizzens. I contacted T/C and they sent me another case hardened frizzen and acknowledged the problem. The fix was to fit Lyman tool steel frizzens to all my T/C flintlocks and use good quality knapped flints. Problem solved. I have heard that Dixon's gun shop installs hundreds of Lyman frizzens a year to T/C flintlocks. I do know that my local gun shop sells our of Lyman frizzens every year. All the best...
Gil

[Mad_Jack]

http://www.cooperstowntradingpost.com/ This place has great replacement frizzens. I from him when I need a new one. Gene is a 'Good Guy'.