Advantages of a Flintlock Muzzle-loader.

Discussion in 'Hunting / Fishing / Trapping' started by Keith H., May 4, 2016.

0/5, 0 votes

  1. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    Please Note: 1) I do not shun the modern firearm, but I do think that modern firearms should be used for self-defence only. 2) If I could only carry one firearm, it would be a flintlock. 3) I am not suggesting in this list that you can make gunpowder from natural materials found in the wilderness, however, you can if you know how to obtain Potassium Nitrate from urine or cave dirt. If you want more info on this I can supply. 4) Most of your meat supply will be obtained from a good trap line, the gun is simply a back-up.
    Keith.
    [​IMG]
    My 20 gauge/.62 caliber Flintlock Fusil with a 42 inch barrel.
    [​IMG]
    My shot pouch & contents plus powder horn.
    [​IMG]
    One of my three gunpowder bags.
    Advantages of a Flintlock Muzzle-loader.

    1) Ammo is less expensive than a modern equivalent caliber firearm.

    2) The smoothbore is very versatile, being able to digest round ball, bird shot, & buckshot, or any combination of two of these (can also use minies).

    3) The fusil is lighter to carry than a modern equivalent sized gun.

    4) You can vary the load if needs be.

    5) The smoothbore will digest other projectiles besides lead.

    6) Lead can be retrieved from downed game & remoulded with a simple mould & lead ladle. This means that you can carry less lead, & more of the lighter gunpowder.

    7) You can make your own gunpowder.

    8) You can use the lock to make fire without the need for gunpowder.

    9) You can use gunpowder for gunpowder tinder fire lighting if needs be.

    10) IF the lock should malfunction (these are very robust & it is not likely) you can easily repair it if you are carrying a few spare springs & a few simple tools.

    11)If you do not have any spare parts & the lock malfunctions, you can easily convert it to a tinderlock or matchlock & continue using it.

    12) You do not need a reloader, brass shells, caps, or primers. The latter have been known to break down in damp conditions or if they are stored for too long.

    13) Wadding for ball or shot is available from natural plant materials or homemade leather or rawhide.

    14) Less chance of being affected by future ammunition control legislation.

    15) Gunpowder is easily obtainable providing you have a muzzle-loader registered in your name regardless of caliber (only NSW is looking at this legislation at present).

    16) A .32 caliber flintlock rifle is more powerful than a .22 rimfire, less expensive to feed, more accurate over a greater distance, able to take small & medium sized game, & other than not being able to use shot (unless it is smoothbore), it has all the attributes of the other flintlocks.

    17) Damage from a .62 caliber-.75 caliber pistol or long arm is in the extreme. Wounded prey is unlikely to escape.

    18) By using buck & ball you are unlikely to miss your target. This load is capable of taking out more than one target.

    19) There is less kick-back to a muzzle-loading gun.

    20) Antique Flintlock muzzle-loading guns do not require a license, registration, or a permit to purchase in NSW Australia.
     
  2. Arkane

    Arkane Master Survivalist
      275/297

    Blog Posts:
    0
    How many shots in total do you think you will get in the flintlocks lifespan?
    How many .32 balls to the kg?
    How much time is involved in making blackpowder and can you do it on the move?
    How many shots to a kg of black powder?
    Whats the range and accuracy of that .32 ?

    Considering its worth as to adding to safe?
     
  3. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    1) I have absolutely no idea, but I have a 300 year old flintlock which is still working fine.
    2) I do not have that many .32 round ball to weigh, so I have no idea. But you could carry a lot of .32 caliber ball. Would be about 40 ball to the pound.
    3) I don't know why you would want to make gunpowder, you can carry enough to last you a life time. If you have the ingredients, why not carry the gunpowder? Yes if you have the ingredients you can make gunpowder whenever you want, & it does not take long unless you want to grade it as well in which case you will need a screen & it will take a little longer.
    4) The number of shots will depend on the size of the charge you are using. In my .62 caliber I use 60 grains of 2FG, in the .32 caliber for small game, 14 grains of 3FG. No idea what that works out at, but it is a lot of shots.
    5) The .32 is pretty accurate out to 100 yards, but I would suggest that to guarantee a kill you restrict yourself to shooting at 50 yards or less. My hunting is usually under 25 yards. Stalking skills are very important for survival hunting.
    Keith.
     
    joewhitecrow likes this.
  4. Arkane

    Arkane Master Survivalist
      275/297

    Blog Posts:
    0
    The age in years of a gun matters little! the number of shots matters and from what I have gathered with black powder you can get between 100 shots if it is neglected or up to 4,000 if it is lovingly cared for! no real hard data just word of mouth!
    About 100 ball per kg! that's good
    How long in days, months, years is what I need to know!
    What if your powder gets wet?

    With a 90% lead recovery rate you still run out of lead quick!
    Now don't get me wrong I like blackpowder guns but for survival I want the best system and see no benefit in carting sub standard gear!

    So far modern firearms have no equal I have found!

    Stalking skill will be even more importand when every yahoo with a gun starts hunting for anything they can get as everything will be spooked silly!
     
  5. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    I respectfully suggest that you personally stick with your modern firearm Arkane.
    Keith.
     
    joewhitecrow likes this.
  6. joewhitecrow

    joewhitecrow Expert Member
      168/173

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I have modern firearms, THE flintlock and the caplock are what my old life revolves around. I am the type of person that should have been running a trapline and living in the rocky mts in the 1830,s. Im an old guy not alot of winters left for me. I have 40 acres 2/3 hay and 1/3 woods and a creek. My primitive camp is set up on the edge of the woods by the creek. Just let me have my longrifles or my hawken,s and all the trapping that go with it , enjoying a winter camp with my lab . laying under my buffalo robe listening to the coyote,s and the owls,. You just cant find that type of peace in a modern camp with modern firearms, But to each his own.
     
    jeager and Keith H. like this.
  7. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    Totally agree Joe, a great pitty more people don't experience life as we do & appreciate that primitive lifestyle, if only for a weekend.
    Regards, Keith.
     
  8. SurvivingPrepper

    SurvivingPrepper New Member
      3/25

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I need to get one and learn how to use. Makes a lot of sense.
     
    Keith H. likes this.
  9. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    If I can ever be of any assistance SP, just let me know.
    Regards, Keith.
     
  10. SurvivingPrepper

    SurvivingPrepper New Member
      3/25

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Thank you Keith. Where should I start?
     
    Keith H. likes this.
  11. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    Well I guess the place to start is getting the gun, but before you can do that, there are choices to make. Start off checking out my articles on my blog & checking out my videos, I will post links here. Then if you have any questions, just ask.
    Regards, Keith.
    http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au/search?q=smoothbore+or+rifle



     
  12. Tom Williams

    Tom Williams Moderator Staff Member
      330/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Where to start is a good muzzleloader shop look at handle the weapons i suggest a 50 cal flintlock most common one here in states wide choice of ball and slugs that will shoot well and still can be loaded with shot for smaller game flint because flint is found in nature to replace broken ones have you ever fired a gun let alone a muzzleload some people have a rough time with the flash from pan makeing them miss bad
     
  13. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    My maternal grandfather was a subsistence hunter in his youth. His only firearm was a cap'n'ball .32 rifle -- used caps not flintlock. This side of my family had married in with the Cherokee whenever ago (?). This was in the extreme western border (w/TN) of N.Carolina.

    00 or 0 (?) buckshot is approx. .32, so you charge the rifle w/powder-horn, take a patch of ticking & put it over the muzzle, push the round ball down with the ticking into the muzzle (one can also use a short dowel on a wood block to push the ball down a tad), cut off the excess ticking, ram-rod that combo down onto the charge, cap the nipple, and you're ready to go. The .32 is for small game. A lot of folk soaked the ticking patch in their mouth prior to use.

    By the time Pap took me hunting with him, he'd long ago been able to buy a 12 ga single-shot breech-loading shotgun. His dad had been able to come by a 10 ga breech-loading single shot. The latter man, my great-grandfather, carried a hawg-leg revolver with him at all times due to his feud with a brother'n'law of his -- that's all I was told; I got no details of what it was all about. My people back in the hollars were beyond stubborn. And my Pap, oh Lord, was he ever set in his ways. For whatever reason, he took to me -- otherwise he was someone you'd not want to be around -- especially if he'd gotten into some white lightnin.

    When we went hunting, the moment he entered the woods, he wasn't my grandfather anymore. He turned into some force of Nature (?). Pap was overweight but made no noise whatsoever and he'd go up the side of a mountain like some goat -- I was a boy, he was over 70, and I had trouble keeping up with him (he saw 90 year). His eyes swept side to side, then they'd fix in on something. We'd always hunt upwind when the forest floor was wet. He wouldn't look at me ... and I was glad about that. He'd hit my shoulder and point with his finger, not taking his eyes off the game. If he ever said anything (rare), it was in an almost silent airy whisper. Whatever he killed never knew it was being hunted.
    .
     
  14. SurvivingPrepper

    SurvivingPrepper New Member
      3/25

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Thanks everyone! Keith wish I lived closer. You seem like a person I'd enjoy having a beer with!
     
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Advantages of a Flintlock Muzzle-loader. Primitive Tools and Weapons Jun 16, 2016
Advantages of a Flintlock Muzzle-loader. Primitive Tools and Weapons Jun 16, 2016
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Electric, Electric/hybrid Vehicles? Zombie Apocalypse Dec 20, 2016
Advantages of Using/Carrying 18th Century Equipment. Wilderness Aug 8, 2016
Advantages of Prepping With an 18th Century Living History Group. Wilderness Aug 4, 2016
Advantages Of The Tomahawk (Trade Axe). Primitive Tools and Weapons Jun 18, 2016
Advantages Of The Muzzle-Loading Gun. Guns, Knives, Tools, Etc. Jun 16, 2016
My Only Flintlock Pre-1900s Guns and Ammo Mar 16, 2019
The Flintlock Muzzle-loader Versus The Modern Breach-loader For Long Term Wilderness Living. Guns, Knives, Tools, Etc. Oct 17, 2017
Speed Loading & Firing A Flintlock Smoothbore. Pre-1900s Guns and Ammo Jul 8, 2017

Share This Page