[brookie 444]

I'm looking for help guys I have no muzzleloader experience.
I plan to buy a flintlock rifle to extend my deer season in Pennsylvania.There are two black powder seasons in PA and one is limited to flintlock so my plan is to purchase a flintlock to use in both seasons.
Untill I read the post on recoil and found the muzzleloader hide webb site(which is closed to new subscribers)I had planned to buy a T/C Firestorm in stainless and shoot a lead bullet over blackpowder. The T/C has a 1 in45 twist and my research has turned up that 1 in 32 is best for bullets while 1 in 66 is best for ball and 1 in 45 is a compromise between both.
I'm going to be hunting in the mountains and woods of PA and would never take a shot at over 100yrds even with my marlin .444.I built the marlin to knock deer down flat so don't need to do much tracking and I would like a similar flintlock loading.I'm a good shot and won't pull the trigger if not sure of a clean kill.
Simple is better for me since I'm only looking to extend deer season , not start a new blackpowder hobby or shoot bullseye.
Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated.

Jeff

 

[hawk]

The Hide has a lot of info on muzzleloading, especially flinters. I have been shooting a traditional caplock with a twist of 1 in 48" for about 15 years now. I have used bullets, sabots, and round balls to take big Manitoba whitetails, and have found the balls work as good as anything. One of the most recomended flint rifles on the Hide is the Lyman Great Plains, it has a 1 in 60" twist for ball shooting. If I where to pick up a new muzzleloader it would have the slow ball twist.
http://mamaflinter.tripod.com/
This site will give you all the information you'll need to get started. Good luck, and happy hunting!

 

[GuidesForHire]

the lyman is too heavy and clunky for us, we use either our own made ones or TC's.

the majority are Renegades in 54 and PA hunter rifles in 50.

where in PA are you hunting?

 

[Dave S]

Hi Jeff!

My wife and I both have T/C flinters. Mine is an elderly Hawken with the 1 in 48" twist and hers is a PA Hunter with the 1 in 66" twist. Your info is correct as far as the 1:48 being a compromise for both conical and round ball. Both of our guns will put rb's into a 4" circle @ 100 yd. using 0.490" ball and .015" thk. patch over 90 gr. FFg powder. My Hawken puts Maxi-balls into 4.5" - 5" groups @ 100 yd. using 100 gr. FFg. I prefer the Hawken due to it's adjustable set trigger over the PA Hunter's single trigger. For range work and load development that set trigger is a godsend, not to mention target shooting at the bp competitions. As far as knocking down whitetails, both guns do an excellent job. In our area here in North Central PA the longest shot one usually ends up looking at is about 70 yd. and I think the farthest I ever had to track a deer shot with either projectile was probably 75 - 100 yd from where it was shot. If extending deer season is your ultimate goal, go with a gun that has the 1:48 twist and take advantage of both seasons. You will need to put in a fair amount of range time testing load combinations, but it won't turn into a second career.
Hope this helps.
Dave

 

[MAINER]

Brookie - Take Dave S' excellent advice on planning on "a fair amount of range time." This will make a great big difference to your advantage in the end. Have fun, be safe, and good luck hunting.

 

[brookie 444]

Thanks everyone
I went to an all black powder gun shop in chambersburg PA and they too were very helpful.I tried on old ,new,used,antique,etc. and left with a new lyman deer stalker:short,light,walnut,blue steel .Very nice grain,fit and finish.The trigger is a little heavy for me at about 6lbs.but it breaks crisp and clean with no creep or gritty feel.
I'm going to polish up the inside of the lock and lighten the trigger some.Bought fiber optic sights and a hex head flash hole liner replacement(saves me the trouble of counter boring both sides of the factory liner for faster ignition).Based on my smokeless powder rifles the stock is about 1-2 ins. too long,but i'll wait till later to shorten it and refit the recoil pad.Now I'm going to get used to the flinchlock,
break her in and work up some loads
I hunt the mountains on either side of the Cumberland Valley in south central PA and since I have plenty of time to get the rifle tricked out and lots of opportunity for practice I am anticipating a fun new hunting companion for the bp season.

Jeff.