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mykeal · January 2, 2011, 08:35 AM

First of all, let me say that I have the utmost respect and admiration for [email protected]; he's a gentleman and knows more about shooting black powder than most of us will ever achieve. Ditto for Hawg Haggen. If you need to make a choice between what they say and I say, pick them.

However (you knew that was coming, didn't you?)...

The subject of the 'proper' placement of a flint in the jaws is the subject of much debate, the vast majority of it friendly. Friendly because, as Hawg succinctly states, you end up doing what works best for you.

I like to put it this way: the position of the flint at half cock, full cock or hammer fully down is irrelevant. What's important is where and when it hits the frizzen when the frizzen is down. So, put the frizzen down and lower the hammer until the flint touches the frizzen face. It should be over halfway up the face, and make an angle of approximately 60 degrees (eyeball it, this isn't rocket science). The orientation of the bevel (up or down) makes no real difference if the location and angle are right. And if it makes sparks.

For the best sparks, you need a sharp, unbroken edge. Be careful the front corner on the inside (near the barrel) does not hit the barrel or the stock when the hammer is down.

As for the location of the powder in the pan, there's a great test done by Larry Pletch at Friendship the last few years in which he used high speed photography to study the issue. His conclusions, published in a thread on The Muzzleleloading Forum, were that the 'best' location was actually away from the touch hole (at least, that's how I remember it - I could be wrong - I'll try to look that up and edit this if I am).

January 2, 2011, 08:35 AM	#9
mykeal Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 2,772	First of all, let me say that I have the utmost respect and admiration for [email protected]; he's a gentleman and knows more about shooting black powder than most of us will ever achieve. Ditto for Hawg Haggen. If you need to make a choice between what they say and I say, pick them. However (you knew that was coming, didn't you?)... The subject of the 'proper' placement of a flint in the jaws is the subject of much debate, the vast majority of it friendly. Friendly because, as Hawg succinctly states, you end up doing what works best for you. I like to put it this way: the position of the flint at half cock, full cock or hammer fully down is irrelevant. What's important is where and when it hits the frizzen when the frizzen is down. So, put the frizzen down and lower the hammer until the flint touches the frizzen face. It should be over halfway up the face, and make an angle of approximately 60 degrees (eyeball it, this isn't rocket science). The orientation of the bevel (up or down) makes no real difference if the location and angle are right. And if it makes sparks. For the best sparks, you need a sharp, unbroken edge. Be careful the front corner on the inside (near the barrel) does not hit the barrel or the stock when the hammer is down. As for the location of the powder in the pan, there's a great test done by Larry Pletch at Friendship the last few years in which he used high speed photography to study the issue. His conclusions, published in a thread on The Muzzleleloading Forum, were that the 'best' location was actually away from the touch hole (at least, that's how I remember it - I could be wrong - I'll try to look that up and edit this if I am).